so far, i've shown 1,060 cards from the 1990 target dodgers 100th anniversary giveaway set. that means that there are only two more sheets of 15 cards to show. here's the next to last sheet:
ed goodson
when i started following the dodgers in 1977, i recognized that ed goodson had the unenviable job of being a backup first baseman on the team for which steve garvey played. goodson played in the field in only 17 games for the dodgers in '77 (13 at first, including one complete game in which garvey only appeared as a pinch hitter, and 4 at third). however goodson did play several games at third base for the blue in 1976 after being acquired along with dusty baker from the braves. still, he was used primarily as a pinch-hitter in his two seasons with the club, hitting .273 in 62 plate appearances in that role in '76, but just .182 in 45 pinch-hitting plate appearances in '77.
dixie howell
not to be confused with another dixie howell who played at the same time, the dodgers' howell was originally signed by the team in 1938. he didn't reach the big leagues until 1947, however, following a trade with the pirates. he eventually returned to brooklyn in a 1952 trade, and played for the dodgers in 1953, 1955, and 1956. howell did not appear in the world series in any of those seasons, and he hit just .250 in 24 regular season games for the dodgers.
lyn lary
as lary's 12-year big league career was coming to a close, he played for three teams during the 1939 season. he began the year with the indians and finished it with the cardinals, but in between, he played in 29 games for the dodgers. he hit .161 with a double, triple, and a single rbi for the man who holds the yankee season record for rbi (107) by a shortstop.
al lopez
hall of fame catcher al lopez caught more games than anyone else up until bob boone broke his record in the late 1980's. of his 1.918 games caught, close to 750 came with the robins/dodgers from 1928 through 1935. he played in a total of 762 games for the franchise over that timeframe, but spent a few complete games in the infield and had some other appearances as a pinch-hitter. he hit .279 for brooklyn overall, and hit the last 'bounce' home run in major league history in 1930 while with the robins.
lee magee
magee's given last name was hoernschemeyer, which is longer than hollandsworth and would have been the longest surname in franchise history. however, he opted for magee. playing for brooklyn towards the end of his career, magee began the 1919 season with the robins, and hit .238 in 45 games. he was traded to the cubs in june after the robins' organization heard rumblings of his association with gamblers and rumors of magee betting against his team while he was with the reds in 1918. following the 1919 season, magee did admit that he had bet on a game (he claimed he bet on the reds while other evidence showed he had bet against them and did indeed try to throw the game) and he was banned. a few months later, the black sox scandal was brought to light.
mike a. marshall
marshall, or general soreness, never faced the other mike marshall, although their careers did overlap in 1981. this mike marshall was one of the dodger prospects that i, along with legion other dodger fans, were anxiously awaiting in 1981. he had hit .373 in triple-a albuquerque with 34 homers and 137 rbi that year (good enough to win the pcl triple crown), and received a september call-up. yes, even though he was a first baseman and i was a huge fan of steve garvey, i wanted to see marshall in the majors. i figured the dodgers would move him to the outfield anyway, which they eventually did. however, they also let garvey go after the 1982 season. whatever, marshall stayed with the dodgers through the 1989 season, after which he was traded to the mets. he had struggled with injuries throughout his career (even reportedly sitting out a game due to general soreness), but did lead the 1988 dodgers with 82 rbi. my lasting mike marshall memory comes from 1988. i was at the dodger/met game on august 24 that year. orel hershiser was 17-7 going into the game, and the mets were the best team in the national league. me and some friends were able to wrangle tickets a few rows up from the dodger dugout from another friend's dad (a longtime season ticket holder) and headed to the game. marshall hit an rbi double off of future dodger bob ojeda in the fourth to score the first run of the game. hershiser was dealing zeroes through seven, and it was feeling very much like a playoff game. leading off the top of the 8th, mookie wilson hit a fly ball to right that i believe marshall misplayed. wilson wound up on third with a triple, and the mets scored two runs that inning and beat orel and the dodgers 2-1. it turned out to be the second of hershiser's eight straight complete games as well as his last loss of the regular season, and it was during his next start (in the 5th inning, to be exact) that the bulldog began his record breaking scoreless streak.
russ meyer
meyer pitched for the dodgers from 1953-1955, and he appeared in both the '53 and '55 world series. in the latter, meyer threw 5.2 innings of scoreless relief in game 6. he was 32-13 for the dodgers during the regular season over those three years, despite an era of 4.47.
dee moore
moore's big league career began in 1936 with the reds. he pinch-hit in a couple of games, but in his first appearance as a defensive player in a major league game, moore was not catching, but pitching. he threw five innings in relief (allowing an unearned run) and later was the starting pitcher in the reds' final game of the season, pitching two scoreless innings. moore didn't pitch in the majors again after that, and after being out of the big leagues for a few years, he found himself with the dodgers for the start of the 1943 season. he hit .253 in 37 games for brooklyn as a catcher and third baseman before the phillies selected him on waivers.
walt moryn
the pride of saint paul, minnesota, moryn was signed by the dodgers in 1948 and eventually got to play in his home town when the dodgers moved their triple-a affiliate from montreal to the saintly city. he was called up to the show by the dodgers in 1954 and again in 1955, although he didn't see playing time in the world series in '55. following the 1955 season, moryn was traded to the cubs where he was an all-star in 1958.
john purdin
purdin pitched for the dodgers in 1964 and 1965, and then again in 1968 and 1969 after being held in the minors in 1966 and 1967. the second appearance of his career, his first career start, resulted in a two-hit shutout of the cubs on september 30, 1964, and he earned his second win a few days later on the last day of the season. purdin won two games again in 1965, but his era jumped from 0.56 to 6.75, and his next two seasons were spent in the minors. purdin spent all of 1968 with the big club, winning (again) two games - this time with a more respectable 3.07 era. 1969 was his last season in the majors, and purdin was held decision-less for the first time, appearing in only nine games for the dodgers. purdin wound up with the white sox (and was included in the 1971 topps set), but he never returned to the majors after the 1969 season.
vicente romo
there was no romo-mania in 1968 when romo made his big league debut with the dodgers, or in 1982 when he returned to the club to fulfill his double dipper destiny. i wrote about the adventures of romo
here, if you are interested in learning more.
harry smythe
smythe began the 1934 season with the yankees, but was acquired by the dodgers in late may. with brooklyn, he pitched in 8 games, winning one and losing one. smythe then returned to the international league where he continued his previous success, and ultimately was elected to the il hall of fame.
joe vosmik
after spending the entire 1930's playing in the american league, vosmik brought his .311 lifetime average to brooklyn where he promptly hit a respectable .282 in 116 games. in 1941, however, vosmik was batting just .196 after appearing in 25 games and was released by the dodgers.
hank webb
acquired from the mets for rick auerbach, webb pitched in 5 games for the 1977 dodgers (which means i created a
1978 topps burger king dodgers/update card that should have been for him). in 8 innings of relief work over the course of those 5 games, webb allowed only two runs but earned no decisions. webb's son, ryan, was acquired by the dodgers in april, but was released soon thereafter and is now pitching for the indians.
whitey witt
witt was the third outfielder in the yankee outfield of the early 1920's, playing alongside babe ruth and bob meusel until earle combs came along in 1925. he was released by the yanks on july 4, 1925, and was later signed by the brooklyn robins. witt played in 63 games for brooklyn in 1926, hitting .259 with just 2 extra base hits.
i'll have the final sheet of the set next week. stay tuned...