Dan McGinn (#364)

Dan McGinn was the Expos’ first closer. He was the Reds’ 1st-round pick in 1966, and made his major-league debut with 14 games (12 innings) in September 1968.

McGinn was selected by the Expos with the 27th pick in the October 1968 expansion draft. He appeared in 74 games as a rookie in 1969 (30 more than the next guy) and led the Expos with 6 saves. He also hit the first home run in Expos’ history.

In 1970 he pitched in 52 games, but unlike the previous year he spent some time in the rotation, making 19 starts (compared to 1 in 1969). He ended up with the same 7-10 record as in 1969, and with similar innings pitched (130 vs. 132). On the down side, his ERA ballooned from 3.94 in ‘69 to 5.44 in ’70.

The wheels began to fall off in 1971, as McGinn began the season in AAA, rejoining the Expos in mid-May to pitch in 28 games (posting a 1-4 record).

A week before the start of the 1972 season he was traded to the Cubs for 1B Hal Breeden and SS Hector Torres. (P Bill Kelso was later sent to the Cubs as part of the deal.) Dan pitched 42 games for the Cubs in 1972, but that would be his last season in the majors.

He spent the 1973 season with the Cubs’ and Cardinals’ AAA teams before retiring.

Jim Rooker (#222)

This is Jim Rooker's first solo card, and one of the many nice cards from the '69 and '70 sets featuring the new Royals' uniform.

Although the expansion 1969 Royals pitching staff was led by ex-Oriole veterans Wally Bunker and Moe Drabowsky, Rooker was one of several youngsters (along with Roger Nelson, Dick Drago, Bill Butler, and Tom Burgmeier) forming the foundation of a solid pitching staff.

Rooker was signed by the Tigers in 1960, and was an outfielder in their minor-league system from 1960-64. He has also pitched 10 innings in 1962, but by 1964 was pitching on a regular basis.

In 1965 he pitched 115 innings in 28 games, collecting 95 strikeouts but only compiling a 2-11 record. After another 2 1/2 seasons in the minors, he made his major-league debut with the Tigers in mid-1968, pitching 2 innings on June 30 and 2 more on July 6th, before returning to the minors.

The day after the season was over, he was sent to the Yankees as payment for the earlier acquisition of pitcher John Wyatt. 2 weeks later, he was selected by the Royals in the expansion draft.

Jim was the team's #5 starter the first year, then jumped to #2 in 1970. He was moved to the bullpen in 1971, and spent parts of ’71 and 72 in triple-A. Upon his return to Kansas City in 1972 he was back in the starting rotation.

After the 1972 season he was traded to the Pirates for pitcher Gene Garber. He put in 7 solid seasons (1973-79) in the Pirates' starting rotation, and for the first few years was one of their top 3 starters (along with Jerry Reuss and John Candelaria) He played in the post-season in '74, '75, and '79.

Rooker only pitched 4 games in 1980 (the last on May 2nd) and was released after the season, ending his 13-year career.


After his playing career he was a broadcaster for the Pirates from 1981-1993, and for ESPN from 1994-97.

From Wikipedia:

Rooker's most famous moment as a broadcaster came on June 8, 1989, during a Pirates' road game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Veterans Stadium. The Pirates scored 10 runs in the top of the first inning, including three on a Barry Bonds home run. 

As the Pirates' cross-state rivals came to bat in the bottom of the first, Rooker said on the air, "If we don't win this one, I don't think I'd want to be on that plane ride home. Matter of fact, if we don't win, I'll walk back to Pittsburgh." 

Both Von Hayes and Steve Jeltz hit two home runs (the latter would hit only five during his Major League career) to trigger a Phillies comeback. In the eighth inning the Phillies, now trailing only 11–10, scored the tying run on a wild pitch, then took the lead on Darren Daulton's two-run single and went on to win 15–11. 

Rooker had to wait until after the season to make good on his "walk home" promise, conducting a 300-mile-plus (480 km) charity walk from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. 


He now writes childrens' books.

Rollie Fingers (#502)

Here is Rollie Fingers’ first solo card. (He appeared in a late-series AL Rookie Stars card in the 1969 set.) Fingers pitched for the Athletics (1968-76), Padres (1977-80), and Brewers (1981-85) in his 17-year career.

He was signed by the Athletics in December 1964, and after 4 seasons in the minors, he got his feet wet with Oakland in 1 game in September 1968.

