1986 Sportflics Decade Greats: 1960s outfielders

 

Al Kaline: Al Kaline was one of the best Tigers of all time. He started his career off spectacularly. In 1955 he won the AL batting title at the age of 20, hitting .340 with 27 HR and 102 RBI. He had another monster year in 1956, hitting .314 with 27 HR and 128 RBI. From then on, he was a consistent, if not exactly spectacular, presence on the Tigers for almost 20 years. He regularly hit around .300 with 20+ HR and 75+ RBI. His numbers would have looked better if he was able to stay on the field more consistently; he only topped 140 games played three times between 1962 and 1973, though he did play a full season in 1974 thanks to the new DH rule. Overall, in 22 seasons he hit .297 with 3,007 hits, 399 HR and 1,582 RBI. After his career he was a long-time Tigers announcer. He died in 2020. I have his base Topps cards from 1959, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973 and 1974.

Tony Oliva: While Kaline's career was long and steady, Oliva's was short but spectacular. He was the best pure hitter in the American League from 1964 to 1971, winning three batting titles and five hit titles. Unfortunately, injuries caught up to him in 1972, limiting him to just ten games. The DH rule helped him get back on the field, and he had four more seasons where he was a regular, but no longer a star. He was a long time coach for the Twins, and still lives in Minnesota. I have his base Topps cards from 1968 and 1971-1976.

Billy Williams: Billy Williams quietly starred for the Cubs under the shadow of Ernie Banks, but he was a terrific player in his own right. Williams's career was somewhat similar to Kaline's, with long stretches of high-level consistency, with overall year-by-year numbers that were a little more impressive, due to his considerably better durability, including a 1,117 consecutive games streak. He was good for a .280-.310 average, 25+ HR and 90+ RBI from 1961 to 1973. His best seasons were 1970 (.322, 42 HR, 129 RBI) and his 1972 batting title season (.333, 37 HR and 122 RBI). He moved to the American League in 1975 to take advantage of the DH rule, in a trade with Oakland. He retired in 1976 with a .290 average, 2,711 hits, 426 HR and 1,475 RBI. He was a long time coach for the Cubs, and still lives in the Chicago area. I have his base Topps cards from 1968-1976.

This is the last card in the 1960s section of the set. I am going to do something different for the 1970s and 1980s to wrap up this series.