In celebration of the 65th anniversary of Topps baseball cards, my collection is going to be the subject of this year-long series.
Shortly after starting my obsession in 1971, the goal was to have at least one Topps card from every year.
Although the 1952 set is considered to be the first released by Topps, the company issued two series that was a part of the game a year earlier.
Baseball was in a turbulent state off the field in 1970. Among the issues were the Curt Flood reserve clause case, umpires walking out during the playoffs and the Seattle franchise moving to Milwaukee to become the Brewers so late in the year that the Pilots were still featured in the Topps set.
One of my first cards from this set was of Clyde Wright.
The 1970 season was the best in the 10-year major league career for Wright as he went 22-12 with an ERA of 2.83 for the California Angels. He was named the Comeback Player of the Year by the Sporting News after posting record of 1-8 in the previous season.
Wright’s biggest moment of the summer was on July 3. Raising his season mark to 12-5, Wright tossed the second no-hitter in franchise history as he blanked the Oakland A’s 4-0 with three walks and a strikeout.
A few days later, Wright was pitching in his only all-star contest. Unfortunately, he would take the loss as Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds collided with Ray Fosse of the Cleveland Indians as the 1970 Mid-Summer Classic ended.
Wright was able to bounce back from that loss to become the second 20-game winner for the Angels in Minnesota on Sept. 20. Wright pitched a three-hitter as the Angels beat the Twins 5-1.
The lefty finished the season with his franchise record 22nd victory as the Angels defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-2 on Sept. 29. He gave up both runs on five hits with five strikeouts. National Baseball Hall of Fame member Nolan Ryan matched the 22-win total for the Angels in 1974.
Wright the Hitter
Although Wright had a .171 batting average in 1970, he did manage to have some big moments at the plate to help himself pick up wins on the mound.
On June 25, Wright had three hits and knocked in four runs in a 7-3 win at home over the White Sox.
Wright hit his first major league home run in a 10-0 win at Washington off Jackie Brown on July 17. He added two more hits in the contest, while limited the Senators to four hits.
Against the Detroit Tigers in California on Aug. 14, Wright worked six frames in a 7-3 win as he blasted a three-run homer off Mickey Lolich.
Drafted in 1965
Wright was drafted in the sixth round by the Angels in 1965 after he led Carson-Newman to the NAIA national title earlier that year.
It didn’t take long for Wright to make to the big leagues as he made his debut in Minnesota on June 15, 1966. The Angels won 8-1 over the Twins as Wright tossed a four-hitter. He finished the season at 4-7.
Wright would go 5-5 and 10-6 over the next two seasons working as a starter and out of the bullpen.
In 1969, Wright was 1-8. He also set a club record for appearances in seven straight games that season from Aug. 1-9.
According to an article by Ross Newhan in the 1971 Baseball Guide published by the Sporting News, Wright had pitched winter ball in the Puerto Rico to aid in his resurgence.
After the 1970 season, Wright would post records of 16-17, 18-11 and 11-19 over the next three years before he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. He was 9-20 for the Brewers in 1974 before finishing his time in the majors the following summer with a 4-6 mark for the Texas Rangers.
The Wright family has added to its major league legacy as Clyde’s son, Jaret Wright, pitched for 11 years primarily with the Cleveland Indians.