One-card wonders, update 13

 

The last time I wrote one of these posts, back in March, I said I wanted to start digging into the 1990s to see if there were any One-Card Wonders. It seems impossible that such a player existed in the '90s -- managing to appear on just one major-release in their career -- but I had already found one, and I wanted to see if there were others.

 

But nothing is ever easy. Even for the player I found, he also appeared on an insert in Fleer that same year, and now I have to figure out whether an insert qualifies for appearing on a second major-release card? Thanks a lot, 1990s, for making things extra complicated ... again.

This is what I discovered while searching through '90s cards looking for that One-Card Needle In The Hey That's Way Too Many Card Sets. I couldn't continue. It was much too time-consuming. I don't know if I'll ever go back.

To get that out of my system, I went entirely in the other direction -- the 1950s. I haven't checked any '50s sets for One-Card Wonders yet. The earliest year I've examined is 1965.

So I went to work with 1959. This is what I found:

One-Card Wonders, 1959 Topps

#49 - Bill Hall, Pirates

#91 - Herb Moford, Red Sox

#120 - Chuck Coles, Reds

#121 - Bob Conley, Phillies

#126 - Eddie Haas, Braves

#134 - Jim McDaniel, Pirates

#140 - Charlie Secrest, Athletics

#192 - Charley Beamon, Orioles

#211 - Bob Blaylock, Cardinals

#214 - Marcelino Solis, Cubs

#254 - Zeke Bella, Athletics

#281 - Walt Craddock, Athletics

#283 - Russ Heman, Indians

#321 - Bob Giallombardo, Dodgers

#362 - Dolan Nicols, Cubs

#504 - Ossie Alvarez, Tigers

#522 - Gene Snyder, Dodgers

#529 - George Bamberger, Orioles

#532 - Mark Freeman, Athletics

#537 - Rodolfo Arias, White Sox

#539 - Gary Blaylock, Cardinals

#544 - Lee Tate, Cardinals

What the heck! That's 22 One-Card Wonders! The previous most for any year I've researched is 10! (1978 Topps).

Even if you remove Eddie Haas and George Bamberger from this list -- they both appeared on cards much later as managers (I don't know what to do here either) -- that's still 20 cards of dudes who showed up on a card in 1959 and then vanished.

That baffled me and I wondered whether there was more of this kind of stuff back in the '50s. I mean even in 1965 there were just four OCWs.

So I decided to look at 1958 Topps next:

One-Card Wonders, 1958 Topps

#65 - Von McDaniel, Cardinals

#83 - Bob Hazle, Braves

#96 - Joe Durham, Orioles

#126 - Stan Palys, Reds

#129 - Jim Derrington, White Sox

#131 - Bobby Henrich, Reds

#151 - Buddy Pritchard, Pirates

#182 - Joe Caffie, Indians

#218 - Dick Rand, Pirates

#231 - Lloyd Merritt, Cardinals

#243 - Larry Raines, Indians

#283 - Ray Shearer, Braves

#322 - Harding Peterson, Pirates

#376 - Charley Rabe, Reds

#391 - Dave Melton, Athletics

#442 - Phil Paine, Cardinals

#449 - Gene Fodge, Cubs

#451 - Joe Taylor, Cardinals

#461 - Ed Mayer, Cubs

Wow. That's 19 players, still very high in comparison to later years.

I've tried to carefully pick out the OCWs, which isn't easy for cards from the '50s. I can breeze right through sets from the '70s and '80s and a OCW will jump right out at me because I'm familiar with all the names. That's not the case with earlier cards, especially the '50s and early '60s.

It also doesn't help that Topps often changed the first name of players from set to set in the '50s. Chuck Thompson, a backup catcher, was "Chuck" in the 1954 Topps set, then he shows up as "Tim Thompson" in the 1958 set. "Hershell" Freeman becomes "Bud" Freeman. There were several of these. Maybe even the guys I listed above went by a different name on another set!

But even amid the confusion, I pressed on.

One-Card Wonders, 1957 Topps

#191 - Joe Margoneri, Yankees

#266 - Ken Kuhn, Indians

#276 - Jim Pyburn, Orioles

#321 - Red Murff, Braves

#337 - Rene Valdes, Dodgers

#386 - Lyle Luttrell, Senators

 

Just six. That's a lot more in line with what I found for the sets I've examined from the '60s, 70s and '80s. (Ken Kuhn actually appears again -- in the 1960 Leaf set -- but it's on Chuck Tanner's card, they screwed up the ID. So since it wasn't technically Kuhn's card, I'm still counting him as a OCW).