Always a starter in the minors, he was primarily a reliever with Oakland, but started 8 games in 1969, 19 in 1970, and 8 in 1971. Beginning in 1972, it was only bullpen work for Rollie for the remainder of his career (except for 2 starts in 1973).

Fingers was an All-Star with the Athletics every season from 1973-76, and led the AL in games pitched in ’74 and ’75. Rollie pitched in every post-season from 1971-75 with the Athletics.

After the 1976 season he was granted free agency, and signed with the Padres. He pitched 4 seasons in San Diego, leading the NL in saves in ‘77 and ’78, and making the All-Star team in 1978.

Traded to the Cardinals in December 1980 in an 11-player deal, 4 days later he was sent to the Brewers in a 7-player deal.

Fingers made the All-Star team in his first 2 seasons in Milwaukee, and led the AL in saves in 1981. He also won the Cy Young and MVP awards in 1981. Although he pitched in the ’81 ALDS, he missed the entire 1982 post-season (including the World Series) due to injury.

After missing the 1983 season with that injury, he returned for 2 more seasons with the Brewers (still with a full workload at age 37 and 38) before getting his release after the 1985 season.

Rumor is that Pete Rose offered him a contract to play for the Reds in 1986, but he would have had to shave off his mustache per team policy, so he declined.

Fingers was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992, only the second reliever to gain entry to Cooperstown by that time.

Final Card: Walt Hriniak

Here is Walt Hriniak's first solo card (#392), which is also his final card. In fact, his major-league career was over in 1969.

Hriniak began in the Braves' farm system in 1961, and played in the minors for 8 seasons, mostly as a middle infielder. He didn’t begin catching on a regular basis until 1968.

After 8 seasons as the Braves' starting catcher, Joe Torre was traded to the Cardinals after the 1968 season. Torre had shared the starts with journeyman Bob Tillman 60/40 in 1968, with Hriniak making 6 starts during his September call-up.

In 1969 the Braves seemed determined to go with 2 rookies behind the plate, as indicated by this high-numbered card in 1969:

However, with no prior major-league experience, Bob Didier won the catching job in 1969, starting 108 games while Tillman stayed on as the backup, catching 52 games. Hriniak started 2 games in early-June (showcased?), then was traded to the Padres a week later for outfielder Tony Gonzalez.

Walt started 17 games behind the plate for the Padres in 1969, and appeared in another dozen games as a pinch-hitter. It was his final season in the majors.

He spent all of 1970 with the Padres' AAA team, mostly as a 2nd baseman. Just before the start of the 1971 season he was traded back to the Braves, who released him in July. A month later he was picked up by the Expos, but played the entire season, as well as '72 and '73, in the minors.

For someone with such a short and insignificant playing career, Hriniak became a well-respected hitting coach.  He began coaching in 1974, first for the Expos, then the Red Sox. Initially a base coach or bullpen coach, by the mid-1980s, he became Boston's hitting coach, working with players like Carl Yastrzemski, Wade Boggs, and Dwight Evans.

After 12 seasons with the Red Sox, Hriniak coached the White Sox for 7 season, then opened up his own hitting school.

Marty Pattin (#31)

Marty Pattin was the Opening Day starter in the Seattle Pilots' only season of 1969 (despite what Topps says on the 1970 cards). Pattin had a card in every set from 1969 to 1981. He now has a 1968 card (see below), thanks to John Hogan at the Cards That Never Were blog.

Marty began his career with the Angels, having signed with them in 1965. He made his major-league debut in May 1968, and appeared in 52 games that season (48 in relief).

Pattin was selected by the Pilots in the expansion draft following the ’68 season, and was their Opening Day starter. He finished 2nd in starts, innings, and strikeouts to Gene Brabender, who was acquired from the orioles on March 31st.

After 3 seasons with Seattle/Milwaukee, he was traded to the Red Sox with outfielder Tommy Harper and pitcher Lew Krausse for first baseman George Scott, pitchers Jim Lonborg and Ken Brett, catcher Don Pavletich, and outfielders Billy Conigliaro and Joe Lahoud. (SEVEN for THREE – what a steal!)

Marty played only 2 seasons in Boston, but had his highest win totals (17, 15) there.

After the 1973 season, it was on to the Royals in exchange for pitcher Dick Drago. Pattin played his final 7 seasons in Kansas City. He appeared in the ALCS in ’76, ’77, and ’78, and also pitched 1 inning in the 1980 World Series against the Phillies.

