Tim Cullen (#209)

Moving around the horn, we come to Tim Cullen, the Topps all-rookie shortstop in 1967.

Cullen was signed by the Red Sox in 1964 out of Santa Clara University, and reported directly to triple-A Seattle. After his first season (as a 3rd baseman), he was drafted by the Senators, and played another season and a half in triple-A (now as a shortstop), before he was called up in early August 1966. Tim played 18 games with the Sens over the rest of the season.

Tim made the Senators at the start of 1967, and was a spot-starter at 2B and 3B early in the season. On July 5th, he wrested the starting shortstop job away from light-hitting Ed Brinkman, and started 62 of the final 84 games there.

That was good enough to snag the Topps All-Rookie post, but prior to the 1968 season, Cullen was traded to the White Sox (with pitchers Bob Priddy and Buster Narum) for shortstop Ron Hansen and pitchers Dennis Higgins and Steve Jones.

Chicago had also re-acquired shortstop Luis Aparicio from the Orioles in the off-season, so Cullen was installed at 2nd base. Tim held a regular job from day 1 until mid-June, then was relegated to the bench in favor of Sandy Alomar.

By early August, Cullen was returned to Washington in exchange for Hansen. (Cullen and Hansen are the only 2 players to ever be traded for each other twice in the same season.) For the remainder of 1968, and for 2 more seasons, Tim shared the starting 2nd base job with Bernie Allen.

In 1971, he split his starts between 2nd base and shortstop, as the Senators were easing rookies Lenny Randle (2B) and Toby Harrah (ss) into the starting lineup. Cullen followed the team to Texas in 1972, but was released by the Rangers in spring training.

A month later, the Athletics picked him up, and he began his final season in triple-A, before the A's recalled him in late June. Tim and ex-Indians' shortstop Larry Brown split the 2nd base job for the bulk of the season, as veteran A's 2nd-sacker Dick Green missed most of the '72 season.

Final Card: Bill Denehy

The last card in the 1968 "final cards" series...

This is the only solo card for pitcher Bill Denehy (#526). He also appeared on a Mets Rookies card in 1967 - a very pricey card, due to his cardmate Tom Seaver.

Denehy was signed by the Mets in 1965, and was a starting pitcher in their system for 2 seasons.

He made his major-league debut on 4/16/1967, but after going 1-7 in 15 games (8 starts), he was sent down in late June. After the 1967 season, Bill was traded to the Senators for MANAGER Gil Hodges.

Denehy only pitched 2 innings for the Nats in '68, but was 9-10 in 25 starts in the minors. He spent most of 1969-73 pitching in the minors for the Indians, Mets (again), Tigers, Yankees, Phillies, White Sox, and Red Sox.

 In 1971, Bill spent all but the month of April pitching for the Tigers, appearing in 31 games (1 start).

Final Card: Bob Saverine

This is the last baseball card for utility man Bob Saverine (#149). The first of his cards I got was the 1967 card, where (I thought back then) he looked like Jim Nabors. My only other thought about Saverine back then was this.

Bob was signed by the Orioles in 1959 and played 4 seasons in their system, then played one game with Baltimore in September 1962. After 2 full seasons as an INF/OF with the Orioles, Saverine was back in the minors for all of 1965. (He was traded to the Astros in April for veteran pitcher Don Larsen, but played for the Orioles' AAA Rochester team.)

The Senators selected him in the Rule 5 draft following the 1965 season, and Bob spent all of '66 and '67 in Washington. In 1966 he started 67 games at 2nd base, more than veteran Don Blasingame and Ken Hamlin.

The Senators acquired Bernie Allen from the Twins in the off-season, so Saverine was relegated to utility infielder for 1967. His final big-league game was October 1, 1967. Saverine played for Washington's AAA team in Buffalo in 1968, then retired.

Final Card: Dick Lines

The 1960s' Hall of Fame results are now on my 1960s Baseball blog.


This is the 2nd and last Topps card for Senators' pitcher Dick Lines (#291). His rookie card was in the 1967 set, a 1-player card showing Lines with the Senators.

Lines' career is somewhat of a mystery. He spent 9 full seasons in the minors, before pitching the entire 1966 and 1967 seasons with the Senators. Then, it was back to the minors for 2 more seasons before calling it quits.



Lines was signed by the Pirates in 1957, and pitched in their farm system for 8 seasons, all but the last as a starting pitcher. Prior to the 1965 season, his contract was sold to the Senators. That season he pitched for the Sens' AAA team in Hawaii, which finally earned him a shot in the majors.

Dick spent the entire 1966 season as the only lefthander in Washington's bullpen, which featured veterans Ron Kline and Bob Humphreys, along with Casey Cox and 3 others who floated between the bullpen and the rotation (Jim Hannan, Diego Segui, and Dick Bosman). Lines fashioned a 5-2 record in 82 innings, and had a 49/24 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

In 1967, the Senators' bullpen featured Darold Knowles (a lefty), veteran Bob Priddy, and rookie Dave Baldwin in place of Ron Kline and Diego Segui. Lines, Humphreys, and Cox were the holdovers from '66. Knowles and Baldwin were the stars in terms of saves and ERA, and Knowles, Humphreys, and Priddy had the most innings pitched among relievers. Lines had similar games, innings, and strikeout/walks to the previous season, but his record fell from 5-2 to 2-5. I guess he was just out-performed by the other guys, because he didn't pitch in the majors after 1967.

Two more seasons (1968-69) in the Nats' farm system brought an end to Dick Lines' career.

