Cards That Never Were #19

1964 Topps - Dave Roberts

Dave played for the Colts in 1962 and 1964. At the end of 1965, a season he spent in the minor leagues, Roberts was drafted by the Pirates in the Rule 5 draft.

Dave has a rookie stars card in the 1963 Topps set, which he shares with three other players. Dave also has a card in the 1966 Topps set, as a Pirate, but nothing else.

I decided to make the card a 1964 Topps. Here's the reasoning. Dave L. Roberts never played a game as an Astro. Every game that he played for the Houston organization was when they were using the Colt .45s name. By 1965, the Colts had become the Astros and were reflected that way on Topps cards. Using that logic, the missing card would have to be a 1964.

Dave wasn't the best player, but he managed to stick around for parts of three different non-consecutive seasons. That was probably due to his versatility in playing the field.