MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: RAY FOSSE

On the blog today, by special request, adding young All-Star catcher Ray Fosse to my on-going 1971 "Minor League Days" thread:

Fosse is pictured here during his stint with the Portland Beavers, either in 1967 or 1968, before making the Major Leagues for good and becoming a rising star for the Cleveland Indians in the early part of the 1970's.

The catcher, forever remembered for being on the wrong end of a Pete Rose collision at home plate in the 1970 All-Star game, had a nice run between 1970 and 1973 when he put up very nice numbers for a catcher in the era.
In 1970 he hit 18 homers while batting .307, with 61 runs batted in and 62 runs scored, along with the first of his two Gold Gloves.
Contrary to what many believe, the All-Star injury at the hands of Pete Rose did not derail his career, as other injuries along the way in the following years also contributed to his drop in performance.
Nevertheless, by the time Fosse retired after a brief stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1979, he finished with a .256 average, with 758 hits over 2957 at-bats, driving in 324 runs while scoring 299 himself over 924 Big League games.
On another note, you really have to wonder how good those Cleveland Indians could have been by the late-70’s had they NOT traded away players like Graig Nettles, Dick Tidrow, Chris Chambliss and Fosse.

Iguess in all fairness we can say that about many teams back then.

1970 ALL-STAR- 1971 HIGHLIGHT CARD

Moving on in my new thread celebrating the All-Star games held between 1969 and 1978, we have the now classic 1970 game, of course remembered for Pete Rose and his game-winning take-out of American League catcher Ray Fosse at the plate:

 

Played at the new Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, it was the first All-Star game played at night, and featured starters Jim Palmer going up against Tom Seaver.

The game was scoreless until the sixth inning, when the A.L. put up a run, then added a second run in the top of the seventh before the N.L. got on the board in the bottom of the inning.

In the top of the eighth, the A.L. answered back with two runs, giving them a commanding 4-1 lead and looking at their first All-Star win since 1962.

But in the bottom of the ninth against young Oakland A's pitcher Jim Hunter, the N.L. came back and scored three runs to tie it, helped by a Dick Dietz solo shot, setting up an extra-inning game that would give us an iconic moment in the game's history.

Scoreless to the 12th inning, the N.L. had Pete Rose single with two outs against California Angels' pitcher Clyde Wright, followed by another single by Los Angeles' Billy Grabarkewitz, sending Rose to second.

Up comes the Chicago Cubs' Jim Hickman, who lines a single to center field, sending Rose flying around third straight for the plate.

As we all know by now, the young Indians catcher Fosse was preparing to catch the throw in from centerfield, and just as he caught the throw, Rose comes and barrels into him, causing him to drop the ball, thus giving the N.L. their All-Star win.

Of course Rose has caught a lot of flack ever since then, some saying derailing Fosse's career just for an exhibition game. I tend to agree.

The Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski was actually named the game's MVP, only the second time a winner was chosen from the losing team, based on his four hits.

Clyde Wright took the loss while Claude Osteen got credited with the win.

1972 ALL-STAR SUB-SET: RAY FOSSE

On the blog today, we move on to the American league in celebrating the starters of the classic 1971 All-Star game, with a 1972 "missing" All-Star card for starting catcher Ray Fosse:

 

Now, you'll notice I had to break down and use the image Topps used for his 1971 "Super" card since, believe it or not I just CANNOT find a usable portrait image of him from the period. Incredible that I've been looking for months and nothing.

Regardless, the "Marion Mule" made his second straight All-Star game in 1971, and was a burgeoning star in the league.

By season's end he took home his second straight Gold Glove, while also hitting .276 with 12 homers and 62 runs batted in for the Cleveland Indians.

Contrary to what many believe, the All-Star injury at the hands of Pete Rose did not derail his career, as other injuries along the way in the following years also contributed to his drop in performance.
Nevertheless, by the time Fosse retired after a brief stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1979, he finished with a .256 average, with 758 hits over 2957 at-bats, driving in 324 runs while scoring 299 himself over 924 Big League games.
On another note, you really have to wonder how good those Cleveland Indians could have been by the late-70’s had they NOT traded away players like Graig Nettles, Dick Tidrow, Chris Chambliss and Fosse.

Rest in Peace Ray Fosse...

NICKNAMES OF THE 1970'S- "THE MARION MULE" RAY FOSSE

Time to go and add former All-Star catcher Ray Fosse, aka "The Marion Mule" to my long-running "Nicknames of the 1970's" thread started so many years ago:

 

The catcher, forever remembered for being on the wrong end of a Pete Rose collision at home plate in the 1970 All-Star game, had a nice run between 1970 and 1973 when he put up very nice numbers for a catcher in the era.
In 1970 he hit 18 homers while batting .307, with 61 runs batted in and 62 runs scored, along with the first of his two Gold Gloves.
Contrary to what many believe, the All-Star injury at the hands of Pete Rose did not derail his career, as other injuries along the way in the following years also contributed to his drop in performance.
Nevertheless, by the time Fosse retired after a brief stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1979, he finished with a .256 average, with 758 hits over 2957 at-bats, driving in 324 runs while scoring 299 himself over 924 Big League games.
On another note, you really have to wonder how good those Cleveland Indians could have been by the late-70’s had they NOT traded away players like Graig Nettles, Dick Tidrow, Chris Chambliss and Fosse.

