Ah, while the card bloggosphere is abuzz with breaks of this years Bowman release. I've decided to abstain from Bowman. Except for getting my team set, I don't plan on buying any at all. No boxes, packs, no value blasters, nothing if I can help it. So I'm going to post some more vintage in another installment of the 1963 Topps Project.
First up we have Vern "The Deacon" Law. I'm not sure if it was more common in the 50's and 60's, but Vern was a franchise player for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Playing all 16 of his years with the team. 1960 was the big year for Vern. He earned an All-Star appearance, the Cy Young, and took home a World Series ring. After baseball Vern went on to coach with the Pirates for two years before taking an assistant coach position with Brigham Young University for 10 years. He also went over to Japan to coach for Seibu Lions for 3 years. And I don't know how current the information is, but Vern was coaching the Provo High School baseball team. Vern is a spry 82.
#209 Hobart "Hobie" Landrith
Where Vern Law was the model of the Franchise Player, Hobie is the model of the opposite. Hobie spent much of his career in the back ground as the second or third string catcher. In 1949 Hobie signed with the Reds and got his first start in a couple games in 1950. The rest of his time with the reds he was up and down from the Majors. He was traded to the Cubs in late 1955 where he won the starting catcher position and played the most games in one season he ever would with 111. He was traded to the Cardinals in late 1956 and would compete for starting catcher both years he was there before being traded to the Giants in late 1958. Then in 1959 Hobie worked his way up to starting catcher for the Giants. He would go on to play 2 more years with the Giants before the Mets took him as their first pick in the 1961 expansion draft. And would be slated as their starter, but got hit by a bat in Spring Training and the Mets ended up using 7 different catchers their first season. In June of 1962 Landrith was sold to Baltimore. He eventually sold to the Senators a year later and that's where he would retire from playing baseball, but returned the next year in 1964 to coach with the team. After baseball Landrith went on to be the director of sales for over 45 VW auto dealerships. He's still kicking at the ripe old age of 82.
And last up we have #220 Camilo "Little Potato" Pascual.
Pascual had a nice long career. Starting out with the Washington Senators and then moving with the team to Minnesota and became the Twins from 1954 to 1966. Later he would play for the second Senators team.
Between 1959 and 1964 Camilo would win at least 12 games a season and Ted Williams even commented on how devastating his curve ball was. Camilo would end up being a 7 time All-Star. In 1966 Camilo was traded to the new Washington Senators where he would play for two years before playing for the Reds, Dodgers and Indians a year each till he retired in 1971. After retiring Pascual was the pitching coach for the Twin for a couple of years, but then started scouting for Oakland A's and New York Mets. From what I could find he is still scouting Venezuela for the Dodgers. Camilo is the scout who signed Jose Canseco. Camilo is 78.
I saw Pascual pitch is an interesting situation in Yankee Stadium in 1963. Rather that repeat it all I'll refer tou a post I did on my '59 blog. Hope you don't mind.
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