After the 1980 season he was granted free agency, but found no takers. He was the head baseball coach for the University of Kansas from 1982 to 1987.

Ellie Rodriguez (#402)

Ellie Rodriguez was the starting catcher for some bad teams from 1969-75, thus staying pretty much under everyone's radar.

He was signed by the Kansas City Athletics in 1964. After 1 season in the minors he was drafted by the Yankees and played 3 full seasons on their farm.

Ellie made his big-league debut for the Yankees in 1968, playing 9 games (mostly in late-May and early-June), but spent most of the ’68 season with triple-A Syracuse, where he alternated at catcher with journeymen Hawk Taylor and Merritt Ranew.

Rodriguez was selected by the Kansas City Royals as the 13th pick in the expansion draft prior to the 1969 season. He was their primary catcher in 1969 (making the All-Star team as a rookie), and split the catching chores in 1970 with ex-Angel Ed Kirkpatrick.

After the 1970 season Ellie was traded to the Brewers, and once again became his team’s #1 backstop. He was the regular for 2 seasons, and made the All-Star team in ’72. In 1973 he split the catching with rookie Darrell Porter, who had played briefly with Milwaukee in the previous 2 seasons. Porter started slightly more games than Rodriguez.

With Porter entrenched behind the plate, E-Rod was dealt to the Angels in the off-season. Accompanying him to California were outfielders Ollie Brown and Joe LaHoud, and pitchers Skip Lockwood and Gary Ryerson. In return, the Brewers acquired pitchers Steve Barber and Clyde Wright, outfielder Ken Berry, and catcher Art Kusnyer.

Rodriguez continued the pattern that was his career – two seasons as his team’s #1 catcher, then time to move on. However at this stop (Angels) there was to be no All-Star selection, despite 1974 being his best season with the bat (7 homers, 36 RBI).

Ellie’s final major-league season was in 1976, where he was a backup for the Dodgers. LA released him in May 1977 (having not played so far) and he spent the remainder of 1977 with the Pirates’ AAA team.

He also played in Mexico from 1978 to 1982 before retiring.

Final Card: Bob Christian

Bob Christian (#51) had a brief career with the White Sox in 1969 and part of 1970.

Christian was signed by the Yankees in 1964 as a 3rd baseman, then after that season was selected by the Tigers in the minor-league draft. Bob played in the Tigers’ farm system for the next 4 seasons (playing mostly 3rd base, then moving to 2nd base due to a sore arm), culminating with a 3-game cup of coffee with the Tigers in September 1968.

After the ’68 season, he was purchased by the White Sox and split the 1969 season between the White Sox, their AAA team, and the National Guard. Bob played 39 games with the Sox that season, briefly in June, then was recalled in early August, and started almost every game in left field during September.

Instead of picking up where he left off, the 1970 season was a bust. Christian only played 12 games for Chicago, all in April and May, and almost all as a pinch-hitter. He played the final 4 months of that season in the minors, then was released.

Bob played in Japan for the 1971 and 1972 seasons.

He passed away in February 1974 from leukemia, at the age of 28.

Carlos May (#18)

I have already posted the center fielder for the 1969 Topps All-Rookie team, so I’m skipping ahead to the final player on the 1969 All-Rookie Team, Carlos May.

Topps failed to include the All-Rookie Team trophy on this card, just like they did in 1968 with Rick Monday, Dick Hughes, and Rich Nye.

Carlos is the younger brother of Reds’ first baseman Lee May (who was a member of the Topps 1967 All-Rookie Team). During his stay with the White Sox, Carlos wore #17, thereby advertising his birthday ("MAY 17").

May was a 1st-round draft pick by the White Sox in 1966. He played 3 seasons in the minors (none higher than class-A) before making his major-league debut in September 1968. Carlos started the final 14 games of the 1968 season, including the last 12 in left field, replacing veteran Tommy Davis.

In 1969, he started 76 of the first 85 games in left field, then moved over to right field, where he started 20 games in July and early August. May also made his first of 2 all-star appearances. After starting both games of the August 8th doubleheader, Carlos missed the rest of the season, having blown off part of his thumb in a mortar accident while in the Marine Reserves. Still, his 18 homers and 62 RBI propelled him to third place in the Rookie of the Year voting. He was also named the Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News.

