Monday, December 05, 2011
A baseball card mystery: Ron Santo and who?
Posted by Bruce MarkusenI
In presenting baseball card mysteries this winter, I’ve generally asked questions to which I do not know the answers. In this case, I’d like to do something different.In honoring the rightful election of Ron Santo to the Hall of Fame, I’ll pose a question to which I already know part of the correct answer, so it still might require some research.
Santo’s 1972 Topps “In Action” card shows him batting in a road game, presumably during the 1971 season. There are three parts to the question, the first two parts of which I know the answer. In what ballpark was this photograph taken? And who is the opposing catcher?
Here’s the part that’s a bit more mystifying. There’s a third person in the photo. He is either Cubs third base coach Peanuts Lowrey, or the Giants’ third baseman (possibly Al Gallagher). Which one is it?
Santo, by the way, was one of 72 players and managers who were given action cards in 1972. Curiously, a number of these players were of the fringe variety; they were journeymen or even lesser known players, like Bob Barton, Curt Blefary, Jerry Johnson, Clay Kirby, and the rhyming Paul Schaal.
The list of action card also features a number of Hall of Famers, including Hank Aaron, Luis Aparicio, Johnny Bench, Rod Carew, Roberto Clemente, Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Juan Marichal, Willie Mays, Tom Seaver, Willie Stargell, Billy Williams, and Carl Yastrzemski. By my count, Santo becomes the 14th Hall of Famer to have an action card in the 1972 set.
Suddenly, this 1972 action shot of Mr. Santo became a bit more valuable.
Bruce Markusen is the author of seven books on baseball, including the award-winning A Baseball Dynasty: Charlie Finley’s Swingin’ A’s, the recipient of the Seymour Medal from the Society for American Baseball Research. He has also written The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates, Tales From The Mets Dugout, and The Orlando Cepeda Story.
You shouldn’t have mentioned that it’s against the Giants; that made the first two parts trivial. It’s Candlestick Park, and the only player to wear number 2 for the Giants that year is catcher Dick Dietz (via Baseball-Almanac).
Everyone on the card is looking up and to the right. The third baseman has drifted all the way into the 3B coaches box (I suppose it’s the 3B and not the Cubs coach by the shade of the uniform and the arcing lettering across the front), so the ball has been in the air a long time.
My guess is this is a 7th inning homer for Santo in game 2 of a doubleheader, on April 18 1971. He didn’t have any other extra base hits on the road against San Francisco that year, but it’s surely possible that he had a long fly out or two.