Card of the Moment #53
October 5th, 2010 by slangon

1963 Topps #33 Bo Belinsky

Todays Card of the Moment is a 1963 Topps card of Angels pitcher Bo Belinsky. It actually came into my collection via the electronic version of the quarter bin. I was picking a few cards that I needed off of Sport Lots and noticed that the seller I was getting them from had quite a few that were priced $0.30 and lower. Being a cheapskate as well as an avid lover of well used vintage cards, I picked up a few bucks worth, thus bolstering my stack of Card of the Moment candidates.

My research into Bo began as most of my Card of the Moment research starts, with Baseball Reference. Just looking at Bo’s numbers, his career did not seem to be anything spectacular. If anything, he seemed to sort of bad. He had a lifetime 28-51 record to go along with a 4.10 ERA. And keep in mind that his career spanned 1962 through 1970, an era when pitchers were more favored than hitters. When I kept looking at the back of his card though, and saw that he threw a no-hitter in his rookie year, I felt that there must be more to this story than just a bad pitcher who happened to get lucky one glorious Cinco de Mayo in 1962.

Turns out Bo was your classic super talented young athlete with a wild streak a mile wide.

Bo started out in the Pirates system before being shipped to the Orioles, where he spent his entire time in the minors. He was picked by the Angels a 1961 Rule V Draft Pick and started out with the big club. He started the season brilliantly, winning his first 5 starts, including the aforementioned no-hitter, which by the way was the first no-hitter in the history of the Angels franchise. He was 7-3 by the beginning of July, which is pretty damn good for any pitcher, nevermind a rookie. Unfortunately for Bo, he had a terrible second half and finished the year 10-11 as well as leading the league in walks. That has the dubious distinction of being the only time in his career that Belinsky ever led the league in any category.

What made his promising start fizzle out like a roman candle in a monsoon? Apparently after his early success, Bo succumbed to his new found fame and the Hollywood lifestyle. During a whirlwind spree of boozing and womanizing, Bo at points dated Hollywood starlets Mamie Van Doren, Ann-Margret, Tina Louise (a.k.a. Ginger from Gilligan’s Island), Juliet Prowse, and Connie Stevens. He eventually married, and later divorced, Playboy Playmate Jo Collins. From there he moved on to marrying, and later divorcing, paper heiress Janie Weyerhaeuser. He also appeared in several television shows during his playing career, including 77 Sunset Strip and The Lloyd Bridges Show (I actually had no idea Lloyd Bridges had his own show).

Things during his raucous years weren’t all boys will be boys type fun, either. On July 13, 1962, just 2 months after hurling his no-hitter, a nightclub hatcheck girl filed a $150,000 suit against Belinsky claiming that  he dragged her from the rear seat of his Cadillac after a night of partying with a group of celebrities, including Eddie Fisher, Dean Martin and Henry Fonda. The woman, Gloria Eves received six stitches after hitting her head during the incident. Charges were dropped after both Eves roommate and Bo’s teammate Dean Chance corroborated that Eves was injured by accident.

Even more disturbing than those allegations are one coming from Canadian songwriter Nanette Workman, who in her 2008 biography claimed that Belinsky raped her back in 1965. Obviously no charges were ever filed, and by then Bo had been dead for 7 years so he wasn’t around to defend himself, but when looked at in light of all the other incidents, it’s rather ironic that he played for a team called the Angels.

One Response to “Card of the Moment #53”

  1. Which seller? I can use some space fillers for my Giants collection.

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