May returned at the start of the 1970 season, starting 141 games in left field while batting .285 with 12 homers and 68 RBI in his first full season. He moved to first base for the final 7 games of the 1970 season, and remained there for most of 1971. In addition to his 123 starts at 1st base, he started 9 games in left field.

With the arrival of Dick Allen in 1972, May was back in left field, making 144 starts at his usual post. He also started 2 consecutive games at 1st base in late June, with Allen inexplicably moving over to 3rd base. Carlos primarily played left field for the next few years, then split his time between left and 1B in 1975, with Allen having been unloaded traded away to the Braves for backup catcher Jim Essian.

In May 1976, Carlos was traded to the Yankees for pitcher Ken Brett. He saw his only post-season action that year in the ALCS and World Series. Carlos also played for the Yankees for most of 1977, until moving on to the Angels for the final 2 weeks of the season.

May finished his career by playing in Japan from 1978 to 1981.

Al Oliver (#166)

Al Oliver played 18 seasons in the majors (1968-85), the first half of his career as the Pirates center fielder. With this card, Al is the 1st baseman on the 1969 Topps All-Rookie team, the position he played during his rookie season, then not again regularly until 1982 with the Expos.

Oliver was signed by the Pirates in 1964, and played 4 seasons in the minors (1965-68), primarily as a 1st baseman. His major-league debut came in late September 1968, with a 4-game cup of coffee.

Al was installed as the Pirates' every-day 1st baseman in 1969, taking over for Donn Clendenon, the 5-year starter who had been selected by the Expos in the expansion draft. He played in 129 games as a rookie (97 starts at 1B), hit 17 homers and had a .285 batting average. Al finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting, behind Dodgers' 2nd baseman Ted Sizemore.

Oliver began the 1970 season as the starting 1st baseman, but by early May, he was alternating with Bob Robertson at 1B (64 starts, to Robertson’s 96 starts) and with Roberto Clemente in right field (52 starts). Although getting more playing time than in his rookie season, his homeruns and batting average both dropped.

In 1971, Al took over the center field spot from the departed Matty Alou, and would remain there through the 1976 season (except for 2 months in 1974, when he moved back to 1B while Robertson was out of the lineup).

1977 was Oliver's last in Pittsburgh. He moved to left field to accommodate rookie center fielder Omar Moreno. During his time with the Pirates, Al played in the post-season in '70, '71, '72, '74, and '75, and made the all-star team in '72, '75, and '76.

In December 1977, Al was involved in a 4-team, 11-player trade which sent him to the Rangers. Other big names in the deal were Bert Blyleven (Rangers to Pirates), Tom Grieve and Ken Henderson (Rangers to Mets), Jon Matlack (Mets to Rangers), and Willie Montanez (Braves to Mets). Oliver spent 4 seasons with Texas, three as an outfielder and his final one as their DH. He also won the Silver Slugger award in 1980 and 1981.

During spring training 1982, Oliver was traded to the Expos for 3rd baseman Larry Parrish. He played 2 seasons with Montreal as their 1st baseman, winning his 3rd consecutive Silver Slugger award in 1982.

Al moved on to the Giants in February 1984, but by late-August was sent to the Phillies, as Philly tried to shore up first base in their first season without Pete Rose.

Oliver was on the move again in 1985. He spent the first half of his final season with the Dodgers, and the last half with the Blue Jays. His final games were in the 1985 ALCS against the Royals.

Del Unser (#336)

Here’s centerfielder Del Unser, perusing the bat rack. (Actually, it looks more like the perennial second-division Senators “borrowed” a shopping cart from the local A&P for their bats.)

Unser came up with the Senators in 1968 and immediately took over the center field position, starting 153 games in his rookie season. He finished a distant second place in the Rookie of the Year voting to Yankees’ pitcher Stan Bahnsen.

Unser was drafted by the Twins in June 1965 and by the Pirates in January 1966, but did not sign. He was the Senators’ #1 pick in the June 1966 draft, and played the remainder of that year and all of 1967 for the York (PA) White Roses, the Nats’ double-A team.

The following season he jumped to the majors out of spring training, and was Washington’s starting center gardener for the 1968 and 1969 seasons. After starting the first 11 games in 1970, Del was relegated to the bench for much of the season, only starting 21 games after April 27th, as Ed Stroud took over his position.

In 1971 Unser was back in the driver’s seat, starting 2/3 of the games in center, while the newly-acquired Elliot Maddox starting most of the other games.

