WHEN TOPPS HAD (BASE)BALLS!: Bill North

Showing posts with label Bill North. Show all posts

Monday, February 20, 2023

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION: 1972 BILL NORTH

Up on the blog today, we have a 1972 "not quite missing" card for speedster Bill North, who made his Major League debut during the 1971 season with the Chicago Cubs:

North appeared in only eight games for the Cubs that year, hitting a blistering .375 with six hits over 16 at-bats, with three runs scored and one stolen base.

A two-time stolen base champ in mid-1970's. North played 11 years in the Big Leagues, between 1971 and 1981 for the Cubs, A's, Dodgers and Giants.

He led the A.L. in stolen bases in 1974 and 1976, with totals of 54 and 75. He would have led the league in 1973, ending up one behind leader Tommy Harper, had he not sprained his ankle on September 20th, which also cost him seeing any action in the post-season.

He'd end up with 395 stolen bases to go along with a .261 lifetime average, 640 runs and 1016 hits, while being on two championship teams with Oakland in 1973 & 1974.

Funny enough, he was also the very first designated hitter in Oakland A's history, going 2 for 5 in the 1973 season opener against the Minnesota Twins.

Go figure…

Sunday, August 28, 2022

EXPANDED LEAGUE-LEADERS: 1977 A.L. STOLEN BASES

Up on the blog this fine day, moving on to the American League for their top three stolen base thieves of the 1976 season on an "expanded" 1977 league-leader card:

We start off with the Oakland A's Bill North, who took home his second stolen base crown in three years with his 75 steals in 1976.

Prior to the 1976 season he led the league with 54 in 1974, and would top 50 steals only one more time in his career, in 1979 with 58 for the San Francisco Giants.

He'll finish his career with 395 steals between 1971 and 1981, while also hitting .261 with 1016 hits over 3900 at-bats, spread out over 1169 games.

In second place with 58 steals during the 1976 season, Detroit Tigers All-Star outfielder Ron LeFlore, who had his breakout season that year, hitting .316 with 93 runs scored, 172 hits and eight triples.

Over the next three seasons for the Tigers, he'd be incredible, scoring 100+ runs each year, with a league-leading 126 in 1978, top 180+ hits each time, with a high of 212 in 1977, and taking home the first of his two career stolen base crowns, with 68 in 1978.

In 1980 he would lead the National League with 97 steals, before moving on to the Chicago White Sox for the 1981 and 1982 seasons, retiring at the age of 34 with 455 steals between 1974 and 1982.

In third place with 54 steals, a guy who already had six stolen base crowns under his belt, Oakland A's All-Star shortstop Bert Campaneris.

Turns out it was the seventh and final time he would top 50 steals in a season over his career, finishing up with 649 steals over his 19-year Big League career.

Well there you have it, the top three stolen base guys from the American League in 1976.

Sunday, April 17, 2022

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1975 A.L. STOLEN BASES

On the blog today, we have the 1975 "expanded league leader" card for the American League's top base stealers of the previous season, with a fun surprise at third place:

Starting off with the top stolen base player for the Junior Circuit in 1974, the Oakland A's Bill North, who paced the league with his 54 steals, the first of two crowns for him in the next three years.

North just missed what would have been his first stolen base crown the year prior, in 1973, when he fell one short of sharing the lead with Tommy Harper of the Boston Red Sox.

Two seasons later in 1976 he'd have his best year in the Majors, leading the league with 75 steals while scoring 91 runs with a .276 batting average, collecting a career-best 163 hits.

In second place, and far back with 38 steals, Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who hit a blistering .364 while also leading the league with 218 hits and a .433 on-base-percentage for the Minnesota twins.

It's easy to forget that Carew would go on to steal 353 bases over his stellar career, with a high of 49 in 1976, as well as 41 in 1973.

In third place, and this is exactly the reason I wanted to do expanded league leaders in the first place, is a player many would be shocked to see here, the Cleveland Indians' John Lowenstein, who stole 36 bases while quietly putting together a nice season, collecting what turned out to be a career-best 123 hits over 140 games.

Of course we'll all remember him years later as a great bat off the bench for the Baltimore Orioles, with 1982 a fantastic season for him when he hit .320 with 24 homers and 66 runs batted in over just 310 at-bats, platooning with Gary Roenicke to give the O's a potent tandem no matter who was on the opposing mound.

And there you have it, the A.L.'s top base=stealers of 1974. On to pitching leaders!

