GIMMIE A DO-OVER (OF ONE OF MY OWN)- 1972 DICK HALL

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.

 

 

CARRER CAPPING M.I.A.- 1972 DICK HALL

Here’s a “missing” Career Capper for a guy who came up as an outfielder yet made a nice career for himself as a pitcher, Dick Hall:

Not many images of Hall at the end of his career, so I used this action shot.
 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.

THEN AND NOW #26: DICK HALL 1971

Today's "Super Veteran" is a player who came up as an outfielder, but "made his bones" as a pitcher out of the bullpen en route to a 16-year career: Dick Hall.

Check out my card design first:

There's a slight difference in layout compared to the other 1971 "Then & Now" subjects (Jim Bunning, Ernie Banks and Dick Schofield) because Hall's rookie card happened to be in the 1955 (horizontal) set.

As I mentioned, Hall came up with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an outfielder in 1951, playing the first three years as such before switching over to pitching duties in 1955.

He parlayed this into a solid career out of the 'pen, pitching nine out of the final twelve years of his career in Baltimore, even winning two championships with them in 1966 and 1970.

A look at his final numbers give a good idea into his effectiveness: a 93-75 record with a career 3.32 earned run average and 68 saves over 495 games.

In five of those seasons he posted a sub-2.00 E.R.A., with two of them under 2.00.

He finally retired after the 1971 season at the age of 40, even pitching an inning in the World Series against the Pirates, ironically enough.