Full Pack Friday

Friday's mail brought me a "Full Pack" autograph. Don "Full Pack" Stanhouse was trickier than most to track down. There had not been a lot of successes for him on SCN, so I did some digging. I found out the company he owns and sent a letter right out. His response came back in 18 days with some encouraging words.


It's nice when you know the player reads your letter. This will probably be one of my last typed letters. I never really liked typed letters but I had a huge dent to make in the collection and couldn't argue with the time saved. I have made great progress so I will be able to spend a little more time and effort on the personal touches.

Don Stanhouse 1991 Orioles Crown #432

Stanhouse was definitely one of the most colorful characters of his era. He was dubbed "Stan The Man Unusual" because of his unusual look (see above) and his penchant for screaming at the ballpark. His on-field antics also drew a lot of attention, much of which came from Earl Weaver. As the Orioles closer, Stanhouse was no stranger to the close call, often choosing who he wanted to face. His tight rope act caused Weaver to dub him "Full Pack", referring to the number of cigarettes he needed to smoke while watching him pitch.

His tactics were effective, registering the third most saves in the American Leaue during the 1978-79 seasons. He was also made his only All-Star appearance in 1979. Unfortunately the post season was not as kind, registering a 1-2 record with a 9.00 ERA. He inked a big deal with the Dodgers following the '79 campaign but never found as much success as he had here. He came back to Baltimore in 1982 to re-capture some glory but only enjoyed marginal success. He retired following the season and the once eccentric reliever turned himself into quite the businessman.