Del was traded to the Indians after the 1971 season in an 8-player deal, but only lasted 1 season in Cleveland. A year later he was traded to the Phillies for outfielders Oscar Gamble and Roger Freed. [Oh, how I LOVED this trade back then! The Phillies were getting a bona fide center fielder in exchange for two stiffs that had worn out their welcome. It was one of the first deals by Paul Owens, who had taken over as Phillies’ GM in June 1972.] 

Pushing 1971-72 center fielder Willie Montanez over to right field, Unser manned center field for the Phillies during the ’73 and ’74 seasons. After 1974, he was traded to the Mets (with reliever Mac Scarce and catching prospect John Stearns) for reliever Tug McGraw and 2 backup outfielders. (Obviously, McGraw made major contributions for the next half-dozen seasons.)

After a few seasons with the Mets and Expos, Unser returned to the Phillies in 1979, this time as a pinch-hitter extraordinaire. He played in over 90 games each in ’79 and ’80, but started less than a third of them. His value was now in his timely hitting (.298 in 1979). After 2 more seasons with the Phillies, Del retired after the 1982 season.

Unser has worked off-and-on for the Phillies since then, most notably as a batting coach and minor-league instructor.

Del’s father Al was a catcher for the Tigers and Reds in the mid-1940s.

Larry Hisle (#288)

Here is Larry Hisle's first solo card. He previously appeared on an NL Rookies card in 1968, and a Phillies Rookies card in 1969. Too bad Topps couldn't get a better picture of the centerfielder on their all-rookie team, who played the entire 1969 season with the Phillies.

Hisle's early major-league career followed that of teammate (and previous post subject) Don Money. Like Money, Hisle was handed a starting job in spring training 1968. They both made their major-league debut in the '68 season opener. Like Money, Larry faltered and was sent back to triple-A in late April. Like Money, Hisle re-booted his career in 1969, snaring a starting position vacated by a player lost in the expansion draft, and played well enough to earn a Topps all-rookie team slot.

Larry was signed by the Phillies in 1965, and began playing ball in 1966 with the Phillies' low-A team in Huron, SD. The following year he advanced to high-A Tidewater, where he clubbed 23 homers and hit .302 in 136 games. This earned him a (rushed) trip to Philly in 1968. After 7 games with the Phillies in '68, he was sent back to triple-A San Diego, where he finished the season with a .303 average but only hit 6 home runs.

Larry's big years with the Phillies were 1969 and 1970. He took over the starting center field job on opening day, and started 124 of the first 129 games there. Following that, he shared the position with veteran Johnny Briggs during the month of September.

1970 was a little less stable for Hisle. After starting the first 29 games in center, he moved over to right field while Oscar Gamble and others got their shot there. By mid-June, he was spending a lot of time on the bench, then strung together a series of starts in center field in July and again in August. By season's end, Larry logged more playing time than the other outfielders, but there were 5 players in the starting outfield rotation.

1971 brought a lot of change to the Phillies' outfield. Rookies Willie Montanez and Roger Freed won the center and right field jobs, so everyone else (Hisle, Briggs, Gamble, Ron Stone, and Byron Browne) was thrown into the left field mix. Hisle only played 36 for the Phillies that season, while playing 62 games in triple-A.

After the season, he was traded to the Dodgers for 1st baseman Tommy Hutton. Larry spent the entire 1972 season in the minors, then in late October was traded to the Cardinals, who flipped him to the Twins a month later.

Hisle's best years were spent with the Twins (1973-77), playing left and center fields. In 1977 he led the AL with 119 RBI, while batting .305 and hitting 28 home runs. He also made his first of two all-star appearances.

Larry was granted free agency after the 1977 season, and signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. In his first season there he collected 600 at-bats, 34 home runs, 115 RBI, and an all-star appearance. The next 4 seasons he was relegated to part-time playing roles, retiring on May 6, 1982 after appearing in only 9 games.

Don Money (#645)

This is Don Money's 2nd card, and his first in a Phillies' uniform. Don's rookie card was in the 1969 set, where he appeared on a Phillies Rookie Stars card in a hatless photo from his Pirates' days. He is one of 2 Phillies who made the Topps all-rookie team in 1969 (along with center fielder Larry Hisle).

Money was acquired from the Pirates in December 1967 along with pitcher Woodie Fryman and two minor-league pitchers for veteran pitcher Jim Bunning.

