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William Joseph Klaus
Boston Red Sox
Shortstop
Born: December 9, 1928, Spring Grove, IL
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams: Boston Braves 1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953; Boston Red Sox 1955-1958; Baltimore Orioles 1959-1960; Washington Senators 1961; Philadelphia Phillies 1962-1963
Major League Teams: Boston Braves 1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953; Boston Red Sox 1955-1958; Baltimore Orioles 1959-1960; Washington Senators 1961; Philadelphia Phillies 1962-1963
Died: December 3, 2006, Sarasota, FL (age 77)
After a few false starts with the Braves organization, Billy Klaus was given the chance to be an everyday player with the Red Sox in 1955 and he'd finish as runner-up to Herb Score (#140) in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Klaus had three solid seasons with the Red Sox between 1955 and 1957, playing as their every day shortstop or third baseman. He batted .283 with a career high 60 RBIs in 1955, and clubbed a career high 10 home runs in 1957. Klaus spent 11 seasons overall in the majors, serving as a valuable back-up infielder or pinch-hitter towards the end of his career.
He batted .249 in 821 major league games, collecting 626 hits, 40 home runs and 250 RBIs. After being released by the Phillies in May 1963, Klaus played out the balance of the season in Japan, batting .257 in 62 games for the Chunichi Dragons. He managed in the Senators minor league system between 1966 and 1968, compiling a record of 139-259. Finally, his younger brother Bobby Klaus also played in the majors with the Reds (1964) and Mets (1964-1965).
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| June 1988 - Dad mowing the lawn on 12th Street |
February 27, 1988 in Bridgeton, NJ (Hummel's) - Card #54
My notes indicate we bought this card at Hummel's in Bridgeton, New Jersey in February 1988 along with the Jack Meyer (#269) card. This was a Saturday, and I'm guessing my Dad and I needed to get out of the house so we made the quick drive to Bridgeton to purchase some baseball cards. I'm also assuming I was anxious to get my hands on more new packs of 1988 Topps, and we knew Hummel's most likely had a box or two for sale. My set collecting records show we had completed the 1974 Topps set earlier in the month, we were about half-way through with the 1976 Topps set and we'd start to collect the 1973 Topps set that June. It was a very good year.
My memories of Hummel's are hazy at best, but I seem to recall it was a large building with a sprawling liquor store on the first floor and a baseball card shop on the second floor. With baseball card stores booming in the mid to late 1980s, we'd often take a ride to one of the four or five local card shops we were lucky enough to have near us.
The Card / Red Sox Team Set
Klaus' rookie card can be found in the 1955 Bowman set, and this is his first Topps card. In the action photo, I'm assuming that's Klaus forcing the runner out at second and looking to turn a double play with a throw to first. He wore #35 while with Boston, and that appears to be a #5 peaking through on the fielder's back. On closer inspection, is that the baseball between the "Bill" and "Klaus" of the facsimile autograph? Did Klaus spike the runner with the ball?
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1955 Bowman #150
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1956-1963
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1979 TCMA 50's #251
28 - Klaus non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Card / Red Sox Team Set
Klaus' rookie card can be found in the 1955 Bowman set, and this is his first Topps card. In the action photo, I'm assuming that's Klaus forcing the runner out at second and looking to turn a double play with a throw to first. He wore #35 while with Boston, and that appears to be a #5 peaking through on the fielder's back. On closer inspection, is that the baseball between the "Bill" and "Klaus" of the facsimile autograph? Did Klaus spike the runner with the ball?
The middle cartoon panel on the back highlight his fantastic season in 1947 while playing for the Centralia Cubs of the Illinois State League. The first cartoon panel says Klaus was second among Boston regulars in batting average in 1955, and that's not actually accurate. Klaus batted .283 while regular second baseman Billy Goodman (#245) batted .294 and left fielder Ted Williams (#5) topped them all with a .356 average.
1956 Season
Klaus moved over to third base to start the 1956 season as rookie Don Buddin was given the starting shortstop job. In 135 games, Klaus batted .271 with seven home runs and 59 RBIs, one short of his career-high from the year before.
Phillies Career
The Phillies purchased Klaus on April 5, 1962 from the Senators, reuniting Klaus with manager Gene Mauch who had been his teammate briefly with the Red Sox. He served as a back-up infielder for Mauch's team, making it into 102 games and starting 54 games at either second base, third base or shortstop. Klaus batted just .206 with four home runs and 20 RBIs and was released by the Phillies following the season. But Mauch most have realized they needed Klaus' skillset prior to start of the 1963 season, as he was re-signed on April 1, 1963. The reunion lasted only 11 more games, with Klaus batting .105, before he was released on May 24, 1963, and made his way to Japan.
1956 Season
The Phillies purchased Klaus on April 5, 1962 from the Senators, reuniting Klaus with manager Gene Mauch who had been his teammate briefly with the Red Sox. He served as a back-up infielder for Mauch's team, making it into 102 games and starting 54 games at either second base, third base or shortstop. Klaus batted just .206 with four home runs and 20 RBIs and was released by the Phillies following the season. But Mauch most have realized they needed Klaus' skillset prior to start of the 1963 season, as he was re-signed on April 1, 1963. The reunion lasted only 11 more games, with Klaus batting .105, before he was released on May 24, 1963, and made his way to Japan.
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Bowman #150
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1956-1963
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1979 TCMA 50's #251
28 - Klaus non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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