1966 baltimore orioles

this post covers the 1966 baltimore orioles and cards number 9 to 12 in the set. here are the fronts:

and backs:

so far, only the 1965 twins have been without a 'memorable moment.'

let's break it down.

what team is this: 1966 baltimore orioles

why this team?: the orioles won 97 games in 1966, claimed the american league pennant and then swept the dodgers in the world series.  that's why.

which players are featured: boog powell, brooks robinson, frank robinson, jim palmer

why these players?: powell and the robinson 'brothers' were the offensive leaders on the team, and they accounted for half of baltimore's hits and rbi in the world series, as well as just over half of the runs scored and 75% of the home runs hit in those 4 games.  palmer was one of two aces on the staff, with the other being dave mcnally, who unfortunately passed away in 2002.

powell hit .357 in the series to lead the orioles.  during the regular season, he hit .287 with 34 homers and 109 rbi.  he finished 3rd to teammates brooks and frank robinson in the league mvp voting.

brooks robinson hit only .214 in the series with a solo home run.  that came after he hit .269 with 23 homers and 100 rbi in the regular season.  the 1964 league mvp finished 2nd to teammate frank robinson in the 1966 mvp voting, marking the third straight year he had finished in the top 3.  speaking of streaks, brooks picked up his 7th consecutive gold glove award in 1966, and also made his 7th straight appearance on the al all-star squad.  he was named the mvp of the midsummer classic in 1966, and also picked up the lou gehrig memorial award that year.

all frank robinson did in 1966 was win the triple crown with a line of 49/122/.316.  he also led the league with an ops of 1.047, 122 runs scored, and a war of 8.3.  it was his first season in baltimore to boot.  in the series, frobby hit .286 with 2 homers and 3 rbi and was named the mvp of the series.  that award was added to his mvp award, the al babe ruth award, and the major league player of the year award that robinson received thanks to his monster season.

jim palmer was all of 20 years old in 1966 when he threw one of the orioles 3 shutouts in the world series.  he allowed 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6 in game 2, which also turned out to be the last game of sandy koufax's career.  palmer also led the orioles' staff during the regular season with 15 wins.  he made 30 starts and had an era of 3.46.

 the stadium on the back is...?: memorial stadium, which the orioles used from the time they rolled into town in 1954 through 1991, the year before camden yards opened.  the colts also played there until they rolled out of town in 1983.  the end zones were beyond center field and behind home plate.

did upper deck get it right?: i think they got the players right.  that, the stadium, and the photo they used for boog may be about it.  they got the bird logo wrong, for starters.  you can compare the bird on the backs to the one on jim palmer's hat, or you could click the link in the last sentence to see that the logo upper deck is using is the cartoon oriole that was in service from 1975-1988. 

if we agree that boog's photo is legit, then when we see him in 1970 we will agree that the photo used is not legit, since they look like they were taken at the same time.  brooks robinson's photo seems ok, except that i am pretty sure merv rettenmund's 1969 (and 1970) images were taken by the same photographer, and merv didn't suit up for the o's until 1968.  plus, doesn't that look like former commissioner bowie kuhn leaning forward right behind brooks' arse?  kuhn wasn't the commish until the 1969 season.  frobby's photo is him holding his mvp award, so it would have come from 1967 unless the award was announced prior to the world series back then.  finally, jim palmer's photo looks like it comes from the latter years of that particular bird logo, maybe 1973 or 1974 given the polyester pullover jersey.

is this team timeless?:  there is no doubt this team belongs in the set.  the 1966 orioles were the first team in franchise history to win the world series, and the first since the 1944 browns to even make it to the fall classic.  plus, they swept the dodgers in what would be sandy koufax's final season.