That's some good hustle by Topps to get Cam Carreon on a card in an Orioles uniform, considering that the O's didn't acquire him from Cleveland until March 10, 1966. The player they gave up? A young outfielder named Lou Piniella. This card is also something of an oddity because Carreon went on to play just four games for Baltimore, going 2-for-9 with three walks and spending most of the year at AAA Rochester. When he returned to the minors for the duration of 1967 as well, he decided to retire to spend more time at home with his family in Tucson. Though the minor league Toros coaxed him back for one season as a player and a few more as a coach, the team was based out of Tuscon, so he was still around for much of the year. One of his sons, Mark, went on to enjoy a ten-year career as an outfielder with the Mets, Tigers, Giants, and Indians. On one last note, here's a scan of the card back, featuring a great cartoon about Cam's favorite hobby.
2 comments:
As a life-long Mets fan, I remember Mark Carreon well and vaguely remembered that his father had played in the Majors... but I didn't realize he'd made it to cardboard!
As an Orioles fan of the past 20-or-so years, this card was on my wantlist anyway... but I'm going to have to bump up its priority!
Shlabotnik - He also had Topps cards with the White Sox (1960-1964) and Indians (1965).
Post a Comment