Joe Lovitto – 1973 Topps #276

 Joseph Lovitto, Jr. (January 6, 1951 – May 19, 2001) was a center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Texas Rangers. He was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed, standing 6 feet tall and weighing 185 pounds. Lovitto was a competent outfielder, had blazing speed and batted over .300 in his minor league career, but never fulfilled expectations at the Major League level. One of his former managers, Billy Martin, wrote in his autobiography that Lovitto could have had a great career if not for injuries. Lovitto started in center field on Opening Day of 1972 in the Texas Rangers’ inaugural season. In his rookie year he hit .224 with 19 runs batted in and 13 stolen bases in 117 games played. Then he lost almost the 1973 season with an injured leg, appearing in only 26 games. The following year he hit .223 in 113 games, but in 1975 was put on the disabled list with a variety of major injuries and appeared in just 50 games. Before the 1976 season, he was sent to the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Gene Clines but was released during spring training. In a four-season career, Lovitto was a .216 hitter with four home runs, 53 RBI, and 22 stolen bases in 306 games. Lovitto died from cancer in Arlington, Texas, at the age of 50.

Ted Ford – 1973 Topps # 299

Theodore Henry Ford (born February 7, 1947 in Vineland, New Jersey) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers from 1970 to 1973. Drafted by the Indians 11th overall in the 1966 amateur draft, Ford began his professional career with the Dubuque Packers. In 71 games with them in 1966, he hit .263 with six home runs and 25 RBI in 262 at-bats. The following year, 1967, he played for the Pawtucket Indians. He hit only .210 in 443 at-bats with them. He missed the entire 1968 and 1969 seasons due to military service. He fought in the Vietnam War.
In 1970, he mostly played for the Wichita Aeros, hitting .326 with 12 home runs and 57 RBI in 383 at-bats with them. However, he started the season with the big league club. On April 7, he made his major league debut with the Indians. Facing star pitcher Dave McNally of the Baltimore Orioles, he went 0–2 with a walk in his first game. He spent time in both the majors and minors in 1971 as well. In the majors, he hit .194 in 196 at-bats. In the minors – playing for the Aeros again – he hit .330 in 176 at-bats.
On April 3, 1972, Ford was traded to the Texas Rangers for Roy Foster and Tommy McCraw. He played in 129 games with the Rangers that year, hitting 14 home runs and driving 50 runs in in 429 at-bats. His batting average was .235. Ford spent nine games with the Denver Bears that year as well, hitting .222 in 36 at-bats. Ford was traded back to the Indians on May 10, 1973 with Dick Bosman for Steve Dunning. He appeared in only 11 big league games that season, hitting .225 in 40 at-bats. He played his final game on September 29. Although his major league career was over after 1973, he was still involved in notable trades after that. On April 24, 1974, for example, he was traded back to the Rangers for Charlie Hudson.
Overall, Ford hit .219 in 240 major league games. In 711 at-bats, he hit 17 home runs and drove 68 runs in.

Don Stanhouse – 1973 Topps #352

Donald Joseph Stanhouse (born February 12, 1951, in Du Quoin, Illinois) is a retired baseball pitcher who had a ten-year major league career from 1972–1980, 1982. He played for the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles of the American League and the Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League. Stanhouse finished 3rd in the American League in both 1978 & 1979 in saves, recording 45 over that span, helping the Orioles capture the American League Championship in 1979. He was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1979. Stanhouse had a reputation of walking batters he was not willing to face. Frequently his tactics would lead to dangerous situations in close games with multiple base-runners. Stanhouse retired after a brief comeback with the Orioles.

Rico Carty – 1973 Topps #435

   Ricardo Adolfo Jacobo CartyRicardo Adolfo Jacobo Carty (born September 1, 1939 San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) Nicknamed Beeg Boy, he played mostly as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1979. Carty played for the Milwaukee Braves, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs of the National League and the Oakland A’s, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers of the American League. Carty’s career was marked by battles with injuries, illnesses and with team mates. Carty signed a contract with the Milwaukee Braves as a free agent in 1959. While he was an excellent hitter, he had poor defensive skills. Originally a catcher, Carty was converted into an outfielder in order to lessen his defensive liabilities and to get his bat into the everday lineup. After four years in the minor leagues, Carty made an impressive major league debut in 1964, finishing second to Roberto Clemente in the National League Batting Championship with a .330 batting average and, finishing the season as runner-up to Dick Allen in the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year Award ballot. Carty had his best season in 1970 when he hit 25 home runs with 101 runs batted in and, won the National League Batting Championship with a .366 batting average, the highest average in the major leagues since Ted Williams recorded a .388 batting average in 1957. Despite not appearing on the All-Star ballot, he was voted to be a starting outfielder for the National League as a write-in candidate in the 1970 All-Star Game, playing alongside Hank Aaron and Willie Mays in the outfield. Carty also compiled a 31-game hitting streak in 1970 (the longest by a Brave in the franchise’s Atlanta history until it was surpassed by Dan Uggla’s 33-game streak in 2011) and, finished 10th in the 1970 National League Most Valuable Player Award voting.