I'm still trying to determine why there were so many OCWs in the 1958 and 1959 sets. One reason, for 1959, might be the Rookie Stars cards as five of those Rookie Stars players never showed up again. But that still would give 1959 a considerable 17 One-Card Wonders. Also, that doesn't explain 1958, which managed 19 OCYs without any Rookie Stars cards.

I traveled into 1960 for just one more OCW tour.

One-Card Wonders, 1960 Topps

#128 - Bill Harris, Dodgers

#139 - Carl Mathias, Indians

#141 - Jim Proctor, Tigers

#144 - Al Stieglitz, Giants

#146 - Ted Wieand, Reds

#169 - Jake Striker, White Sox

#296 - Nelson Chittum, Red Sox

#359 - Buddy Gilbert, Reds

#521 - Mike Lee, Indians

#528 - Ben Johnson, Cubs

#538 - Frank Barnes, White Sox

11 OCWs is quite a lot compared with how many there are for sets like 1965, 1967 and 1969, which averaged around five. If the Rookie Stars in this set are removed, that trims the OCYs to six for '60 Topps.

Now for 1960 Leaf:

One-Card Wonders, 1960 Leaf

#61 - Vic Rehm, Braves

#62 - John Gabler, Yankees

#91 - Fred Hopke, Phillies

#93 - Wally Shannon, Cardinals

#99 - Marshall Renfroe, Giants

#108 - Tom McAvoy, Senators

#114 - Stover McIlwan, White Sox

Seven OCWs is a fair amount for a set with just 144 cards. Stover McIlwan is an interesting one that I'll probably devote a Cardboard Appreciation post to (it's not really Stover McIlwan).

So, as of now, 1959 Topps is far-and-away the leader for the most One-Card Wonders in a set.

As a tribute, here are just a few One-Hit Wonders from that year:

Sleep Walk - Santo & Johnny

 

Sea Of Love - Phil Phillips

 

 

Pink Shoelaces - Dodie Stevens

 

 

Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home) - The Impalas

 

 

And here's the updated list for all of the OCW for the years and sets I've done so far:

 

1957 Topps

#191 - Joe Margoneri, Yankees

#266 - Ken Kuhn, Indians

#276 - Jim Pyburn, Orioles

#321 - Red Murff, Braves

#337 - Rene Valdes, Dodgers

#386 - Lyle Luttrell, Senators

 

1958 Topps

#65 - Von McDaniel, Cardinals

#83 - Bob Hazle, Braves

#96 - Joe Durham, Orioles

#126 - Stan Palys, Reds

#129 - Jim Derrington, White Sox

#131 - Bobby Henrich, Reds

#151 - Buddy Pritchard, Pirates

#182 - Joe Caffie, Indians

#218 - Dick Rand, Pirates

#231 - Lloyd Merritt, Cardinals

#243 - Larry Raines, Indians

#283 - Ray Shearer, Braves

#322 - Harding Peterson, Pirates

#376 - Charley Rabe, Reds

#391 - Dave Melton, Athletics

#442 - Phil Paine, Cardinals

#449 - Gene Fodge, Cubs

#451 - Joe Taylor, Cardinals

#461 - Ed Mayer, Cubs

 

1959 Topps

#49 - Bill Hall, Pirates

#91 - Herb Moford, Red Sox

#120 - Chuck Coles, Reds

#121 - Bob Conley, Phillies

#126 - Eddie Haas, Braves

#134 - Jim McDaniel, Pirates

#140 - Charlie Secrest, Athletics

#192 - Charley Beamon, Orioles

#211 - Bob Blaylock, Cardinals

#214 - Marcelino Solis, Cubs

#254 - Zeke Bella, Athletics

#281 - Walt Craddock, Athletics

#283 - Russ Heman, Indians

#321 - Bob Giallombardo, Dodgers

#362 - Dolan Nicols, Cubs

#504 - Ossie Alvarez, Tigers

#522 - Gene Snyder, Dodgers

#529 - George Bamberger, Orioles

#532 - Mark Freeman, Athletics

#537 - Rodolfo Arias, White Sox

#539 - Gary Blaylock, Cardinals

#544 - Lee Tate, Cardinals

 