1977 SPECIAL- RAY FOSSE DENIES THE RED SOX DWIGHT EVANS

Just a fun card to create and post up today on the blog, an “action” card of Cleveland Indians catcher Ray Fosse against the Boston Red Sox:

I can’t really determine what game this is, though the Indians played the Red Sox in their second game of the 1976 season after opening up the year against the Detroit Tigers for one game.
Anyone have an idea?
Fosse was enjoying a return to the Indians, the team he made his mark with earlier in the decade when he made two All-Star teams and two Gold Gloves in 1970 and 1971.
Of course, everyone remembers that play at the plate with Pete Rose in the 1970 All-Star game which left him in agony after Rose plowed into him trying to score.
Fosse would end up putting in 12 years as a Big League catcher, playing through the 1979 season and finishing up with a career .256 batting average, with those two Gold Gloves and two All-Star nods between 1967 and 1979.

TRADED- 1973 RAY FOSSE

On the blog today we have a 1973 “traded” card for former all-star catcher Ray Fosse, who was shipped off to the dynastic Oakland A’s by the time the 1973 season opened up:

Updated "Traded" card

Issued Topps card

Talk about your good fortunes, Fosse was traded to the A’s from the Cleveland Indians on March 24th of 1973 along with Jack Heidemann for Dave Duncan and George Hendrick, giving him a chance at Post Season play for the first time.
This got him two World Championships, in 1973 and 1974, right smack in the middle of his Big League career, which lasted 12 years between 1967 and 1979.
The catcher, forever remembered for being on the wrong end of a Pete Rose collision at home plate in the 1970 All-Star game, had a nice run between 1970 and 1973 when he put up very nice numbers for a catcher in the era.
In 1970 he hit 18 homers while batting .307, with 61 runs batted in and 62 runs scored, along with the first of his two Gold Gloves.
Contrary to what many believe, the All-Star injury at the hands of Pete Rose did not derail his career, as other injuries along the way in the following years also contributed to his drop in performance.
Nevertheless, by the time Fosse retired after a brief stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1979, he finished with a .256 average, with 758 hits over 2957 at-bats, driving in 324 runs while scoring 299 himself over 924 Big League games.
On another note, you really have to wonder how good those Cleveland Indians could have been by the late-70’s had they NOT traded away players like Graig Nettles, Dick Tidrow, Chris Chambliss and Fosse.

MISSING IN ACTION- "IN ACTION" #55: RAY FOSSE

I think blog reader Joe mentioned that I should create a “missing” 1972 “in-action” card for former all-star catcher Ray Fosse, so here goes:

Fosse was coming off of two straight all-star campaigns in 1970 and 1971 with the Cleveland Indians.
Of course we’ll always remember his meeting at the plate with a steamrolling Pete Rose, resulting in an injured shoulder for Fosse that some say curtailed his promise the rest of his career.
Nevertheless, Fosse put together a very nice 12-year career that included two Gold Gloves to go with the all-star nods, as well as two championships while with the Oakland A’s in 1973 and 1974.

ANOTHER GREAT AIRBRUSH JOB-NO...FOR REAL! 1978 RAY FOSSE

Hey, when an airbrush job is done right, I will happily be the first to praise the work behind it!
Today we look at such a card: the Topps 1978 Ray Fosse card:

I swear it took me YEARS to even realize it was an airbrushed photo, much like another card from the set, Elliot Maddox as a New York Met.
Great job here of using a photo and with the most minimal of effort really make this look authentic to the naked eye.
Funny enough Fosse wouldn’t even see Major League action during the 1978 season, coming back for one last hurrah in 1979 for Milwaukee before closing out a respectable 12-year career.
Both a two-time all-star and two-time Gold Glove winner, he will always be remembered as being on the wrong end of a famous home-plate collision when in the 1970 all-star game Pete Rose smashed into him on the last play of the game.
That sadly was the first of a few injuries that took the all-star level of play away from him, even if he managed to play for the rest of the decade.

ANOTHER AWESOME 1976 CARD: RAY FOSSE

As if the 1976 needs any more hype as to how awesome it was/is, here’s another card that I’ve always thought was near perfect: Ray Fosse.
Just look at the colors, the action shot, that look on his face!
What a card!
I remember first seeing that card as a kid and thinking Fosse looked so mean, like a biker ready to block the plate and demolish whoever was heading his way.
LOVE this card!
So many of those Oakland A’s cards looked great because of the color scheme, like the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tiger cards as well.
As for Fosse, he put in a nice 12-year career that some say was derailed somewhat because of the famous Pate Rose collision during the 1970 All-Star game that left Fosse injured.
Many say he was never the same again.
Nevertheless, he played until 1979, being named to two All-Star teams and winning two Gold Gloves along the way before retiring after the 1979 season.

THE MISSING ALL STAR CARDS: 1972 TOPPS: AMERICAN LEAGUE

Today I give you what I'd like to think the 1972 Topps cards would have looked like had they designated all stars as they would later in the decade, between 1975-1981.
Instead of an separate "all star" sub-set, the players would be tagged all stars on their regular issue cards.
I went with a simple bar-design running across the bottom of the card, just above the player's name. The A.L. got a red bar, while the N.L., which I will post tomorrow, got green.
Again, these are the players that were voted to the starting line-up, so even though Ray Fosse, Boog Powell and Tony Oliva didn't play because of injuries, they still get the all star tag-line.
Of course, Reggie Jackson, who didn't get voted in as a starter, was the player with the biggest impact on the 1971 All Star game, hitting a mega-blast off the light tower that instantly became legendary.
As a matter of fact, this game featured six home runs, and ALL six were hit by future Hall of Famers: Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Johnny Bench, Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron.
Frank Robinson's homer made him the first player to ever hit home runs as a member of both leagues.