#117) ART SHAMSKY

Art Shamsky joined the New York Mets when he was traded from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Bob Johnson on November 8, 1967. He became part of a right field platoon with Ron Swoboda when he joined the club. Art was a member of the 1969 World Champion Miracle Mets. Shamsky described that special team perfectly in an interview with Mets Fans Forever, "Now, the thing I think that really is important here is to understand that this was a team that got help every night from a different person basically. It really was the epitome of a team victory in a sense because, if you look at the box scores, it wasn't just one person, although guys were having some great years." Art remained with the Mets until he was traded with Jim Bibby, Rich Folkers and Charlie Hudson to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jim Beauchamp, Chip Coulter, Harry Parker and Chuck Taylor on October 18, 1971.

The popular Shamsky remained very active after his baseball career ended. He maintains his own website, has written a successful book, and runs Bravo Properties in South Orange, NJ. Art was reintroduced to a whole new generation when the television sit-com, "Everybody Loves Raymond" featured an english bulldog "Shamsky" named after the former Met in a 1999 episode.

I converted an autographed index card I purchased from an Ebay seller into Art Shamsky's card in the set on November 2, 2009.