Final Card - Harry Bright

What, you don't also pitch?

Harry Bright (#584) was just one of several all-purpose utility players clogging the Cubs' roster in the mid-1960s. (Meanwhile, other teams were collecting good pitchers and outfielders.)

Bright played for 8 teams from 1958 to 1965. Most of his playing time came in 1961-62 with the Washington Senators. (In '62, he was their regular 1st baseman.)

Harry was signed by the Yankees back in 1946, and except for the 1961-63 period with the Senators and Yankees, he played in the minors every season from 1946 to 1971.

He spent time with the Pirates (1958-60), Senators (1961-62), Reds (1963), Yankees (1963-64), and Cubs (1965). In his final season he appeared in 27 games, all as a pinch-hitter.

Bright passed away in 2000 at age 70.

Final Card - Sterling Slaughter

Here is the 2nd and final card for Cubs’ pitcher Sterling Slaughter. He previously appeared on a Cubs Rookies card in the 1964 set.

After pitching for Arizona State University, Slaughter was signed by the Cubs in 1963. He played only 1 season in the minors, then made the Cubs’ squad in 1964, pitching 20 games (including 6 starts).

For some reason, he also pitched 14 games in the Arizona Instructional League that year, but never made it back to the majors. This card (unintentionally) includes his complete major-league stats.

Sterling pitched for the Cubs’ AA and AAA teams from 1965-1967 before hanging up his glove.

Final Card - Wayne Schurr

This is Wayne Schurr's final card (#149). His only other card is a late-series National League Rookie Stars card in the 1964 set.

So far on this blog, I have only been posting players whose final card is in the 1965 set. Wayne is the first player posted here whose major-league debut was in 1964.

Schurr was signed by the Giants in 1959 and made his way to the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft after the 1963 season. His only major-league action came in 1964, when he appeared in 26 games in relief during the first half of the season.

By late-July '64 he was back in the minors, where he stayed through the 1966 season. (Normally, Rule 5 players are returned to their original team if their new team doesn't keep them on the roster the entire year, but I guess the Giants didn't want him back.)

After the 1966 season, he and catcher Chris Krug were traded to the Angels for ex-Colt .45s outfielder Mike White (who will be featured on this blog 3 posts from now), but Schurr did not play after 1966.

Final Card - Leo Burke

Here is the final card for Leo Burke, one of the many “INF-OF” employees that littered the Cubs’ roster in the mid-1960s.

Burke played in the Orioles’ chain from 1957 to 1960, and saw action in a few games for Baltimore during September call-ups in ’58 and ’59.

After playing all of 1960 with the Orioles’ AAA team, Leo was drafted by the expansion Washington Senators in December, but a few weeks later was sold to the other expansion team – the Los Angeles Angels.

Burke only played 6 games for the Angels that year. Actually, he played primarily in the minors for his entire career (1957-65), except for ’63 and ’64 when he stuck around on the major league roster for the entire season.

Leo was purchased by the Cardinals in March 1963, but by late-June was traded to the Cubs for pitcher Barney Schultz. His most playing time came in 1964 with the Cubs – breaking the 100 at-bat level for the only time in his career.

After playing in 12 games in April and May 1965, he was relegated to the minors to finish out his last pro season.

Final Card - Frank Baumann

This is the final card for 11-year veteran Frank Baumann (#161). He played 5 years with the Red Sox and 5 years with the White Sox, then wrapped up his career playing for the Cubs in the first month of the ’65 season.

Baumann (BOW-man) was signed by the Red Sox in 1952, and after 2 seasons in the minors, he missed all of ’54 and part of ’55 while in military service. Upon his return he was assigned to the parent club in July and pitched in 7 games over the 2nd half of the season.

From 1956 to 1958, Frank played mostly in the minors, but also pitched for the Red Sox each season. His only full season with Boston was 1959, appearing in 26 games but with an ERA over 4.

In November 1959 he was traded to the ChiSox for backup 1st baseman Ron Jackson. Baumann’s best season was 1960, when he pitched in 47 games (starting 20) and compiled a 13-6 record along with an AL-leading 2.67 ERA.

