1976 Topps Giants - Part 5 (more pitchers)

Gary Lavelle was a big part of the Giants' bullpen for many years in the 70s and 80s. In 1976 Gary was 10-6 with 12 saves and a 2.69 ERA in 65 games.

Dave Heaverlo was 4-4 with one save and a 4.44 ERA in 61 games in 1976.

Charlie Williams was 2-0 with a save and an ERA of 2.96 in 48 games (2 starts). The Giants acquired Charlie from the New York Mets in exchange for Willie Mays in 1972.

Randy Moffitt was the main right-handed reliever in 1976. He was 6-6 with 14 saves and a 2.27 ERA in 58 appearances.

Tom Bradley didn't pitch for the Giants in 1976. He was waived by the Giants during spring training in 1976 and selected by the Oakland A's. He spent 1976 with AAA Tucson but never made it back to the majors. Tom pitched his last major league game in September 1975.

Rob Dressler (#599) had the shortest career out of the four pitchers on this card. He made his debut in late 1975. In 1976 he was 3-10 with a 4.43 ERA in 25 games (19 starts). He was 5-1 with a 1.12 ERA in six starts for AAA Phoenix. Rob spent the 1977 season with Phoenix and also spent time in the minors in 1978 and 1979 after being traded from the Giants. Rob finished his career with the Seattle Mariners in 1980.

Pitchers who didn't receive a 1976 Topps Giants card:

Greg Minton (0-3, 4.91 ERA in 10 games - 2 starts)

Bob Knepper (1-4, 3.24 ERA in 4 starts)

Frank Riccelli (1-1, 5.62 ERA in 4 games - 3 starts)

Tommy Toms (0-1, 1 save, 6.23 ERA in 7 games)

1976 Topps Giants - Part 4 (pitchers)

John Montefusco (#30) followed up his good rookie year with another good year in 1976. He was 16-14 with a 2.84 ERA in 36 starts.

John D'Acquisto (#623) was 3-8 with a 5.35 ERA in 28 games (19 starts). After the season he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. How is his name pronounced anyway?

Pete Falcone (#524) didn't pitch for the Giants in 1976. The Giants traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1976 season for Ken Reitz.

Ed Halicki (#423) was 12-14 with a 3.62 ERA in 31 starts. He spent most of his career (1974-1980) with the Giants. He was waived by the Giants in mid-1980, was claimed by the California Angels, and pitched for them for the rest of the 1980 season.

Jim Barr (#308) was 15-12 with a 2.89 ERA in 37 starts in 1976. Barr was a solid pitcher for the Giants for several years in the 1970s.

Mike Caldwell (#157) was 1-7 with 2 saves and an ERA of 4.86 in 50 games (9 starts). He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals after the '76 season. The Cards turned around and traded Caldwell to the Cincinnati Reds. After struggling with the Reds and Brewers in 1977, Mike went on to have several good years with the Brewers in the late 70s and early 80s. His APBA card had an interesting nickname printed for him -- "Mr. Warmth."

1976 Topps Giants - Part 3 (outfielders)

• Von Joshua (#82) played in 62 games, batting .263 in 156 AB as the starting center fielder for the first two months of the season. He was sold to the Milwaukee Brewers on June 2.

• Gary Matthews (#133) batted .279 with 20 HR and 84 RBI. Matthews, Larry Herndon, and Bobby Murcer were the starting outfielders and they all tied for the team lead in stolen bases with 12. Gary left the Giants and signed with the Atlanta Braves after the 1976 season.
  
  
  

• Bobby Murcer (#470) was the starting right fielder and batted .259 with a team-leading 23 HR and 90 RBI. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs after the season as part of the deal that brought Bill Madlock to the Giants.
  
  
  
  

• Glenn Adams (#389) was one of those Phoenix Giants who did great in the minors but didn't do as well in the majors. In 1976 Adams batted .243 in 74 AB and was sold to the Minnesota Twins after the season. In eight seasons in the minors Glenn had a lifetime .311 batting average, including a .352 mark for Phoenix in 1974 and a .330 average for AAA Syracuse in 1982.
  
  
  
  
  

• Gary Thomasson (#261) batted .259 with 8 HR and 38 RBI in 368 at bats as a backup outfielder and first baseman. He started with the Giants in 1972 and played with them through the 1977 season. Gary was one of the several players traded to the Oakland A's for Vida Blue before the 1978 season.

