How's this for a guy who went a chunk of years between baseball cards?
When Topps issued a Danny Murphy baseball card in their 1970 set
(#146), it was the first time Murphy appeared on a card since 1963.
Funny enough, in '63 Murphy was an outfielder for the North-side
Chicago Cubs, yet when he resurfaced in 1970 he was now a pitcher for
the South-side Chicago White Sox.
Take a look:
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| As a Cub outfielder in 1963... |
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| ...resurfacing as a White Sox pitcher in 1970. |
Murphy made his big league debut back in 1960 as a seventeen-year-old, appearing in 31 games for the Cubs in the outfield.
Over the course of 75 at-bats he hit .120 with a homer and six runs
batted in, which gave him a ticket back to the minors for the bulk of
1961 and 1962, though he did see a bit of time at the Major League level
(18 games and 48 at-bats).
But for the next six years Murphy was stuck in Minor League ball
playing for four organizations: Cubs, Indians, Astros and White Sox.
Though he did appear as a pitcher in two games while with the Cubs'
B-Level Minor League team of Wenatchee in 1962, it wasn't until the
White Sox got him that they converted him into a pitcher, hoping to turn
his luck around.
Beginning in 1966 he was a full-on pitcher, starting 30 games for
the Sox Double and Triple-A teams Evansville and Indianapolis, going a
combined 11-12 with a 3.88 E.R.A.
After a few more decent years pitching in the Minors, Murphy
finally made it back up to the Majors in 1969, appearing in 17 games for
the South Siders and going 2-1 with a nice 2.01 earned run average.
The Sox thought enough of his performance that they had him back up
in 1970 in a full-time middle relief role, appearing in 51 games for
80.2 innings, going 2-3 with a bloated 5.69 E.R.A.
Sadly for Murphy, that was the extent of his Major League action,
as he found himself pitching for Boston's Triple-A affiliate Louisville
team in 1971, posting a 1-2 record with a brutal 7.85 E.R.A., which
would be the last pro-pitching he would do.
Oddly enough, Topps gave him a card in their 1970 set based on his
17 appearances in '69, but decided to exclude him from their 1971 set
even though he posted those 51 appearances in 1970.
Go figure…