Baumann never duplicated his 1960 success. He lost 13 games the following season and saw his ERA balloon to 5.61. His career continued to go downhill from there.

Frank was traded to the Cubs after the 1964 season for journeyman backup catcher Jimmie Schaffer. He pitched in 4 games (4 innings total) during the first 4 weeks of the season, then spent the rest of 1965 with the Cubs’ AAA team before retiring.

Final Card - Joey Amalfitano

Here is the final card for Cubs’ infielder Joey Amalfitano (#402), even though he played in 1966 and very briefly in 1967. Others have made custom cards for those years, which I’ve included at the end of this post.

Amalfitano was signed by the New York Giants in 1954 as a bonus baby. As such, he was required to be carried on the major-league roster for 2 seasons. He played 9 games in 1954 and 36 games in 1955, and was used almost exclusively as a pinch-runner.

After the 1955 season, he went to the minors for the inevitable “seasoning”.

After 3 years on the farm, the Giants released him in December 1958. He was picked up by the unaffiliated Toronto Maple Leafs, a triple-A International League team. He played all of 1959 with Toronto, then was reacquired by the Giants in the Rule 5 draft. Joey collected 328 at-bats in 1960 as the team’s backup 2nd and 3rd baseman.

In 1961, he was the Giant’s primary 2nd baseman, sharing the job with Chuck Hiller. Most of Joey’s starts came in the 2nd half of the season.

The expansion Houston Colt .45s selected him in the draft following the 1961 season, and was the regular 2nd baseman in their inaugural season. After just 1 season in Houston, Amalfitano was traded back to the Giants for outfielder Manny Mota, and spent the 1963 season backing up Hiller at 2nd base.

With the sudden death of 2nd baseman Ken Hubbs in February 1964, the Cubs scrambled for a replacement, and acquired Joey in late-March. He was the primary 2nd baseman in ’64, with utility infielder Jimmy Stewart playing almost as many games there. It was purely a stopgap move, as Glenn Beckert would take over in 1965 and beyond.

Amalfitano settled into a utility role for the remainder of his career with the Cubs, playing only 67 and 41 games (12 and 8 starts) in ’65 and ’66. He was released by the Cubs after the 1966 season, then re-signed in late-May 1967, where he appeared in 4 games over the next month, finishing his career the same way it started – as a pinch-runner.

Released again on July 6th, he immediately joined the Cubs coaching staff, and coached with the Cubs, Padres, Giants, and Cubs again through the late 1970s. Joey managed the Cubs from 1979-81, and was the Dodgers’ 3rd base coach from 1983-98. Since then he has worked in the Giants’ minor-league operations.

A true baseball lifer!

Custom Cards:

By John @ Cards That Never Were:

By Steve @ White Sox Cards:

I don't remember where I found this one:

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Dick Bertell (#27)

Dick Bertell’s final card was in the 1966 set, but since that is one of the 6 dozen cards I am missing from that set, this card will have to do.

Bertell began his career with 5 games in 1960, and ended it with 2 games in 1967. In-between, he played for 5 seasons (1961-65) as the Cubs’ #1 catcher, although he never started more than 105 games in a season, and some years started less than half the games.

Dick was signed by the Cubs in 1957, and played in the minors until making his debut in September 1960.

For the next 4 seasons, he would platoon with others behind the plate, but played more than any other Cubs' catcher.

In May 1965 Bertell and outfielder Len Gabrielson were traded to the Giants for pitcher Bob Hendley, catcher Ed Bailey, and outfielder Harvey Kuenn. Dick finished up the ’65 season as a backup catcher with the Giants, and although he spent the entire 1966 season with the Giants’ AAA team, he had a card in the ‘66 Topps set.

Just days before the start of the 1967 season, the Giants traded him back to the Cubs, where he played 2 games (starting the first 2 games of the season) then was relegated to the bench until he was released in late-May.

Bertell passed away in 1999 at age 64.