Sunday, November 14, 2021

EXPANDED LEAGUE LEADERS: 1974 A.L. STOLEN BASES

On the blog today, we have the next "expanded league leader" card in my on-going thread, this one the 1974 card for the American League stolen base leaders of 1973:

We start off with Tommy Harper, who took home his second stolen base crown, now as a member of the Boston Red Sox, with his 54 steals.

Back in 1969 he also led the American League in steals while a member of the one-year Seattle Pilots, with 73.

Harper would finish his 15-year career in 1976 with 408 stolen bases overall, with a 30-30 season in 1970 as a Milwaukee Brewer when he hit 31 homers while stealing 38 bases.

Just one stolen base behind him with 53 is the Oakland A's speedster Billy North, who played his first full season in the Majors in 1973 and didn't disappoint, hitting .285 with those 53 steals, scoring 98 runs while collecting 158 hits.

He would go on to lead the league in steals two time over the next three years, with a high of 75 in 1976, finishing with 395 stolen bases for his career by the time he'd hang them up in 1981.

In third place with 43 steals is the Texas Rangers' Dave Nelson, who also finished in third the previous year.

After swiping 51 bases in 1972 he put in what was his best year as a Big Leaguer, hitting .286 with 165 hits and 71 runs scored, with 24 doubles, four triples and seven homers, all career bests aside from the triples.

So there you go!

The top three stolen base players for the Junior Circuit of 1973!

Thursday, October 7, 2021

TRADED- 1978 BILL NORTH

On the blog today, a 1978 traded card for former speedster Bill North, who found himself heading South to the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Oakland A's about a month after the 1978 season started:

North was traded straight up for Glenn Burke after 5+ seasons with the A's, a tenure that saw him lead the league in stolen bases twice (1974 & 1976), with a high of 75 in 1976.

He would have led the American League in 1973 as well if not for a sprained ankle on September 20th, leaving him one stolen base behind Tommy Harper.

Luckily for him, he was traded from an Oakland team that was free-falling to a team heading to the World Series, where Los Angeles would face the New York Yankees.

Over his 110 games for the Dodgers, North would hit .234 while stealing 27 bases, scoring 54 runs and drawing 65 walks.

At season's end he was declared a Free Agent, and with that he took his legs over to the San Francisco Giants, where he would play what turned out to be the last three years of his career between 1979 and 1981.

All told, North finished his career with a .261 batting average over 11 seasons, stealing 395 bases and scoring 640 runs, winning two titles with the A's in 1973 and 1974, and that N.L. pennant with the Dodgers in 1978.

Monday, September 15, 2014

"HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 1970'S" #34: THE OAKLAND A'S BURN UP THE BASE PATHS IN 1976

I'm STILL amazed all these years later by that 1976 Oakland A's team that absolutely ran wild on the base paths on their way to a (still) American League record of 341 stolen bases!

So I created a 1977 "Highlights" card celebrating the feat. Take a look:

Even though they were still considered a team with "pop" with sluggers Sal Bando, Gene Tenace and Joe Rudi in the line-up, they featured no less than EIGHT players who stole 20 or more bases that year!

As a matter of fact, those 341 stolen bases were almost a MAJOR League record, falling just 6 behind the 1911 New York Giants for most Post-1901.

Bill North (who ended up leading the league with 75), Bert Campaneris and Don Baylor paced the team, combining for 181 steals between them!

In addition to that mighty trio, Claudell Washington, Phil Garner, Larry Lintz, Sal Bando and Matt Alexander joined them with 20 or more steals.

Incredible.

I remember when the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals were stealing bases at a record pace, with rookie Vince Coleman leading the way.

But they fell short of the '76 A's, ending up with 314 steals, though STILL an impressive number to say the least.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

A CARD THAT'S ALWAYS BUGGED ME...1973 BILL NORTH

I realize how trivial this all is, but the 1973 Topps Bill North card has always bugged me because of the airbrushing, or "missing" airbrushing on his uniform.

Take a look:

What bugs me to this day is the fact that you can clearly see the "Chicago" across his chest, since the photo was taken while he was still a Chicago Cub.

I rarely re-do cards of non-Hall of Famers, but since this is one that stuck in my side for so long, I figured I re-do it with an actual photo of North in an Oakland A's uniform.

A two-time stolen base champ in mid-1970's. North played 11 years in the big leagues, between 1971 and 1981 for the Cubs, A's, Dodgers and Giants.