REVISITING A 10-YEAR-OLD POST: 1976 CAPPER FOR SAM McDOWELL

On the blog today we revisit another 10-year-old post, this my 1976 "Career-Capper" for "Sudden Sam" McDowell, who finished up a nice Major League Career in 1975 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates:

McDowell really should have had a card in the 1975 set, that is a no-brainer. But a 1976 edition would be more of a "Career Capper", closing out a brilliant, if not tumultuous, 15-year career that saw him  lead the American League in strikeouts five times, while also pacing the league in walks issued in equal amounts.

He'd finish with 141 career wins along with a 3.17 earned run average and 2453 strikeouts, with two 300+ seasons under his belt.

In 1970 he posted his only 20-win season, and in 1965 he led the A.L. with a 2.18 ERA, but it was those strikeouts, as in 325 in 1965, 304 in 1970, 283 in 1968 and 279 in 1969 that made him stand out of the pitching crowd.

A six-time all-star, his career was sadly derailed when he hit 30 years  of age, pitching for the Giants, Yankees and Pirates, never topping more than six wins in any season.
Who knows "what could have been" had he been able to stay healthy...

 

REVISITING MY 1971 NICKNAME CARD FOR "SUDDEN SAM" McDOWELL

Time for another revisit of an old blog post, especially with many new eyes checking out the blog these days.

Today we check back on a post from 10 years ago, my 1971 "Nicknames of the 1970s" card for "Sudden Sam" McDowell, Cleveland Indians flamethrower:

McDowell was a beast on the mound during his prime, which was sadly shortened because of various issues including injuries.
Three times topping 200 strikeouts, two of those seasons saw him top 300, with a league-leading high of 325 in 1965 when he also led the American League with a 2.18 earned run average to go along with a 17-11 record.
He’d go on to lead the league in K’s four other times during this run between 1965 and 1970, along with a 20-win season in 1970 and a career low 1.81 ERA in the “Year of the Pitcher” 1968.
It’s a shame he only had ten full seasons during his career, seeing as he ended up with 2453 career strikeouts with a 141-134 record and a nice 3.17 ERA.
Once he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Gaylord Perry after the 1971 season his career went downhill quickly, barely hanging on the final four years before retiring after 1975.
Nevertheless between 1964 and 1971 he was a monster on that mound, striking fear in opposing batters while racking up the K’s and getting named to six all-star teams.

 

MISSING IN ACTION REDO: 1975 SAM McDOWELL

Up on the blog today, a fun card that I included in my Series 11 packs released last month, a re-done "missing" 1975 card for former flame-throwing pitcher Sam McDowell:

Way back when I originally created a "missing" 1975 card that showed him as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom he would pitch in 1975, his last season in the Majors.

But I did realize that I would normally show him as a member of his previous years team, so I recreated it with this nice image and printed it up for one of my custom sets.

Sam McDowell is definitely one of those guys I always wondered about the "what if's"?
Because of personal and on-the-field problems, McDowell, who was one of THE fire-balling pitchers in the majors during the 1960's, had his career quickly decline and sadly was out of baseball by the age of 32.
You have to wonder what his career numbers would have been, especially his strikeout totals, if he was able to pitch into his late-30's.
As it was he ended up with 2453 K's in 2492.1 innings to go along with a 141-134 record over 15 years, 10 of which were full seasons. To put that K total in perspective, if McDowell was able to pitch some full seasons consistently AND add an extra few seasons under his belt, let's say pitch until he was 36 or so, his strikeout totals could have been well into the upper 3000's. At the time of his retirement in 1975 that would have made him the all-time strikeout king since the standing record was Walter Johnson's 3509.
Anyway, by the time 1975 rolled around, McDowell signed with the Pirates in April after a season and a half in the Bronx, which made me wonder why Topps decided to not have him in their 1975 set as a Yankee.

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS: SAM McDOWELL

On the blog today, adding the Cleveland Indians flamethrower Sam McDowell to my long-running 1971 "Minor League Days" thread, something I haven't done in a while:

 

McDowell is shown here as a member of the Portland Beavers in 1964, his last stint in the Minors before sticking in the Big Leagues for good, establishing himself as one of the premier strikeout pitchers of the era.

He did not disappoint the Portland fans in his short nine-game tenure with the team, starting nine games, completing seven of them, with five of those games shutouts, going 8-0 with a miniscule 1.18 earned run average over 76 innings, collecting 102 strikeouts! Just dominant!

Once called up he'd continue with his performance, going 11-6 for the Cleveland Indians over 31 appearances, 24 of them starts, posting a very nice 2.70 ERA over 173.1 innings, with two shutouts and 177 strikeouts at only 21 years of age.

