Okay, so, yes, technically this is an Expos/Nationals blog, but the Senators (both versions) are part of the historical lifeblood of this team – I mean, just look at the curly W hats. So, from time to time, I’ll be looking at Senators cards of years gone by.
Ken McMullen
1970 Topps #420
Position: 3B
Bio/Summary: I had no idea who Ken McMullen was until I got this card (see, this blog can be educational). Looking at his stats, he looks like a serviceable third baseman, just about average. This card was following off of a career year in 1969 (272/349/425 – that was the best OBP he had sadly). 1970 would be his last year with the Senators.
How Did I Get it?: I got this from a seller on eBay.
Did You Know?: That looks like Fenway in the background. I did a search on when this possibly could have been, and found a multitude of possibilities, unfortunately. I also can’t quite tell who that is in the background, but I am desperate to know if anyone has any clues.
Card Rating: 7/10 – “Hey, it’s the Curly W!” was my first thought on seeing this. I know the 1970 Topps set is maligned for its drab gray borders, but I like them for some odd reason. I also think the older photography was superior to the Topps I was raised with in the 80s. Sure, it’s posed, but there’s a lot of life to that shot.
NatsTown 
Photo most likely was taken at the Washington Senators’ spring home in Pompano Beach, Florida. Because of the MLB patch on his forearm, I’m almost certain the photo was taken in 1969. That was year MLB came out with this logo commerating birthday 100 Year Birthday. It was also the year the All-Star Game was held at RFK Stadium, (it was actually rained out by a torrential storm and played the next day).
Kenny McMullen was great third baseman with an awesom bare-handpick-up-and throw to 1st on bunts. Had a pretty good bat too. A friend of mine met him at a President Reagan gathering in LA in 1987 where he was assist. GM for the Dodgers. Many of us former Senator fans were ticked when he was traded for Aurelio Rodriquez in 1970.
Wow, thank you so much for sharing that, Andy. That’s fascinating stuff. I have to admit I’m much stronger on my Expos history than my Senators history (they left town five years before I was born), so it’s an absolute treat to get to learn this stuff. That may also help me with some photo identification…
My pleasure…I’m really up on my 1961-1972 Senators. Please let me know if you have further question on others. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed a few obits of some Senators from this era….Steve Ridzik, Lee Maye, Ron Kline, Buster Barum, (Sentators traded away Lou Pinella to the Orioles for this sub-par pitcher), and Eddie Brinkman (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/02/AR2008100203848.html ). Eddie was a great short-stop whose bat came around only when Ted Williams came on-board as skipper. Williams used to refer to Brinkman as “great glove-no bat”. McMullen and Brinkman were also good friends.
Great! Defintiely will do.