Tuesday, October 24, 2017

no. 716 - dave leonhard


Who is the man: Dave Leonhard worked the bullpen for the Orioles in 1970, struggling to a 5.08 earned run average.

Can ya dig it: We're way up in the high numbers now, meaning cards that are off-center or have other issues (this has some gum-staining, too) are more commonplace in my collection.

Right on: But look at that fantastic signature!

You see that cat Leonhard is a bad mother: Leonhard made an appearance in the 1971 World Series, pitching a scoreless inning of relief in Game 5.

Shut your mouth: Leonhard pitched several years of winter ball in Puerto Rico, but got into some hot water after the '71 season when an article about Leonhard's experiences in Puerto Rico played up his complaints about cockroaches and lice. He was booed for a period on the island, until his team and the newspaper smoothed things over.

No one understands him but his woman: Leonhard and his second wife, Doris, opened up a Christmas tree stand after his career and that turned into a owning a series of greenhouses and flower shops.


(My observation on the back): Leonhard's ERA in 1970 is listed as 5.14 here because his innings that year are rounded down from 28 1/3. Also 23 games and 28 innings sounds like a lot of one-batter-only outings ... or getting shelled a lot.

1 comment:

  1. He answers his mail fairly regularly and still has a nice signature, though not as nice as the one shown on this card.

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