Dave Marshall: Early 1970's Mets Reserve Outfielder (1970 - 1972)

David Louis Marshall was born on January 14, 1943, in Artesia, California. The left-handed hitting outfielder got signed by his home state Los Angeles Angels as an amateur free agent in 1963. In the minors he kept hitting better each year, batting .294 at AAA Phoenix by 1967.

Earlier that year he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for prospect Hector Torres.

MLB debut: On September 7th he debuted as a defensive replacement in a 3-2 win over the Astros. It was the only game he played in that month.

He would spend two more years in San Francisco, making the 1968 Topps All Star Rookie team batting .264 with 1 HR 5 doubles 16 RBIs & 40 walks in 76 games. 

In 1969 he played 110 games in an outfield with Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds & Ken Henderson. He got 267 at bats, batting .232 with 2 HRs 7 doubles & 33 RBIs. 

As an outfielder, the scouting reports said he had a strong throwing arm with decent range.

Mets Career: In December of 1969 he was traded with pitcher Ray Sadecki to the New York Mets for Jim Gosger and Bobby Heise. Marshall would spend three seasons in New York, as a utility outfielder.  He was part of a crowded but talented Mets outfield in 1970 that included Cleon Jones, Tommie Agee, Ron Swoboda, Art Shamsky & youngsters Ken Singleton & Leroy Stanton.

Marshall started the year with five pinch hit appearances going hitless. On April 26th, he got his first start it came in Los Angles where he got his first Mets hit while playing left field in a 3-1 Tom Seaver win.

Grand Slam HR: In his second Mets start, he went up against his old Giants teammates in Candlestick Park. In the top of the 1st inning, Marshall hit a grand slam HR off Gaylord Perry, helping the Mets to a 5-2 win. 

Four RBI Game: On May 9th when the Giants visited Shea Stadium, he had a big three hit game, where he had a pair of two run singles for another four RBI game in the 14-5 Mets win. 

On May 18th, he hit his second HR, a solo shot off Montreal's Bill Stoneman in a Mets loss.

He had 14 hits in a twelve-game span in the last two weeks of June, as he saw more playing time in the outfield. On June 28th he hit a HR off Carl Morton & drove in the only two runs of a Mets loss in Montreal.

Game Winning Run: On June 29th, Marshall cane to bat with two men on & the Mets down 2-1 to the Pirates in the bottom of the 9th inning. Marshall singled off Steve Blass to tie the game & then scored the winning run-on Don Clendenon's walk off sac fly.

On July 25th with the Mets down 6-4 to the Dodgers at Shea Stadium, Marshall blasted a 7th inning three run HR off Jose Pena to put the Mets ahead with the winning runs. 

On August 4th, he hit two doubles, driving in three runs in a 4-0 Nolan Ryan shut out of the Chicago Cubs where he struck out 13 at Shea Stadium. 

Marshall finished the season playing in 92 games, he was used often as a pinch hitter getting a dozen pinch hits batting over .375 in that role. Overall, he batted .243 hitting a career high six HRs with ten doubles 29 RBIs 17 walks & a .304 on base %. He played 43 outfield games.

1971: Marshall started out the year well & was seeing more action in the outfield. After three hitless pinch-hit appearances, he saw steady playing time in the outfield batting .393 at the end of April. 

Grand Slam HR: On May 11th, at the Houston Astrodome, he hit his second career grand slam. It came off George Culver in the 6th inning of an 8-1 win over the Astros.

Four days later he hit another HR in Pittsburgh helping New York to a 9-5 win over the Pirates. In early June he drew six walks in a three-game home stand with the San Diego Padres. 

The next day when the San Francisco Giants came to town, he hit a HR against Jerry Johnson. 

It came in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game, although the Mets would lose it the next inning when Tug McGraw threw a wild pitch to Willie Mays allowing Hal Lanier to score.

As the summer went on, Marshall fell off and saw less playing time, finishing the year playing in 92 games. Marshall batted .238 with 51 hits 3 HRs 9 doubles 21 RBIs & a .322 on base %.

Marshall played the outfield in 64 games posting a .989 fielding % for the third place Mets.

1972: He started out the year slowly, not getting his first hit until June 20th, which was the seventieth game he played. 

On June 21st he hit a 6th inning HR in Houston off the Astros Tom Griffin to tie the game. In the top of the 8th, he reached on an error while Tommie Agee scored the go ahead run helping the Mets to a 5-4 win. 
On July 1st, he helped Jerry Koosman to his 6th win of
the year, hitting a two run HR off the Expos Mike Torrez 
at Jarry Park in Montreal. They were the only two runs as the Mets beat Montreal 2-0.

In August he hit two HRs & drove in five runs playing sparingly. Marshall hit better as the year went batting .263 in the second half as opposed to .232 in the first part.

In 1972 he finished up the year batting .250 with 4 HRs 5 doubles 22 walks 11 RBIs & a .346 on base %. He played in 42 games in the outfield with a .972 fielding %.

In November he was traded to the San Diego Padres for Al Severinsen, who never played a game in a Mets uniform.

Post Mets Career: In 39 games for the 1973 Padres, Marshall hit .286 with four RBIs in 39 games. He ended his seven-year playing career that season at 30 years old. 

Career Stats: In his seven-year career he hit .246 with 258 hits 16 HRs 41 doubles 4 triples 114 RBIs 13 stolen bases 133 walks & a .333 on base %.

In 294 games in the outfield, he posted a .966 fielding % & made ten assists.

Baseball Card Trivia: On his 1973 Topps baseball Card, Marshall's cap & uniform were airbrushed to the Padres colors. He still has the Mets pinstripes & the picture is clearly taken at Shea Stadium. Topps did these air brush moved in the early seventies when a player was traded in between seasons & they had no new photos of the player in that uniform.

Family: In 1994 Dave married his wife, Carol.

Retirement: After his baseball career Marshall ran three successful bar/restaurants in Manhattan; Marshall's, Oasis & Rascals. Dave Marshall became a regular on the New York City night club scene in 1970s. He would frequent Studio 54 in its heyday, as one of the owners was a personal friend of his. 

In 1985 he went back to California & worked security on the Queen Mary. He later was the parking manager at the Long Beach Convention Center & also owned a tavern in Commerce, California in southeast L.A.

Passing: In 2018 Marshall suffered injuries in a golf cart
accident, which included a fractured skull. He was never able to fully recover. His wife Carol was also suffering from M.S. The two had adjoining beds in hospice care. Carol passed away on June 6th, 2018 & Dave passed away less than 48 hours later.

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