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Robert Ray Buhl
Milwaukee Braves
Pitcher
Born: August 12, 1928, Saginaw, MI
Signed: Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent, August 30, 1946
Major League Teams: Milwaukee Braves 1953-1962; Chicago Cubs 1962-1966; Philadelphia Phillies 1966-1967
Died: February 16, 2001, Titusville, FL (age 72)
In parts of 15 seasons in the National League, Bob Buhl was an 18-game winner twice (1956 and 1957) and won a World Series ring with the Braves in 1957. His best seasons came with the Braves, as part of a strong pitching rotation that also included Warren Spahn (#10) and Lew Burdette (#219) and he was an All-Star in 1960. Between 1953 and 1960, Buhl finished in the top ten in the league for ERA six times, and he finished within the top ten for complete games four times.
Following his successful 10-year run with the Braves, Buhl spent five seasons with the Cubs and then was traded to the Phillies in one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. He retired part-way through the 1967 season, having compiled a career record of 166-132 with 111 complete games and 1,268 strikeouts.
Following his successful 10-year run with the Braves, Buhl spent five seasons with the Cubs and then was traded to the Phillies in one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. He retired part-way through the 1967 season, having compiled a career record of 166-132 with 111 complete games and 1,268 strikeouts.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
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| May 1997 - College graduation |
July 19, 1997 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #156
My Dad and I added this card to our set at the Ocean City baseball card show held inside the Music Pier. We purchased 11 cards that July day - Buhl and eight other commons, along with the Warren Giles (#2) card for $10 and the Ray Boone (#6) card for $5.
I graduated college in the spring of 1997, and that summer was a good one as I worked on the Sea Isle Promenade at a few t-shirt stores. My days were spent jogging, barely working, reading and sitting on the beach. Dinner would usually come from Phil's on 37th and Landis Avenue, and ice cream was consumed nightly.
Dad was still working in Millville at the time, and we probably met up in front of the Music Pier prior to his show. The baseball card collecting landscape changed drastically in the ten year period between 1987 and 1997, with autographed cards making their way into packs and multiple parallel versions of the same card confusing us as "old school" collectors. Still, I'd give anything to be back inside the Music Pier with my Dad searching for the next 1956 Topps card to add to our set. I'm sure he was thrilled to find a dealer selling a bunch of '56s in good shape and at around $2 a card.
The Card / Braves Team Set
My lack of knowledge when it comes to historic ballparks hurts me again here, as I don't know where Buhl is posing for his action photo. Looks as if it's a spring training complex? Buhl was only in the Bowman set in 1955, and this marks his return to Topps after a one year absence. His strong 1955 season is highlighted with the first two cartoon panels on the back of the card. Buhl led the league with a low 0.580 home runs per nine innings, and the Cubs' Bob Rush (#214) finished second in that category with a 0.731 mark.
1956 Season
The Phillies acquired Buhl and Larry Jackson (#119) from the Cubs on April 21, 1966 for prospects John Herrnstein, Fergie Jenkins and Adolfo Phillips. Jenkins of course would go on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career. Buhl was used as a spot starter and long reliever all season, appearing in 32 games and making 18 starts. He finished the year with a 6-8 record and a 4.77 ERA. His best performance came on June 22nd when he pitched a complete game victory against his former team, the Braves.
Buhl appeared in only three games for the Phillies in 1967, pitching 2 2/3 innings with an ERA of 13.50. The club released him on May 16, 1967, most likely the same time collectors were adding Buhl's only Phillies baseball card to their collections from packs of 1967 Topps.
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First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #210
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1954, 1956-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #210
71 - Buhl non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/25/23.
Sources:
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Order Collected: #203 Bill Tuttle - Detroit Tigers / #279 Johnny Groth - Kansas City Athletics
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