Over his 15-year career he was at times unhittable, six times topping 200 strikeouts, two of those seasons saw him top 300.
He’d go on to lead the league in K’s five times during his amazing run between 1965 and 1970, along with a 20-win season in 1970 and a career low 1.81 ERA in the “Year of the Pitcher” 1968.
It’s a shame he only had ten full seasons during his career, seeing as he ended up with 2453 career strikeouts with a 141-134 record and a nice 3.17 ERA.
Once he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Gaylord Perry after the 1971 season his career went downhill quickly, barely hanging on the final four years before retiring after 1975.
Nevertheless between 1964 and 1971 he was a monster on that mound, striking fear in opposing batters while racking up the K’s and getting named to six all-star teams.

THEN AND NOW: 1974 SAM McDOWELL

The next "super veteran" to get a "Then and Now" card here on the blog, fire-baller Sam McDowell, who posted some incredible seasons with the Cleveland Indians before petering out in the first half of the 1970's:

 

Over his 15-year career he was at times unhittable, six times topping 200 strikeouts, two of those seasons saw him top 300.
He’d go on to lead the league in K’s five times during his amazing run between 1965 and 1970, along with a 20-win season in 1970 and a career low 1.81 ERA in the “Year of the Pitcher” 1968.
It’s a shame he only had ten full seasons during his career, seeing as he ended up with 2453 career strikeouts with a 141-134 record and a nice 3.17 ERA.
Once he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Gaylord Perry after the 1971 season his career went downhill quickly, barely hanging on the final four years before retiring after 1975.
Nevertheless between 1964 and 1971 he was a monster on that mound, striking fear in opposing batters while racking up the K’s and getting named to six all-star teams.

 

IN-GAME ACTION: 1970 SAM McDOWELL

Today we go and add the fire-baller Sam McDowell to my on-going 1970 "in-Game Action" sub-set, a future custom printed set in 2022:

 

At the time this card would have seen the light of day had it been released in 1970, the man was a beast on the mound, already a four-time league leader in strikeouts, with a high of 325 1965 when he also led the league with a brilliant 2.18 ERA.

In 1970 he'd put in arguably his finest as a Big Leaguer, winning 20 games while leading the American League with 304 strikeouts, completing 19 of 39 starts while tossing a league-leading 305 innings.

Those numbers gave him a third-place finish in the Cy Young race by season's end, as well as his fifth All-Star nod in six years.

Over his 15-year career he was at times unhittable, six times topping 200 strikeouts, two of those seasons saw him top 300.
He’d go on to lead the league in K’s five times during his amazing run between 1965 and 1970, along with a 20-win season in 1970 and a career low 1.81 ERA in the “Year of the Pitcher” 1968.
It’s a shame he only had ten full seasons during his career, seeing as he ended up with 2453 career strikeouts with a 141-134 record and a nice 3.17 ERA.
Once he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Gaylord Perry after the 1971 season his career went downhill quickly, barely hanging on the final four years before retiring after 1975.
Nevertheless between 1964 and 1971 he was a monster on that mound, striking fear in opposing batters while racking up the K’s and getting named to six all-star teams.

1960'S SEASONAL LEADERS- STRIKEOUTS

Next up in my 1960’s “decade’s Leaders” thread is strikeouts by a pitcher, and we have two big guns to speak of, Sandy Koufax and Sam McDowell, who K’d 382 and 325 batters respectively in seasons during the decade, setting the high-water mark between 1960-69:

Of course, Koufax and his 382 strikeouts set the new modern Major League record in 1965, topping the 349 strikeouts Rube Waddell put up in 1904.
As a matter of fact, until Koufax came along the National League record for strikeouts in a season was the 267 by Christy Mathewson in 1903! So that number jumped by nearly 50% thanks to the “Left Arm of God”!
In the American League, McDowell’s 325 strikeouts in 1965 made him the first pitcher to top 300 K’s in a season since the great Bob Feller did it 19 years earlier when he fanned 348 batters in 1946.
“Sudden Sam” would also top 300 K’s in 1970, when he struck out 304 batters to lead the league for the fifth time in six years, his last K-crown.
Two power-pitchers in the prime of their careers right here, bringing back the strikeout game after a few decades of low seasonal leader totals.

MISSING IN ACTION-"IN ACTION" #54: 1972 SAM McDOWELL

I’ve been meaning to create a “missing” 1972 In-Action card for former fireball pitcher Sam McDowell for quite some time now, and since I have not been able to locate a usable action shot of him as a San Francisco Giant, I just went and created one of him while still with the Cleveland Indians:

While Topps managed to have him (and the guy he was traded for: Gaylord Perry) on the correct team, he didn’t yet suit up for the Giants when the 1972 set came out, so I get a cut a little slack here right?
McDowell was just about to enter the decline of his once amazing career, posting a 13-17 record for the Tribe with 192 strikeouts and a 3.40 earned run average in 1971.
That would be the final productive season of his 15-year career.
In that career he’d post 2 300+ strikeout seasons, while leading the American League in that category five times.
He’d also post a 20-win season, win and ERA crown and get named to six all-star teams while with the Indians.
But sadly for him by the time he turned 30 it was all downhill, and he was out of baseball by the time he was a painfully young 32 years old after stops in the Bronx and Pittsburgh.
Nevertheless he did go 141-134 with a nice 3.17 ERA and 2453 K’s during his career, but the “what could have been’s” have always been part of the conversation when it came around to “Sudden Sam”.

