I'm going to make an attempt to collect as many baseball cards as possible from 1976. I was 9 when the 1976 Topps baseball cards came out. I have most of those cards, but I'd like to expand and get the other cards from this great year.
Jim Holt played in parts of nine seasons from 1968-1976. Holt was signed by the Kansas City A's in 1965. Jim played in the A's organization from 1965-1967 and then was taken by the Minnesota Twins in the Rule 5 draft.
Holt had to stay on the Twins' roster for the entire 1968 season and batted .208 in 106 at bats. Jim was in the minors for most of the 1969 season. Holt went 5 for 14 (.357) for the Twins at the end of the 1969 season.
Jim played a lot in left field and center field for the Twins for most of the 1970 season. Holt batted .266 in 142 games during the regular season and went 0 for 5 in three games in the 1970 NLCS.
Holt was a fourth outfielder and occasional first baseman in 1971 and batted .259 in 126 games.
Jim was in AAA for most of the 1972 season. He came back to Minnesota in September and went 12 for 27 (.444) in ten games.
Holt's best season was in 1973 when he batted .297 in 132 games.
In 1974 Jim started with the Twins (.254 in 79 games) as a backup first baseman and outfielder. On August 19 Holt was traded to the Oakland A's for Pat Bourque. Jim batted .143 in 42 at bats for the A's at the end of the 1974 season. Holt went 0 for 1 with a walk in the 1974 ALCS and went 2 for 3 in four games in the 1974 World Series
Jim spent a little bit of time in AAA Tucson in 1975. He played in 106 games for the A's in 1975, mostly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement, and batted .220 in 123 at bats. Jim was 1 for 3 in three games as a pinch hitter in the 1975 ALCS.
Holt was in Tucson for most of the 1976 season and batted .337 in 96 games. Jim was 2 for 7 (.286) in four games for the A's at the end of the 1976 season. Jim retired after the 1976 season.
Doug Konieczny pitched in parts of five seasons for the Houston Astros from 1973-1977. Doug was the first round (4th overall) pick of the Astros in 1971 and earned a promotion to Houston after going 12-12 with a 2.66 ERA for AA Columbus in 1973. Konieczny started two games for the Astros in 1973 and was 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA.
Doug started the 1974 season with Houston but he struggled (0-3, 7.63 ERA in six games) and was sent to AAA Denver in May.
Konieczny was with the Astros for the entire 1975 season. Doug was 6-13 with a 4.47 ERA in 29 starts for Houston in '75.
Doug pitched for AAA Memphis for the entire 1976 season.
Koneiczny started four games for the Astros in April 1977 (1-1, 6.00 ERA) and missed the rest of the season with an injury. Doug pitched in three games in Class A in 1978 before calling it a career.
Ken Rudolph was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1965. Ken played in the minors from 1965-1969 and then was up and down between Chicago and the minors in 1969
Rudolph batted .206 in 27 games for the Cubs in 1969.
Ken was up and down between the minors and the Cubs again in 1970. Although starting catcher Randy Hundley played in only 73 games due to injury, Rudolph didn't get much playing time. Jack Hiatt and J.C. Martin shared most of the catching duties while Hundley was out. Ken batted .100 in 20 games for the Cubs in 1970.
Rudolph started the 1971 season with the Cubs but was sent down in May. Ken came back in September to finish the season in Chicago. Rudolph batted .197 in 25 games for the Cubs in 1971.
Ken played in 42 games in 1972 and batted .236 in 106 at bats. In 1973 Rudolph got more playing time as Hundley started to slow down. Ken batted .206 in 42 games in '73.
During spring training in 1974 Rudolph was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Willie Prall. Ken had his best year in 1974, batting .259 in 57 games. After the 1974 season Rudloph was traded with Elias Sosa to the St. Louis Cardinals for Marc Hill.
Ken wasn't going to get much playing time with Ted Simmons starting behind the plate. Rudolph batted .200 in 80 at bats in 1975. In 1976 Ken batted .160 in 50 at bats.
At the end of spring training in 1977 Rudolph was sold to the Giants. Ken went 3 for 15 (.200) in 11 games for the Giants before he was sold to the Baltimore Orioles on July 27. Rudolph went 4 for 14 (.286) for the Orioles in 11 games in 1977.
Rudolph was released after the 1977 season. Ken signed with the Cardinals and played for AAA Springfield in 1978 but he retired after batting .200 in 42 games.
Rudolph now teaches PE and coaches the varsity baseball team at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, AZ.
Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1973 but did not sign
Drafted by the Kansas City Royals later in 1973 and signed
Had brief stints with the Royals in 1975 (1-0, 0.00 ERA in 12 games) and in 1976 (0-0, 9.00 ERA in nine games)
Traded to the Milwaukee Brewers with Jamie Quirk and Jim Wohlford for Darrell Porter and Jim Colborn
Was a reliever for the Brewers from 1977-1981
1977: 2-1, 6 saves, 2.52 ERA in 68 games
1978: 2-6, 9 saves, 3.74 ERA in 44 games
1979: 5-2, 5 saves, 3.88 ERA in 36 games
1980: 5-8, 10 saves, 3.08 ERA in 52 games (5 starts)
1981: 0-0, 3.52 ERA in four games (missed most of the season with arm problems)
Pitched in three games in the 1981 ALDS and allowed no runs in 3.1 innings
Became a starting pitcher in 1982 and started most of the time through the 1984 season
Went 12-7 with a 4.22 ERA in 34 games (26 starts) in 1982
Won game 5 in a 1.2 inning relief stint in the 1982 NLCS
Earned saves in games 4 and 5 and took the loss in games 2 and 7 in the 1982 World Series
Went 9-9 with an ERA of 4.50 in 24 games (23 starts) in 1983
Appeared in 39 games (18 starts) in 1984 and was 4-8 with a 4.38 ERA
Became a full-time reliever again in 1985 and started only one game for the remainder of his career
In 1985 he appeared in 38 games (1 start) and was 4-1 with a 4.32 ERA
Started the 1986 season with the Brewers (2-1, 3.86 ERA in 13 games) and was traded to the Montreal Expos on June 8 for a minor leaguer
Was 2-5 with six saves and had a 3.02 ERA in 52 games for the Expos in 1986
Appeared in 52 games and was 6-1 with five saves and had a 3.44 ERA in 1987
Started the 1988 season with the Expos (1-3, 6.16 ERA in 19 games) and was released on July 2
Signed with the New York Mets on July 13, 1988 and was 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in 14 games.
Released after the 1988 season and later signed with the California Angels
1989: 6-1, 3 saves, 1.55 ERA in 48 games
1990: 2-0, 6.43 ERA in 11 games
Did not pitch until August 18 of 1990 due to injury
Started 1991 with the Angels (0-0, 9.31 ERA in 13 games) and was released on June 16
Signed with the St. Louis Cardinals a week later and was 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 32 games
Went 2-2 with a 3.17 ERA in 71 games in 1992
Became a free agent after the 1992 season and signed with the Florida Marlins
Went 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA in 14 games in 1993 and was released in mid-May
Coached in the Colorado Rockies organization from 1999-2005
Has been the pitching coach for the Royals since 2006
Pat Zachry
Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1970.
Came up to the Reds in 1976 and was the NL Rookie of the Year
Went 14-7 with a 2.74 ERA in 38 games (28 starts) in 1976
Started and won game 2 of the 1976 NLCS
Started and won game 3 of the 1976 World Series
Began the 1977 season with the Reds and went 3-7 with a 5.04 ERA in 12 starts
Went to the New York Mets as part of the big Tom Seaver trade on June 15, 1977
Started 19 games for the Mets in 1977 and had a 7-6 record with a 3.76 ERA
Made the NL All Star team in 1978 but didn't pitch in the game
Was injured in 1978 and didn't pitch after July 24.
Went 10-6 with a 3.33 ERA in 21 starts in 1978
Broke his foot when he tried to kick a helmet in the dugout after giving up a hit (game #38) during Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak and was out for the rest of the year
Started seven games in 1979 (5-1, 3.59 ERA) but didn't pitch after June 8
Was 6-10 with a 3.01 ERA in 28 games (26 starts) in 1980
Led the NL with 14 losses in 1981 (7-14, 4.14 ERA in 24 starts)
Was a swingman in 1982 and went 6-9 with a 4.05 ERA in 36 games (16 starts)
Traded to the LA Dodgers after the 1982 season for Jorge Orta
Became a reliever with the Dodgers in 1983 and was 6-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 40 games (1 start)
Pitched in two games in the 1983 NLCS and allowed one run in four innings
Appeared in 58 games in 1984 and was 5-6 with a 3.81 ERA
Traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Al Oliver before the 1985 season
Had a 4.26 ERA in ten games before his release on June 8, 1985
Pitched in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989