Cap Peterson (#188)

Charles Andrew "Cap" Peterson had an 8-year career in the 1960s as an outfielder, primarily for the Giants and Senators (Topps' two "green" teams, coincidently).

Cap was signed by the Giants in 1960, and spent 4 seasons in their farm system, the first 3 as a shortstop. After a cup of coffee at the end of the 1962 season, and 22 games in May, June, and September 1963, Peterson spent the entire 1964 season with the Giants, where he was used mostly as a pinch-hitter. (The Giants' starting outfield was Willie McCovey. Willie Mays, and Jesus Alou. Even their bench was well-stocked with outfielders Harvey Kuenn, Matty Alou, and an aging Duke Snider, so there wasn't much room for Peterson.)

In 1965, McCovey had moved to 1st base, Snider retired, and Kuenn was pushed to the back burner, so there was more time in the field for Peterson. He played in 60 games, and was the team's 5th outfielder, making 20 starts in left field.

Cap found himself with a semi-regular job in 1966. With rookie Ollie Brown now in right field, Jesus Alou moved over to left field, which became a 3-way job-share with Peterson and last year's regular left fielder, Len Gabrielson. After the season, Cap was traded to the Senators along with pitcher Bob Priddy for pitcher Mike McCormick.



Cap began the 1967 season as the starter in right field. After sharing the job with previous Nats' right fielder Jim King for about a month, King was traded away, giving Peterson more playing time. During the second half of the season, Cap shared right field with Fred Valentine, who would move over from his regular center field spot to give Ed Stroud or Hank Allen some starts in center.

1968 was the beginning of the end for Cap's career. Rookie Del Unser started 154 games in center field, moving everyone else (Fred Valentine, Ed Stroud, Hank Allen, and rookie Brant Alyea) over to the right field melting pot with Peterson. Cap made 37 starts in right, another 11 in left, but was mostly used as a pinch-hitter.

After the 1968 season he was traded to the Indians, where he played for 1 season as a pinch-hitter and backup left fielder.

Peterson played in triple-A for 3 more seasons before retiring. He passed away on May 16, 1980 from kidney disease at age 37.

Phil Ortega (#595)

Here's a 10-year veteran whose major-league career ended in the 1960s, that I missed in my earlier posts:

Phil Ortega was signed by the Dodgers in 1959, and spent most of the next 5 seasons (1959-63) in their farm system. He made a few brief appearances with the Dodgers in '60, '61, and '63, and spent most of 1962 in the Dodgers' bullpen.

After spending most of 1963 in the minors, Ortega joined the Dodgers' starting rotation in 1964, making more starts (25) than any pitcher not named Koufax or Drysdale.

Following the 1964 season, Phil was traded to the Senators (along with outfielder Frank Howard, third baseman Ken McMullen, pitcher Pete Richert, and first baseman Dick Nen) for pitcher Claude Osteen, infielder John Kennedy, and $100,000. (Frank Howard and 4 others sounds like a lot to give up, but Osteen won 147 games for the Dodgers over the next 9 seasons.)



In Washington, Ortega was a member of the starting rotation for the next 3 to 4 seasons, and led the staff in starts and innings pitched in 1967. In 1968, he became a swingman, starting only about half of his appearances, and posted a 5-12 record.

In early April 1969, Phil was sold to the Angels, but his time there was short. After his last major-league game on May 4th, Ortega spent the remainder of 1969 and all of 1970 with the Angels' triple-A team in Hawaii. His final baseball card was in the 1969 set.

Final Card: Fred Valentine

Since starting this blog on 9/28/09, there have been 63 posts, representing every team except the Washington Senators, so...


Fred Valentine (#248) was an outfielder in the mid-1960s for the Senators and Orioles. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1956, and spent 8 seasons in their farm system, including 5 seasons in triple-A. During this time, he had brief appearances with the Orioles in 1959 (12 games) and 1963 (26 games).

After the 1964 season, he was sold to the Senators. In his first season with the Senators, Fred was the 4th outfielder behind Don Lock (CF), Chuck Hinton (LF), and Jim King (RF). Fred played all 3 positions, and was also frequently used as a pinch-hitter.



After acquiring outfielder Willie Kirkland in August 1964, and Frank Howard from the Dodgers before the 1965 season, the Senators' outfield became very crowded, so Valentine spent all but 12 games in triple-A that season.

In 1966, Fred was back in the big leagues, and played more games in the Senators' outfield than anyone. He started 55 games in center and 64 games in right, alternating with Don Lock and Jim King, respectively.

After the 1966 season, Don Lock was traded to the Phillies, 5th outfielder Willie Kirkland was sent to the minors, and in June 1967, Jim King was traded to the White Sox. However, a new batch of outfielders (Cap Peterson, Hank Allen, Ed Stroud) came on board, competing with Valentine for playing time. Fred started about a third of the games in center field (with Allen and Stroud evenly starting the rest), and started 50+ game in right field, where Peterson was the regular. Valentine was also occasionally used as a defensive replacement for Frank Howard in left field.

1968 was the end of the line for Valentine. 23-year-old rookie Del Unser (10 years younger than Valentine) took over the center field job, starting 154 games. Valentine started 24 of the first 56 games in right field, then was traded back to the Orioles on June 15th for pitcher Bruce Howard.

With the Orioles, Fred's situation declined, as the O's had 7 other outfielders, all getting more playing time than him. Fred was used mainly as a pinch-hitter and late-inning outfield sub.

His last major-league game was on September 24th, 1968. He spent the 1969 season with the Orioles' triple-A team in Rochester.