NICKNAMES OF THE '70'S #41: "SUDDEN SAM" McDOWELL

Here’s a “Nickname” card for one of the hardest throwers of his time, “Sudden Sam” McDowell:

McDowell was a beast on the mound during his prime, which was sadly shortened because of various issues including injuries.
Three times topping 200 strikeouts, two of those seasons saw him top 300, with a league-leading high of 325 in 1965 when he also led the American League with a 2.18 earned run average to go along with a 17-11 record.
He’d go on to lead the league in K’s four other times during this run between 1965 and 1970, along with a 20-win season in 1970 and a career low 1.81 ERA in the “Year of the Pitcher” 1968.
It’s a shame he only had ten full seasons during his career, seeing as he ended up with 2453 career strikeouts with a 141-134 record and a nice 3.17 ERA.
Once he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Gaylord Perry after the 1971 season his career went downhill quickly, barely hanging on the final four years before retiring after 1975.
Nevertheless between 1964 and 1971 he was a monster on that mound, striking fear in opposing batters while racking up the K’s and getting named to six all-star teams.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 SAM McDOWELL "1976 PROJECT"

"Sudden Sam" McDowell is the next player up in the ongoing "1976 Project" for Reader Jim.

Though I created a 1975 card for him using the same photo, I had to relent and use the image again, cleaned up and improved, for the 1976 version.

Take a look:

McDowell really should have had a card in the 1975 set, that is a no-brainer. But a 1976 edition would be more of a "Career Capper", closing out a brilliant, if not tumultuous, 15-year career that saw him  lead the American League in strikeouts five times, while also pacing the league in walks issued in equal amounts.

He'd finish with 141 career wins along with a 3.17 earned run average and 2453 strikeouts, with two 300+ seasons under his belt.

In 1970 he posted his only 20-win season, and in 1965 he led the A.L. with a 2.18 ERA, but it was those strikeouts, as in 325 in 1965, 304 in 1970, 283 in 1968 and 279 in 1969 that made him stand out of the pitching crowd.

A six-time all-star, his career was sadly derailed when he hit 30 years  of age, pitching for the Giants, Yankees and Pirates, never topping more than six wins in any season.
Who knows "what could have been" had he been able to stay healthy...

RANDOM QUICKIE: 1971 TOPPS SAM McDOWELL

So...what EXACTLY is Sam McDowell so pissed about on his 1971 Topps card (#150)?!
Jeez! He may not have intended it, but this HAS to go down as one of the (accidentally) funniest cards out there from the decade!
Just take a gander at the expression on McDowell's face! He looks PISSED!!! Good gosh man! Calm down...
What is going on here? Was he trying to be funny? Or was he really not a happy camper when this photo was snapped? I'd love to know the background to this pose.
I just hope the photographer asked him for his "game face", and Sam did a bit of over-acting. If not, could you imagine having THAT staring you down in the batter's box?
By now we all know McDowell had his own personal demons lurking beneath the surface, but was he THIS tortured even during a baseball card shoot?
Wow...

Did someone in the stands just piss him off?!

MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 SAM McDOWELL

Sam McDowell is definitely one of those guys I always wondered about the "what if's"?
Because of personal and on-the-field problems, McDowell, who was one of THE fire-balling pitchers in the majors during the 1960's, had his career quickly decline and sadly was out of baseball by the age of 32.
You have to wonder what his career numbers would have been, especially his strikeout totals, if he was able to pitch into his late-30's.
As it was he ended up with 2453 K's in 2492.1 innings to go along with a 141-134 record over 15 years, 10 of which were full seasons. To put that K total in perspective, if McDowell was able to pitch some full seasons consistently AND add an extra few seasons under his belt, let's say pitch until he was 36 or so, his strikeout totals could have been well into the upper 3000's. At the time of his retirement in 1975 that would have made him the all-time strikeout king since the standing record was Walter Johnson's 3509.
Anyway, by the time 1975 rolled around, McDowell signed with the Pirates in April after a season and a half in the Bronx, which made me wonder why Topps decided to not have him in their 1975 set as a Yankee.
I went ahead and designed a 1975 card for "Sudden Sam", but as a Pirate and not a Yank since this would have been the only card showing him in Pittsburgh.
It was tough finding a suitable image of him in a Pirate uniform for the "missing" card, but the one I eventually found was great because McDowell decided to autograph the photo on his own face. Something about that makes me chuckle. So I decided it all went well together and didn't Photoshop the signature out and reposition it.
Is that a mean stare or what?

A rough end to a rough career.