Don's major-league debut came in April 1968. He was handed the starting shortstop job in spring training, but after a week or so, it became apparent that he was overmatched, and was sent down to triple-A in late April. (The same thing occurred for rookie teammate Hisle).

After the 1968 season, the Phillies lost all 3 of their major-league shortstops (Bobby Wine, Roberto Pena, and Gary Sutherland) in the expansion draft, clearing the way for Money in 1969. Don played 4 full seasons with the Phillies, making 503, 507, 482, and 590 plate appearances, respectively. He was the regular shortstop as a rookie, before sliding over to 3rd base at the start of 1970, making room for rookie Larry Bowa.

In 1971, he moved around a few times: to left field for the month of July, when the Phillies tried rookie John Vukovich at 3rd base, and over to 2nd base for the month of September, when rookie Greg Luzinski was called up and installed at 1st base for the balance of the season (causing 1st baseman Deron Johnson to move over to 3rd base).

Money was back at 3rd base for 1972, then moved on to the Brewers after the season, traded with pitcher Billy Champion and 3rd baseman John Vukovich for pitchers Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett, and others. His 3rd base job in Philadelphia would be given to Mike Schmidt at the start of 1973.

Don spent his remaining 11 seasons with the Brewers, 4 as the starting 3rd baseman, then one as the 2nd baseman, before becoming a swingman and, finally, a backup. He made 4 all-star teams between 1974 and 1978, and retired following the 1983 season.

Final Card: Jeff James

This is the last of two Topps cards for Jeff James (#302).  In 1968, the Phillies injected some youth into their pitching rotation. Veteran pitcher Jim Bunning was traded to the Pirates for Woodie Fryman, and James replaced aging veteran Dick Ellsworth as the #5 starter.

James was signed by the Phillies in 1960, and was a starting pitcher in their farm system for 7 seasons (1961-67), finally making it to triple-A in 1967, where he compiled a 13-5 record.

Jeff made his major-league debut in mid-April, and was with the Phillies for the entire 1968 season. Pitching in 29 games, his 13 starts came mostly in July and August. His spot in the starting rotation was taken over by fellow rookie Jerry Johnson for the rest of the season.

James was back in triple-A for most of the 1969 season (compiling a 13-10 record), and only returned to Philadelphia in September, when he pitched in his last 6 big-league games.

Jeff pitched the '70 and '71 seasons in triple-A before retiring. He passed away in 2006 at age 64.

Jack Billingham (#701)

Here is Jack Billingham's 1970 card. It's been a full season since he was traded to the Astros, yet we still get a hatless card! This is one of five 1970 cards that were sent to me by DeansCards.com last fall.


Billingham was signed by the Dodgers in 1961, and pitched 7 seasons in the minors (mostly in relief) before making the Dodgers in 1968. In his rookie season he appeared in 50 games, all but 1 in relief.

After the 1968 season, Jack was selected by the Montreal Expos in the expansion draft. As I mentioned in the Curt Flood post below, the Expos attempted to trade Donn Clendenon to the Astros in January 1969 for Rusty Staub. When Clendenon refused to report, Montreal shipped Billingham to Houston as part of the package to salvage that deal.

Billingham pitched for the Astros for 3 seasons (1969-71). Mostly a reliever in the minors and for his 1st two seasons in the bigs, Jack moved into the starting rotation beginning in 1970.



Following the 1971 season, Jack was on the move again. This time, he was part of an 8-player deal with the Reds. The Astros sent 5 players (Billingham, 2B Joe Morgan, SS Denis Menke, and outfielders Cesar Geronimo and Ed Armbrister) to the Reds for 1B Lee May, 2B Tommy Helms, and utilityman Jim Stewart. This seems like a crazy lopsided deal now. The Astros trade Morgan AND FOUR OTHER PLAYERS for Lee May, a fading Tommy Helms, and a scrub IF-OF? It seems like the Reds should have traded May and 1 other player straight-up for Morgan! (But I digress.....)

Adding to the Reds' fleecing of the Astros was that Billingham's career caught fire in Cincinnati. He won 19 games in both 1973 and 1974, and finished in the top 6 in Cy Young voting in both seasons.

Jack pitched for the Reds for 6 seasons, winning (and losing) in double figures in each season. After the 1977 season he was traded to the Tigers, and pitched in Detroit for 2 full seasons and 1 month into the 1980 season.

In mid-May 1980, he was shipped to the Red Sox, but was released a month later.