Card Corner--Bob Veale

Bob Veale--Topps Company--1973 (No. 518)

Everything about this Bob Veale card smacks of the early 1970s. Veale is sporting a distinguishable two-part mustache, which became a fashionable foray for some players after the birth of Charlie Finley's "Mustache Gang." Veale is also donning a pair of those conspicuously oversized glasses that epitomized the era. Finally, he's doing something players often did in spring training during the sixties and seventies: wearing a windbreaker jacket underneath his uniform jersey, with the jacket collar sticking blatantly out of the neck-hole.

I've often asked myself why players wore windbreakers under their uniforms. Were they trying to lose weight, or did they just like the windbreaker-under-polyester look? In the case of Veale, let's guess that it was the weight. Throughout the latter years of his career, Veale had engaged in a prolonged battle of the bulge, sometimes drawing the ire of management for failing to keep his midsection in focus.

For Veale, this 1973 card was also the last that the Topps Company would issue for him. That's a bit of an oddity, considering that the Red Sox brought Veale back to pitch in 1974. In fact, he lasted the entire season in Beantown, before being released after that Fall's World Series between the A's and Dodgers.

By the time that Veale began running out the clock of his career in Boston, he had become a left-handed reliever, pitching only occasionally in save situations. Such an inglorious role was a far cry from his primetime days with the Pirates, where the six-foot, six-inch Veale had developed a reputation as a solidly above-average starter with a mean fastball and an intimidating pose. A two-time All-Star, Veale threw hard and fast--only Sandy Koufax threw at a quicker clip among National League left-handers--making him more likely to lead the league in walks (four times) than he did in strikeouts (once).

When age began to set in, the Pirates switched Veale to the bullpen. In 1971, he won all six of his decisions in relief for the world champion Bucs, but the won-loss record masked a horribly ineffective ERA of 7.04. Some Pirate beat writers speculated that the team would release Veale, but world championships have a way of wiping away such ill intentions.

In his first five appearances in 1972, Veale continued to struggle, giving up seven walks and ten hits in nine innings. With rumors continuing to swirl about his future, the Pirates placed Veale on waivers. When no other major league team claimed him, Veale agreed to report to the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate at Charleston.

Since the Pirates had no intention of adding him to the expanded 40-man roster in September, they sold Veale's contract to the Red Sox, who were battling the Tigers for the American League East title. Veale pitched extremely well in six late-season games for Boston, hurling eight scoreless innings of relief, while picking up two wins and two saves.

Veale's pitching wasn't enough to help Boston overtake Detroit in the pennant race, as the Red Sox lost out by a half game, an inconsistency of the unbalanced schedule that had been created by the season-delaying strike. But the second-place finish was no fault of Veale. He had shown enough life in his left arm to convince the front office to bring him back for the 1973 season. Veale pitched so well for the Red Sox in 1973 that he actually became their second-best reliever, behind only Bobby Bolin, who was enjoying a career season.

Still, Veale's efforts won him no favor from Topps, which didn't produce a card for him in 1974. Perhaps the people at Topps knew what was coming. Dogged by injuries, Veale's availability and pitching fell off badly that summer. He pitched only 13 innings in 18 appearances, saw his ERA balloon above five and a half, and watched his 13-year major league career wind down to its finish.

At the time, very few black men held managing or coaching positions at the major or minor league level, but Veale expressed a desire to continue in baseball. In 1976, Veale signed on as a minor league pitching instructor in the Braves' organization. He later worked for the Yankees, also as a minor league teacher. In 1983, he landed in nearby Utica, New York, which happened to be the hometown of his former Pirates teammate, Dave Cash. That summer, Veale served as pitching coach for the independent Utica Blue Sox, who went on to win the New York-Penn League championship. The team gained additional notoriety as the subject of Roger Kahn's book, Good Enough To Dream.

Unlike 1973, there would be no baseball card for Veale in 1983. After his retirement as a player, there would also be no place for him at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. But at least he could take some solace in knowing that he had played a part in winning a championship just one hour down the road in a place called Utica.