Mystery of 1969 Topps Fred Newman Solved! (Mostly)

This picture of the 1969 Topps Fred Newman card is taken from the great blog Jim from Downingtown has at http://1969topps.blogspot.com/2013/10/final-card-fred-newman.html.

In that particular post, he gives a nice rundown of Newman's career, from being a good young Angels hurler to a sore-armed minor leaguer, and also he muses as to how Newman would have gotten a card for this set. Newman never played for the Red Sox or for their Louisville minor league team, as is hinted by the obverse of the card:

My best guess would fall to the shortage of usable player photos that Topps had for the 1969 set, so they were grasping at straws to fill 664 places. HOWEVER, despite the fact that his Baseball-Reference page has no listing of a deal, I have been able to uncover what this card was alluding to.




From the Friday, March 14, 1969 edition of the Cumberland News:



"Fred Newman, former pitching standout for the California Angels who has been bothered by arm trouble for several seasons, Thursday was sent to the Boston Red Sox for an undisclosed amount of cash and a player to be named later."

Another article mentions Newman in a preseason game for the Louisville club, but I could not find why he never played for them. Maybe you can?

Al Zarilla Winds Down in the PCL

Al Zarilla played outfield for the Browns, Red Sox and White Sox thru the World War II years into the mid-fifties, and had a nice career. He was an All-Star in 1948 and had a mention in the MVP race for the AL Champion Brownies.

By 1953, his effectiveness as an extra outfielder in the majors had ended. His Baseball Reference major league page shows a sub-.200 batting average for the Red Sox. He played a couple more seasons in the PCL, starting with independent Seattle in 1954. But how did he get there?

The Waukesha Daily Freeman of January 7, 1954...


“The Boston Red Sox and the signing of other major league baseball players made up most of the news today as the clubs pepped up preparations for the 1954 spring training season. Boston gave outfielder Al Zarilla, a 10-year American Leaguer, his unconditional release,”



So he was a free agent when he signed with Seattle. 
From the Daytona Beach Morning Journal of January 30, 1954...



“Seattle’s baseball management announced yesterday the signing of Outfielder Al Zarilla, an 11-year veteran of the American League. He was given free agent status recently by the Boston Red Sox.”

Zarilla  spent a season at Seattle, hitting just .216. The next season, he started at independent San Diego.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of Dec. 2, 1954...


“San Diego of the Pacific Coast League today purchased outfielder Al Zarilla from Seattle of the same league.”




In 19 games with the Padres, Zarilla's average rebounded a bit, to .256, but it wasn't enough to stick around.


From the Medford Mail-Tribune of May 13, 1955...



“The San Diego Padres announced the outright release of catcher Jim Gladd and outfielder Al Zarilla.”


The Hollywood Stars, a Pirates affiliate at that time, picked him up a bit later. From the Spokane Daily Chronicle of June 8, 1955...



“Desperate for left hand batting, the Hollywood Stars have signed Al Zarilla….as utility outfielder…He was a free agent.”

Ouch, the use of the word 'desperate' isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. 

And it didn't go very well, either, as Zarilla went just 4-for-36 with Hollywood, all singles. From the Jamestown NY Journal of July 25, 1955...


“Veteran outfielder Al Zarilla was handed his unconditional release today by the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League.”

Other than a short class-C stint in 1956, that was it for Zarilla's career. He got everything out of what he had.

Zarilla pic from www.ootpdevelopments.com