The 1964 Topps baseball card #182 features right-handed relief pitcher Denny Lemaster of the Cincinnati Reds. The 1964 season would be Lemaster’s rookie year in Major League Baseball after coming up through the Reds farm system.
Denny Lemaster was born in 1940 in Tiffin, Ohio and grew up local to Cincinnati. He began his professional baseball career in 1958 at age 18 when he was signed by the Reds as an amateur free agent. Lemaster would spend his first 5 seasons in the minors working his way up through the Reds farm system, pitching for teams such as the Geneva Redlegs and Macon Peaches. His breakout season came in 1963 when he went 13-7 with a 2.55 ERA splitting time between the triple-A San Diego Padres and double-A Knoxville Smokies.
This success earned Lemaster a promotion to the big league Reds for the 1964 season at age 23. Standing at 6’2″ tall and weighing 195 lbs, Lemaster relied on control and deception from his three quarter arm angle delivery more so than pure velocity. His 1964 Topps rookie card shows him in a Reds home white uniform with red piping, with his distinctive long brown hair blowing in the wind. The graphic design was standard Topps fare of the era, featuring a color photo with black and white borders.
In 1964, Lemaster appeared in 48 games for the Reds, all in relief. He compiled a 3-3 record with 5 saves and a respectable 3.09 ERA in 83 innings pitched. As a rookie reliever, Lemaster provided valuable middle and long relief depth for the Reds staff led by starters Jim Maloney, Sammy Ellis and Joey Jay. The Reds featured legendary manager Fred Hutchinson and superstar sluggers such as Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson en route to an 87-68 record and 3rd place finish in the National League.
While Lemaster had a strong rookie campaign, control would continue to be an issue for him going forward. He walked 60 batters in his 83 innings in 1964. Over his 6 year MLB career spanning 1964-1969 split between the Reds, Braves and Cardinals, Lemaster would appear in 239 total games going 25-20 with 22 saves and a 3.84 ERA. Control remained an ongoing struggle as he compiled 255 walks over his 539 1/3 career innings.
After his playing career concluded in 1969, Lemaster stayed in the game by managing and coaching in the minor leagues for many seasons. He guided the Marion Mets of the Appalachian League to a league championship in 1973. Tragically, Lemaster passed away suddenly of a heart attack at just age 51 in 1991 while serving as the pitching coach for the Florence RedWolves team in the independent Carolina League. He left behind a wife and three children.
The 1964 Topps card #182 provides a glance into the rookie season and career of Reds reliever Denny Lemaster. While control limited his ultimate MLB success, Lemaster still enjoyed a respectable 6 year major league tenure and left an impact both on and off the field before his untimely passing. Over 50 years later, Lemaster’s 1964 Topps rookie card continues to be a cherished piece of memorabilia for Reds and baseball card collectors alike.