Others who played OF in 1976 but didn't receive Topps Giants cards:

• Larry Herndon - starting CF after Von Joshua's departure (.288 in 337 AB)
• Jack Clark (.225 in 102 AB as a 20-year-old rookie)

1976 Topps Giants - Part 2 (infielders)

Steve Ontiveros (#284) didn't get much playing time for the Giants in 1976. He batted .176 in 74 at bats and went to the Cubs as part of the Bill Madlock trade after the season.

Willie Montanez (#181) spent part of the season with the Giants before being traded to the Atlanta Braves in a multi-player deal that netted Darrell Evans for the Giants. Willie played in 60 games for the Giants and batted .309 before the June 15 trade. He ended up playing in 163 games in the 1976 season. Willie continued his major league career until 1982.

Chris Speier (#630) slumped to a .226 average in 145 games in 1976. Speier originally came up with the Giants in 1971 and was traded to the Montreal Expos early in the 1977 season for Tim Foli. Chris spent some time with several other teams before coming back to the Giants in 1987 and finishing up with them in 1989.

Derrel Thomas (#493) batted .232 in 85 games for the Giants in a utility role. He was the starting second baseman until Marty Perez came over as part of the Montanez/Evans trade on June 15. Thomas came to the Giants in 1975 and was traded to the San Diego Padres for Mike Ivie after the 1977 season. He ended up playing 15 seasons for seven teams.

Bruce Miller (#367) batted .160 in 25 at bats. He played in 87 games at AAA Phoenix and batted .262. Bruce retired after the 1976 season.

Ken Reitz (#158T) was the starting third baseman for the Giants in 1976. In 155 games he batted .267 with 5 HR and 66 RBI. The Giants had acquired Reitz in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals for Pete Falcone before the 1976 season. After the '76 season Ken was traded back to the Cardinals for Lynn McGlothen.

Johnnie LeMaster (#596) hit a home run in his first major league at bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 2, 1975. Johnnie hit only 22 homers in his career. In 1976 LeMaster played for AAA Phoenix for most of the season. For the Giants Johnnie played in 33 games and batted .210 in 100 at bats. He played for the Giants from 1975-1985 and then had short stints in Pittsburgh (1985) and Oakland (1987).

1976 Topps Giants - Part 1

• These were grim times for the Giants. A manager isn't pictured on this team card (#443) because the Giants hadn't hired one when this set was printed. The Giants weren't drawing well and they were about to be sold and moved to Toronto before Bob Lurie bought the team and kept it in San Francisco.

• Bill Rigney was eventually brought in to manage the team in 1976. He had a previous stint managing the Giants from 1956-1960. He was let go after 58 games despite having a .569 winning percentage (the Giants were in 5th place at the time). Bill also managed the Los Angeles/California Angels from their inception in 1961 until early 1969. Rigney managed the Minnesota Twins to the 1970 AL West title and ran them in '71 and for 39 games in '72. After the 1976 season Rigney was replaced by Joe Altobelli.

• Team record: 74-88 (4th in NL West, 28 games behind Cincinnati)

• Attendance: 626,868 (12th in NL)

• Team Batting: .246 (9th in NL)

• Team Home Runs: 85 (8th in NL)

• Team ERA: 3.53 (6th in NL)

• Team Fielding: .971 (12th in NL)

• NL All Stars: John Montefusco (P)

• League Leaders: Willie Montanez (games played - 163 for Giants and Braves); John Montefusco (shutouts - 6)
• Team Batting Leader: Larry Herndon (.288)
• Team HR Leader: Bobby Murcer (23)
• Team RBI Leader: Bobby Murcer (90)
• Team Wins Leader: John Montefusco (16)
• Team Losses Leader: Ed Halicki (14)
• Team Saves Leader: Randy Moffitt (14)
  

Mike Sadek (#234) batted .204 in 93 at bats as the Giants' third catcher.

• Dave Rader (#54) was the "regular" catcher -- he played in 88 games and batted .263 with 1 HR and 23 RBI.
  
  
  

• Marc Hill (#577) batted .183 in 54 games (131 AB) with 3 HR and 15 RBI.

Others who caught for the Giants but didn't get a 1976 Topps Giants card:

• Gary Alexander (.178 in 73 AB)