A Monster Box of Memorial Day Baseball Memories
Where were you when Walk walked on and Chuck chucked it in?
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1977 Cramer Salt Lake City Gulls Chuck Dobson (#22) - Card of the Day
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Memorial Day is one of the most solemn and even somber holidays we celebrate as Americans, a day to remember and honor military personnel who died in the service of their country — during times of both war and peace.
But Memorial Day is also the ceremonial beginning of summer, and since baseball is the game of summer, it’s no surprise that Memorial Day contests have produced some big diamond moments over the years.
Among those big Memorial Day (or, earlier, Decoration Day) moments were Dennis Eckersley’s no-hitter in 1977; the Yankees’ power outburst in 1961 that included two home runs each by Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Moose Skowron; the Indians’ comeback from a nine-run deficit to win in walk-off fashion against the Rays in 2009.
Sometimes, though, baseball events on the first holiday of summer slide squarely into the “memorial” filing cabinet of our memories, even if they come without the gravity of Memorial Day proper.
Babe Ruth’s last big league appearance came for the Boston Braves on Decoration/Memorial Day in 1935, for example.
Along those same lines, though maybe not quite as momentous from a baseball perspective, was the game between the Indians and Angels at Anaheim Stadium on May 26, 1975.
In that one, the Indians touched Angels starter Frank Tanana for three runs through one-and-a-third innings before manager Dick Williams pulled the young fireballing left-hander. In came veteran righty Chuck Dobson, who promptly gave up a single to George Hendrick, which brought in Buddy Bell — another run charged to Tanana.
Dobson retired Rico Carty and Charlie Spikes to end the inning, then returned to pitch scoreless third and fourth frames. Meanwhile, the Angels cut the lead to 4-3 in the top of fifth on a three-run double from Winston Llenas.
Carty flied out to start the bottom of the frame, but then Spikes homered to double the Cleveland lead. Oscar Gamble and Ken Berry went down to end the inning, and Dobson returned to pitch the bottom of the sixth.
A leadoff single to second baseman Ed Crosby, though, brought Williams’ hook. In came Don Kirkwood, and out went Dobson.
For the afternoon. For the season. And for his career.
It was an ending that no one would have expected (but maybe should have) just a few years earlier.
Originally signed by the Kansas City A’s as an amateur before the 1965 season, Dobson worked his way to the majors by April of 1966. After a 14-start rookie season, Dobson was in the A’s rotation for good in 1967, making 29 starts among 32 appearances, going 10-10 with a 3.69 ERA.
Dobson’s workload steadily increased over the next few years as the A’s moved to Oakland and began to build their 1970s dynasty team. In 1970, he led the American League with 40 starts and the majors with five shutouts, while logging a career-high 267 innings.
Pain in his pitching elbow limited Dobson to “just” 30 starts and 189 innings in 1971, though he did fashion a nifty 15-5 record. Offseason surgery kept him out of the majors for all of 1972, limiting him to nine minor league appearances. He pitched a full season at Triple-A Tucson in 1973 before making a single appearance for the A’s in late September.
Oakland released Dobson the next spring, and he signed on with the Mexico City Tigers. Thanks to a strong showing that included a 10-2 record and 1.99 ERA in the Mexican League, Dobson began attracting attention from American teams, and the Angels bought his contract in late June of 1974.
After eleven starts for Salt Lake City, Dobson debuted for the Halos on September 9. In five starts with California, he went 2-3 with a rough 5.70 ERA. He was back with the Angels to start the 1975 season, but the move to a swing role didn’t improve the results: 0-2, 6.75 ERA in nine appearances (two starts).
Following the Memorial Day outing against the Indians, Dobson headed back to Salt Lake City for the rest of 1975, then made 23 appearances for the Gulls in the Bicentennial season of 1976 before trading in his rosin bag at the age of 32 for a coach’s cap.
Likely because of his ongoing arm troubles and because he made his last big league appearance fairly early in the season, Dobson gave Topps plenty of reason and room to leave him out of their 1976 set, which they did.
So, no career-capper baseball card for the man who missed out on all three of the A’s World Series titles in the 1970s.
But there is a small silver cardboard lining because Dobson did appear as a coach in the 1977 Cramer Salt Lake City set, as you see at the top of this post. And the back of that card? It has a certain career-capper flavor to it:
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Dobson passed away in November 2021 more than 45 years after throwing his final professional pitch, and 46 after his mostly forgotten but no doubt “memorable” big league finale.
And, of course, 44 years after the card that told his full story…more or less.
Ships Passing in the Night on Memorial Day
Memorial Day of 1980 also fell on May 26, and a couple of players “celebrated” big baseball milestones in the day’s games.
On the happy side of the ledger, Bob Walk debuted for the Phillies in a start against the Pirates at Veterans Stadium. He got roughed up for five runs in 2.2 innings, but it was just the beginning of a 14-year big league career that would yield 105 wins, an All-Star selection, and a World Series ring, along with four other division titles.
Walk was gone to the Braves before the 1981 season started, traded for Gary Mathews in Spring Training. Walk was still a Phil on his Topps, Fleer, and Donruss rookie cards (affiliate link), though.
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Meanwhile, Mike Macha caught the ninth inning of a Blue Jays win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park that night. Thus ended a big league career that began with the Braves in April of 1979 and encompassed a total of 11 games and produced a batting line of .095/0 HR/1 RBI and a walk in 22 plate appearances.
Macha’s lone card in a big league uniform was part of the 1980 J.D. McCarthy Toronto Blue Jays Photocards set. You can see a pic of this card on TCDB, and you might find one for sale on eBay (affiliate link).
Secretary of Defense Saved Memorial Day
Walk may have put the Phillies in a hole on Memorial Day in 1980, but superstar centerfielder was a one-man wrecking crew in bringing the team back to ultimately win that same game.
Read all about the Secretary of Defense’s heroics right here.
Little Joe’s Big Red Preview
Joe Morgan played in just one Memorial Day game for the Houston Astros, helping them to a 4-1 win in 1971. But that game — and especially the ‘Stros opponents — foreshadowed a big move that would change baseball forever.
Read all about it right here.
Bicentennial-Flavored Patriotism
Finally, if you’re looking for some baseball cards to feed your hunger for a good ol’ Red, White, and Blue holiday, you really can’t go wrong with the 1976 Hostess set.
Grab your glucose monitor and head back with me to the grooviest cupcake aisle you’ll ever find right here.