Nitty Gritty Card of the Day-1965 Topps TRADED Howie Reed

I know what you are thinking; they didn’t make TRADED cards in 1965. Well, in the instance of this card, someone did the work for Topps with a ballpoint pen. I received 3 of these “traded” series cards from 1965 in a trade recently. I don’t know why I lost damaged and mutilated cards so much, but I do and I got more excited when I saw these than I would have if they were gem mint cards. I did NOT get these from their original owner, so I don’t the story behind them or the urgency to get these guys listed on a different team. I almost wish that the person kept on task with updating Reed's current team and crossed off the Angels for the Astros and then the Expos...

The first of these cards that I will highlight is number 544 in the regular 1965 Topps set and features relief pitcher Howie Reed, formerly of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reed actually spent the ENTIRE 1965 season with the Dodgers and even appeared with them in the postseason when they defeated the Minnesota Twins for the Championship. Reed saw action in 2 games. He pitched an inning and a third in the game one loss without allowing a run. His next appearance came in game 6 in Minnesota. He entered the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. He walked Bob Allison with one out and he stole second base as he struck out Don Mincher. He then walked Frank Quilici intentionally to bring up the pitcher, Mudcat Grant. With 2 men on and 2 outs Grant drilled a homerun over the left-centerfield wall. This increased Minnesota’s lead to 5-0. Grant went the distance for Minnesota and the Twins won the game 5-1 behind his homerun. The Dodgers came back in game 7 behind Sandy Koufax’s 10-K, 3 hit shutout. Howie Reed never appeared in the postseason again and his official ERA sits at 8.10. Despite have a solid regular season in 1965 (7-5, 3.12, 38 games) Reed was traded away to the Angels after just one relief appearance in 1966. The Dodgers got relief pitcher Dick Egan in return. Reed lasted just that one season with the Angels, went to Houston and eventually headed to Montreal in 1969 where he was used often, appearing in 131 games over 3 seasons. His big league career ended after the 1971 season in Montreal. He had a career record of 26-29 with a 3.72 ERA and 9 saves. The highlight of his career had to be that season with the Dodgers in ’65 that ended with him being a Worlds Champion. Whoever owned this card then didn’t want that memory to live on. The back of the card shows Reed’s entire pro record beginning with his first season in the Southern League with Little Rock in 1958. It highlights his season in 1963 with the Spokane Indians where he posted a 19-7 record with a 2.75-leading the Pacific Coast League in victories and earning a spot on the Dodgers the following season. Stay tuned as there are more 1965 Topps Traded cards to come! I love this hobby! 45 years, LATER!