Frank White Was NOT Too Cool for (Royals) School
"Smooth" is a Kansas City original1
1975 Topps Frank White (#569) - Card of the Day
You gotta figure both the Royals and Frank White knew they were taking a chance when they came together on an amateur free agent deal in July of 1970.
Undrafted out of high school and then out of nearby Longview Community College, White wasn’t the most coveted of prospects.
And in their second year of existence, the Royals were headed toward their second 90-plus-loss season. They weren’t the most coveted of landing spots.
But White attended tryouts for the brand new Royals Academy and won over first Norm Siebern and then Royals coaches and even owner Ewing Kauffman himself. By the spring of 1971, the 20-year-old was playing for the Rookie-level GCL Royals.
By the middle of 1973, White had chewed through the Royals’ minor league system, and he debuted with Kansas City on June 12, as a seventh-inning defensive replacement for pinch hitter Steve Hovle, who had hit for shortstop Bobby Floyd in the sixth.
White never looked back, and he never returned to the minors.
Before you knew it, White was starting at shortstop, and also seeing some time at second base. He hit just .223 as a rookie, but things were looking up for the Royals, who finished 88-74 under manager Jack McKeon.
And with White, George Brett, Steve Busby, John Mayberry, Buck Martinez, and others all still under 25, the future suddenly looked bright.
White split time at second and shortstop again in 1974 and 1975, and while the Royals slid a bit the first season, they rebounded to 91-71 in ‘75. But by the end of that second summer, McKeon was gone, replaced by Whitey Herzog.
In the meantime, Topps delivered the new Royal into collectors’ hands. In 1974, White grabbed the bottom right-hand corner of a four-man rookie card with Terry Hughes, John Knox, and Andre Thornton. And then in 1975, White sneaked into the frame of his first solo card, which you see above.
In 1976, White was Herzog’s starting second baseman, finally displacing veteran Cookie Rojas. The 25-year-old hit just .229, but he stole a then-career-high 20 bases and played great at the keystone as the Royals won their first division title.
The next year, White won his first of eight Gold Gloves, then made his first All-Star team in 1978.
By the time the Royals won their first pennant, in 1980, White was part of the team’s bedrock. His bat had improved to the point that Kansas City could count on .260 with a few home runs and double-digit steals each season.
By the time the Royals won their first World Series, in 1985, White was still a Gold Glove threat, but one who could also pop 20 home runs.
In fact, White won two more Gold Gloves, in 1986 and 1987, combining for 39 home runs those summers. From there it was a fairly quick downhill run, and White played his final game less than a month after his 40th birthday in September 1990.
And speaking of Frank White’s birthday, the Royals legend turns 74 years old today.
Bo Stepped in to TCB
White’s last game in the majors ended — for him — when Royals manager John Wathan pulled the second baseman in the top of the ninth in a 1-1 tie against the Angels on September 30, 1990.
In to hit for White?
None other than Bo Jackson, who promptly untied the game with a leadoff home run against California starter Scott Lewis.
Bo had plenty of great baseball cards, and plenty of flash ones, like the 1990 Donruss number above — it was sort of a reflection of its times. Read all about it right here.
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Just like Bo got the Royals over the hump in that win over the Angels, hope I’ve helped lift you over the hump of this week.
Though I’m not really sure if Wednesday still qualifies as Hump Day when a lot of folks didn’t work on Monday.
Either way, hope you have/had a great Wednesday.
Thanks for reading.
—Adam
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