Don't Terry If You Want to See Hughes in Boston

History says he won't be there long...though cardboard opinions differ

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1975 Topps Terry Hughes (#612) - Card of the Day

According to Baseball Reference, there have been 31 men with the last name of “Hughes” who have played in major leagues. Among that roster was a Hughes with no apparent first name who played in one game for the 1940 Memphis Red Sox, plus Edgar Washington of the 1920 Kansas City Monarchs, who was born Edgar Hughes.

That’s a lot more Hugheses than I expected to find, but just because there are more Hugheses than there are, say, Bondses (only two of them), that doesn’t mean you *hear* the name much in baseball circles.

Phil Hughes was once an All-Star, and so was Sammy, in the 1930s, but otherwise, there hasn’t been a whole lot of diamond fame among the group.

So when Terry Hughes popped up as one of today’s birthday boys, and when I re-found his terrible/delightful 1975 Topps card, I knew we had our man of the day.

Like most baseball men with the surname, you probably haven’t heard of Terry Hughes, or maybe you’d forgotten that you’ve heard of him. Once upon a time, though, Hughes was a hot commodity.

Indeed the Cubs made Hughes the second overall pick in the 1967 draft, plucking him from the South Carolina high school ranks.

The young third baseman entered an organization with future Hall of Famer Ron Santo in his prime at the hot corner in the Windy City, in the midst of an MVP-calendar season.

It looked like a long climb ahead, and it was, but Hughes diversified his portfolio by also logging innings at shortstop and in the outfield.

Still, it took until September of 1970 before Hughes got the call he always dreamed of. With the Cubs battling the Pirates for the National League East crown, they brought up the 21-year-old, fresh off his first go-round with Triple-A Tacoma.

Manager Leo Durocher found a slot for Hughes in two games, against the Phillies on September 2 and against the Cardinals on September 17, both at Wrigley field.

In the first of those contests, Hughes replaced Billy Williams in left field in the fifth, then slid over to third in the eighth when Willie Smith replaced Santo. In the second game, Hughes pinch hit for reliever Jim Colborn in the ninth and led off with a single.

That was his only hit in three 1970 big league at-bats.

After that brief whiff of java, Hughes spent all of 1971 and 1972 at Triple A before the Cards bought his contract in April 1973. In between, though, Topps decided he was going to break through and included him on a multiplayer rookie card in their 1973 set.

The change of scenery (to the St. Louis organization) didn’t change his lot in life much, and Hughes spent most of the summer with the Triple-A Tulsa Oilers.

Like the Cubs in 1970, the 1973 Cardinals battled the Mets (and the Pirates) for the N.L. East crown, and they decided the 24-year-old Hughes could help with their cause.

After an August callup, manager Red Schoendienst found a spot for Hughes in 11 games, mostly as a replacement, but also sprinkling in a start at first one at third.

Overally, Hughes hit .214 with a double, a walk, and four strikeouts down the stretch for St. Louis.

Then, on December 7, 1973, the Cards sent Hughes, Reggie Cleveland, and Diego Seguí to the Boston Red Sox for John Curtis, Mike Garman and Lynn McGlothen.

By the time Hughes broke Spring Training with the Sawx, he was on a 1974 Topps “Rookie Infielders” card — as a Cardinal.

Hughes couldn’t quite get his cardboard timing right, but he did stay with Boston all year, batting .203 with a home run and six RBI in 79 plate appearances. That bought him a ticket to Triple-A Pawtucket for 1975, but it also bought him his first solo baseball card — the groovy number you see leading off this space today.

After a summer on the Boston farm, the Cardinals came calling again, and they bought Hughes’ contract before the 1976 season. He spent the Bicentennial summer at Triple-A Tulsa before hanging up his spikes in favor of joining the teaching ranks back home in South Carolina.

Today, Terry Hughes turns 75 years old.

Things Turned South for Pole

Hughes’ last major league at-bat resulted in a ground ball out against Gaylord Perry on October 2, 1974, at Fenway Park, the last game of the season. That grounder killed a Sox rally and left Rick Burleson stranded on second base after Burleson drove in Jim Rice with a double…who had driven in both Rick Miller and Tim McCarver with a double of his own.

That left the score tied at six heading to the ninth, where the Indians touched starter Dick Pole for two runs before he could record an out. Lance Clemmons came on for Pole and shut down the Tribe, but Boston didn’t score in the bottom of the frame and wound up with a campaign-ending loss.

Pole, always one of baseball’s great names, also made a cameo in a now-long-ago blog post about Christmas cards. Check that out right here for a little Christmas in May flavoring (and a Bill North sighting/citing).

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That’s about as much Red Sox talk as I can take for one day, but at least we got it out of the way here on Monday, right?

The rest of the week should be smooth sailing.

Thanks for reading.

—Adam