Final Card: Pete Burnside

This is the final baseball card for Pete Burnside (#19). 1963 was also his last year in the majors. This card shows him as a member of the Baltimore Orioles, although the photo is clearly from his days with the Washington Senators. He was traded to the Orioles late in the off-season, then re-acquired by the Senators in late-May 1963.

Pete was signed by the New York Giants in 1949, and spent all of 1949-1956 in their farm system, with a 2-game callup to New York at the end of 1955. He also missed the entire 1953 season while in military service.

Burnside was a swingman in the minors, but primarily a starter while with the New York Giants. Beginning in 1958 he split his time evenly between the rotation and the bullpen, except for his first season with the Tigers (1959) and his final season (1963) when he was strictly a relief pitcher.



During the 1957 and 1958 seasons, he split his time between the Giants and their AAA team. It wasn't until 1959 that he spent his first full season in the big leagues, by that time with the Tigers. Pete's contract was purchased in the off-season, and he became the #3 man in Detroit's bullpen (and the only southpaw).

In 1960, he (and Bob Bruce) alternated between bullpen work and the #4 starter's position. After the season Pete was lost to the Washington Senators in the expansion draft. For the next 2 seasons, Burnside continued in the role he had with the Tigers in 1960 - one of his team's top 10 pitchers, but splitting his time evenly between the starting rotation and the bullpen.

After the 1962 season, Pete was traded to the Orioles in a 5-player deal, but after only 6 games (and 7 innings) he was released on May 9th. Two weeks later, the Senators re-signed him, and he spent the remainder of the 1963 season in their bullpen, pitching 57 innings over 38 games.

AL Pitching Leaders (#8)

Five players made the AL Pitching Leaders card in 1963. The Yankees' Ralph Terry led the league with 23 wins (6 more than teammate Whitey Ford). There was a 3-way tie at 20 wins, and Jim Bunning just squeaks onto this card with 19 wins. (Bunning seemed to make it a habit of winning 19 games - doing so 3 consecutive times while with the Phillies.)

I've decided that I like the 1966 to 1969 style of league-leaders cards much better than these "floating heads" cards in the 1963 set.



As always, we have the "leaders" list, all the way down to 7 wins!

Curiously, the top three pitchers on this list were all out of baseball 5 years later.

Final Card: Bud Zipfel

According to my Topps book, this is the only baseball card for Marion Sylvester "Bud" Zipfel (#69). I thought he would be the last person listed in the index, but Richie Zisk and Frank Zupo (1958) are after him.

Bud was signed by the Yankees in 1956, and spent 5 seasons in their farm system before the Los Angeles Angels selected him in the expansion draft prior to the 1961 season. The same day, the Angels traded him to the Senators for shortstop Ken Hamlin (who was also selected in the expansion draft, from Kansas City).



After starting 1961 in the minors, Zipfel made his major-league debut on July 26th, and started 44 of the final 66 games at 1B for the Senators, taking over from Dale Long. Apparently, that wasn't enough to impress, because he was back in triple-A in 1962. Zipfel didn't get extended playing time at 1B until September 8th, although he saw some action in left field earlier in the season.

Bud's only major-league playing time came in 1961 and 1962. After the '62 season, he kicked around the minors for 4 more seasons, playing for the Reds', Tigers', Cardinals', and Phillies' organizations.

Bubba Phillips (#177)

John Melvin "Bubba" Phillips had a 10-year career during the 1950s and 1960s, playing for the Tigers, White Sox, and Indians. (It seems like almost all the players on this blog have played for those 3 teams!)

Phillips began his career in 1948 as an outfielder with the unaffiliated class-D Stroudsburg (PA) Poconos, in the North Atlantic League. The following season, he joined the Tigers' organization, and played 4 seasons in their farm system before spending 1953-54 in military service. He returned to baseball in 1955, and spent the next 10 seasons as a fulltime major-leaguer.

After his rookie season as a backup outfielder with the Tigers, Bubba was traded to the White Sox for pitcher Virgil Trucks. Although he was again a backup outfielder in 1956, the following season found Bubba as the Sox' regular 3rd baseman. His new status was short-lived, as he was relegated to backup 3rd baseman/6th outfielder in 1958. Phillips did an about-face in '59, playing 100 games as the regular 3rd baseman, along with 23 games in the outfield. It would be his last season in Chicago.



On December 6th, Bubba was traded to the Indians (along with catcher John Romano and 1st baseman Norm Cash) for outfielder Minnie Minoso, catcher Dick Brown, and 2 others. Phillips spent 3 seasons in Cleveland, the last 2 as their regular 3rd baseman, starting over 140 games there each season.

After the 1962 season, Bubba was traded back to the Tigers for pitcher Ron Nischwitz. He played the final 2 big-league seasons there, appearing in 128 games (mostly at 3B) in 1963, but only 46 games in his final season.

Phillips was released by the Tigers in February 1965, and spent that season playing for Milwaukee's AAA team in Atlanta, before retiring.

Al Smith (#16)

Here's another player I never heard of until getting this card a few months ago, in a gift-pack from DeansCards.com. I'm instituting a new label (New to Me) for these cards. It will apply to most of the 1963 cards, as well as a few on my 1966 and 1970 blogs.

After playing in the Negro Leagues in 1947, Al Smith was signed by the Indians in 1948, and made his big-league debut in July 1953. As a rookie, he started every game in centerfield for a month during July and August. Over the next 3 seasons, Smith was one of the Indians' top outfielders, switching positions from one season to the next. In 1955, Al led the league in games, plate appearances, and runs scored. In his last season in Cleveland (1957) he was the team's 4th outfielder, once Roger Maris joined the team.



After the season, he and pitcher Early Wynn were traded to the White Sox for outfielder Minnie Minoso and 3rd baseman Fred Hatfield. Al spent the next 5 seasons as a regular in Chicago, the first 3 as a corner outfielder, then transitioning to 3rd base during 1961, and finally playing fulltime at 3rd base during the 1962 season.

By the time this card was issued, Smith had left Chicago. In January 1963, he and shortstop Luis Aparicio were traded to the Orioles for pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm, shortstop Ron Hansen, 3rd baseman Pete Ward, and outfielder Dave Nicholson. Al wasn't there long, as the Indians re-acquired his services after the 1963 season for outfielder Willie Kirkland.

Released by Cleveland in August 1964, Al wrapped up his career with a 2-month stint with the Red Sox.