Just
about four years ago I posted a “missing” 1972 card for long-time
pitcher Dick Hall of the Baltimore Orioles, with an action shot that
really wasn’t something that Topps would have used for a base card.
Today I rectify that mistake with this beauty, a re-done edition with a more appropriate image:
Hall closed out a very respectable career in 1971, finishing with a
93-75 record along with a 3.32 earned run average over 495 appearances,
collecting 71 saves along the way.
He originally came up as an outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates in
1952, but by the time 1955 came around they realized he was better
suited to the pitcher’s mound.
Turned out to be a smart move, as Hall found his niche in the bullpen by
the time he joined the Baltimore Orioles, for whom he’d play nine of
the final eleven seasons in the big leagues.
A member of two championship teams, Hall was a valuable arm to call on
for the Birds, whether it was putting in long relief work or closing out
games.
In the postseason you can see just how valuable he was, posting a 2-1
record over five games, with a perfect 0.00 ERA in 8.2 innings,
finishing four of those contests.
And on a personal note, he was the very first 1970-card I ever got as a
kid around 10 years old back in 1979 or so. I’ll always remember gawking
at the back and seeing that long career dating back to the early ‘50’s,
blew my mind.