Did pretty well on those Seattle Pilots, to the point where I've collected every official Topps card of theirs and then some. Doing OK on the '69 Padres as well. Yet it took an envelope from Ken Hawthorne this week to get me going on those Kansas City Royals - and he didn't just sent me a batch of 1969 cards, he threw me some 1970s and even some 1973s as well. Thanks, Ken!
If you're a fan of Royals lore, then you're a fan of Amos Otis. He looms large in Royals history, and even though he was mostly just a very good starting outfielder, he started for them for so long that even I'm old enough to remember him playing well into my teenage years. This 1970 card you see here happens to be his rookie card. Ah, the sweet bird of youth.
I learned something over on this wikipedia page about those '69 Royals. They actually drafted hall of famer Hoyt Wilhelm - a guy who certainly bounced around a great deal - in the expansion draft, but then traded him to the Angels before the season started. How about that? Looking at these other '69 and '70 Royals cards I've scanned up for you here, I'm struck by the early rookie Bill Butler, who had the nickname "Country Breakfast" (**note - this is incorrect, and I've had this pointed out to me in the comments - sorry!), and who shares a name with another Royals star of more recent vintage, the slugger Billy Butler, whom you may remember from just a few years back.
Anyway, these are a few of the Royals cards from 40+ years ago. Thought you might want to check them out.
Yeah, Otis was a well-known player.
ReplyDeleteThe original Bill Butler's nickname was "Country Breakfast"? I always thought that nickname originated with the more current Billy Butler. That would be something if one Butler inherited a nickname from another.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, I became friends with a kid who had moved from Kansas to Upstate NY. His favorite player was Amos Otis. He thought he ruled the world.
I can't find anything that connects that name to the original Bill Butler rather than the recent Billy Butler.
DeleteYou are both correct. I saw it on a Wikipedia entry and confused the two players. Correction made!
DeleteAmos Otis' rookie card was in the 1969 set - a Mets Rookie Stars card.
ReplyDeleteHere's some more 1969 Royals for you...
ReplyDeletehttp://1969topps.blogspot.com/2017/10/first-look-kansas-city-royals.html
I just received a bobblehead of Amos Otis from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. It was in the prize pack for competing in the Buck O'Neil 5K run. It was very cool.
ReplyDeleteOtis is pretty much the only guy I'm familiar with from these cards. I remember his long run with the Royals playing alongside guys like Gura, Aikens, Brett, Wilson, Porter, Leonard, Quisenberry, White, and McRae.
ReplyDeleteI have a ‘69 Topps Jon Warden Royals card if you need it. Lmk.
ReplyDeleteBill James on Otis: "The only player in baseball history who had 2,000 hits, 1,000 RBI, 300 stolen bases, 175 homers and a .340 on-base percentage and is eligible for the Hall of Fame but isn't in."
ReplyDelete