Jeff Burroughs – 1973 Topps #489

Jeffery Alan “Jeff” Burroughs(born March 7, 1951 in Long Beach, California) is a former player in Major League Baseball. From 1970 through 1985, he played for the Washington Senators (1970–71), Texas Rangers (1972–76), Atlanta Braves (1977–80), Seattle Mariners (1981), Oakland Athletics (1982–84) and Toronto Blue Jays (1985). Burroughs batted and threw right-handed. He is the father of major league third baseman Sean Burroughs. In a 16-season career, Burroughs posted a .261 batting average with 240 home runs and 882 RBIs in 1689 games. In four full seasons with the Texas Rangers, Burroughs averaged 25.5 home runs a year with a high of 30 homers in 1973. His most productive season came in 1974, when he batted .301 with 25 home runs and a league-leading and career-high 118 RBIs and was selected the American League MVP, making him one of only six overall number-one picks to win the MVP title and the first Ranger to win the award. During the 1974 season, Burroughs was at the center of the violent Ten Cent Beer Night debacle in Cleveland, where Burroughs was one of the targets of thrown objects and a few punches by unruly and inebriated Cleveland fans, in a game that was forfeited to Texas. Late in his career, Burroughs was still a valuable hitter, being used mainly as a DH and pinch hitter. After he retired, Burroughs later coached his son’s Little League team, the Long Beach All-Stars; with Sean as their star player, these teams won the Little League World Series in both 1992 (they actually lost the championship game, but were later awarded the title by forfeit after their opponents were found to have used no fewer than 14 ineligible players) and 1993.

Dalton Jones – 1973 Topps #512

James Dalton Jones(born December 10, 1943) is a former Major League Baseball player who played nine seasons in the big leagues for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1969), Detroit Tigers (1970–1972), and Texas Rangers (1972). Jones was principally a utility infielder and pinch-hitter. He played 262 games at second base, 186 at third base, 158 at 1st base, 18 in the outfield, and 1 at shortstop. In 907 Major League games, he compiled a .235 batting average with 548 hits, 268 runs scored, 237 RBIs, 91 doubles, 19 triples, 41 home runs, and 20 stolen bases. In 1973, Jones played with the Peninsula Whips, the Triple-A team in the Montreal Expos organization. After that effort, Jones realized he wouldn’t be making a comeback and retired from baseball. After his playing career ended, Jones worked for a time at a bank and spent five years working for Exxon.

Texas Rangers 1974 Team Photo – 1974 Topps #184

The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball’s American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since 1994, the Rangers have played in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The team’s name is borrowed from the famous law enforcement agency of the same name. The franchise began in 1961 as the Washington Senators, an expansion team awarded to Washington, D.C., after the city’s first ballclub, the original Washington Senators, moved to Minnesota and became the Twins. After the 1971 season, the new Senators moved to Arlington, Texas, and debuted as the Rangers the following spring. The Texas Rangers Baseball Club has made five appearances in the MLB postseason, all following division championships, in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2010, and 2011. In 2010, the Rangers advanced past the Division Series for the first time, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays. Texas then brought home their first American League Pennant after besting the New York Yankees in six games. In the 2010 World Series, the franchise’s first, the Rangers fell to the San Francisco Giants in five games. Their lone victory made them the first Texas MLB team to win a World Series game, the Houston Astros having been swept in their 2005 World Series appearance. They repeated as American League champions the following year, then lost the 2011 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

Texas Rangers 1973 Team Checklst

The Texas Rangers  are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball’s American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. From 1994 to the present, the Rangers have played in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, located in Arlington, Texas. The team’s name is borrowed from the famous law enforcement agency of the same name. The franchise originated in 1961 as the Washington Senators, an expansion team awarded to Washington, D.C. after the city’s first ballclub, the original Washington Senators, relocated to Minnesota and became the Twins. After the 1971 season, the new Senators moved to Arlington, Texas and debuted as the Rangers the following spring. The Texas Rangers Baseball Club has made five appearances in the MLB postseason, all following division championships in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2010, and 2011. In 2010, the Rangers advanced past the Division Series for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays. Texas then brought home their first American League Pennant after besting the New York Yankees in six games. In the 2010 World Series, the franchise’s first, the Rangers fell to the San Francisco Giants in five games. Having won a game, the team became the first Texas MLB team to win a World Series game, the Houston Astros having been swept in their 2005 World Series appearance. They are going back to the World Series in 2011 after defeating the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series in six games.

Gaylord Perry – 1976 Topps #55

Gaylord Jackson Perry (born September 15, 1938 in Williamston, North Carolina) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1962-1983 for eight different teams in his career. During a 22-year baseball career, Perry compiled 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. Perry, a five-time All-Star, was the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in each league, winning it in the American League in 1972 with the Cleveland Indians and in the National League in 1978 with the San Diego Padres. He is also distinguished, along with his brother Jim, for being the second-winningest brother combination in baseball history—second only to the knuckleballing Niekro brothers, Phil and Joe. While pitching for the Seattle Mariners in 1982, Perry became the fifteenth member of the 300 win club. Despite Perry’s notoriety for doctoring baseballs (throwing a spitball), and perhaps even more so for making batters think he was throwing them on a regular basis – he even went so far as to title his 1974 autobiography Me and the Spitter – he was not ejected for the illegal practice until August 23, 1982, in his 21st season in the majors. Like most pitchers, Perry was not renowned for his hitting ability, and in his sophomore season of 1963, his manager Alvin Dark is said to have joked, “They’ll put a man on the moon before he hits a home run.” There are other variants on the story, but either way, on July 20, 1969, just an hour after the Apollo 11 spacecraft carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, Perry hit the first home run of his career.

Nolan Ryan – 1991 Donruss #89

Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. (born on January 31, 1947), nicknamed “The Ryan Express”, is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently the owner, CEO, and team president of the Texas Rangers. During a major league record 27-year baseball career, he pitched in 1966 and from 1968–1993 for four different teams: the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. Ryan is the all-time leader in no-hitters with seven, three more than any other pitcher. He is tied with Bob Feller for most one-hitters, with 12. Ryan also pitched 18 two-hitters. Despite the seven no-hitters, he never threw a perfect game, nor did he ever win a Cy Young Award. Ryan is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in Major League baseball games in four decades.