1965 Topps

#169 - Dave Vineyard, Orioles
#494 - Jay Ritchie, Red Sox
#529 - Jerry Fosnow, Twins
#543 - Ed Connolly, Red Sox 

1967 Topps

#344 - Ossie Chavarria, A's
#388 - Arnold Earley, Cubs
#489 - Doug Clemens, Phillies
#497 - Ron Campbell, Cubs

1969 Topps:

#317 -- Bruce Look, Twins
#361 -- Gary Holman, Senators
#378 -- Jose Herrera, Expos
#437 -- Luis Alcaraz, Royals
#632 -- Jon Warden, Royals

1974 Topps:

#8 - George Theodore, Mets
#33 - Don Newhauser, Red Sox
#37 - Dave Sells, Angels
#77 - Rich Troedson, Padres
#421 - Dan Fife, Twins
#457 - Chuck Goggin, Braves
#573 - Mike Adams, Twins 

1975 Topps

#288 - Bruce Ellingsen, Indians
#407 - Herb Washington, A's
#508 - Bob Hansen, Brewers
#524 - John Doherty, Angels
#587 - Chris Ward, Cubs
#651 - John Morlan, Pirates 

1977 Topps

#118 - Rick Jones, Mariners
#132 - Chip Lang, Expos
#137 - Jeff Terpko, Rangers
#616 - Tommy Sandt, A's
#641 - Dan Larson, Astros 

1978 Topps:

#224 - Jerry Tabb, A's
#303 - Sam Hinds, Brewers
#311 - Jose Baez, Mariners
#386 - Bob Gorinski, Twins
#502 - Pat Rockett, Braves
#516 - Gary Beare, Brewers
#521 - Steve Staggs, Blue Jays
#591 - George Zeber, Yankees
#667 - Jeff Byrd, Blue Jays
#719 - Randy Elliott, Giants 

1979 Topps:

#172 - Mike Bruhert, Mets
#222 - Bob Beall, Braves
#292 - Don Reynolds, Padres
#336 - Bobby Thompson, Rangers
#363 - Craig Skok, Braves
#371 - Jeff Holly, Twins
#427 - Andy Replogle, Brewers
#658 - Taylor Duncan, A's
#676 - Johnny Sutton, Twins

1980 Topps:

#59 - Eddy Putman, Tigers
#72 - Fred Howard, White Sox
#156 - Tony Brizzolara, Braves
#221 - Joe Cannon, Blue Jays
#233 - LaRue Washington, Rangers
#291 - Randy Scarberry, White Sox
#347 - Harry Chappas, White Sox

1981 Topps:

 #491 - Gordy Pladson, Astros

1982 Topps:

#356 - Denny Lewallyn, Indians

1984 Topps:

#116 - George Bjorkman, Astros
#159 - Darryl Cias, A's
#163 - Lorenzo Gray, White Sox
#337 - Kevin Hagen, Cardinals
#382 - Chris Nyman, White Sox
#474 - Greg Bargar, Expos

1986 Topps:

#451 - Mark Brown, Twins
#502 - Glen Cook, Rangers
#567 - Jeff Barkley, Indians

 

1987 Topps:

 

#387 - T.R. Bryden, Angels

1994 Topps:

#491 - John Hope, Pirates (maybe)

1986 Donruss:

#32 - Johnny Abrego, Cubs
#42 - Rick Surhoff, Rangers
#461 - Dave Leeper, Royals
#510 - Steve Engel, Cubs
#595 - Carlos Ponce, Brewers

 

1981 Fleer

 

#49 - Jeff Twitty, Royals

#130 - Gary Weiss, Dodgers

#220 - Sheldon Burnside, Reds 

 

1960 Leaf

#61 - Vic Rehm, Braves

#62 - John Gabler, Yankees

#91 - Fred Hopke, Phillies

#93 - Wally Shannon, Cardinals

#99 - Marshall Renfroe, Giants

#108 - Tom McAvoy, Senators

#114 - Stover McIlwan, White Sox

 

Back in March I said I wanted to compile a team-by-team list of the One-Card Wonders, but I've rambled on plenty already and have run out of time for something like that. Maybe next time.

 

Also, maybe I'll cut this off at 1990 or so because I don't know if can handle searching through all those '90s sets year-after-year.

 

The '80s are difficult enough and I think next time I'll knock a few more of those off.