The 1965 baseball draft — the start of it all for Rick Monday ... and Ken Holtzman

Even with the reserve clause in effect in the mid-1960s, major league baseball still had a free agency problem. Signing prospects was getting expensive. In 1955, Sandy Koufax was considered a bonus baby when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers for a reported $20,000. But in 1960, the Cubs gave 17-year-old Danny Murphy $125,000 to sign (it included his first two years' pay). And by the mid-'60s, six-figure bonuses were becoming more and more common, with no end to the escalation in sight.

Baseball instituted a player draft in 1965 to combat that trend. On June 8, 1965 — 60 years ago Sunday — the Kansas City Athletics made Arizona State outfielder Rick Monday the first overall pick in the first MLB draft. Monday signed for a $100,000 contract. But left-handed pitcher Les Rohr, the No. 2 overall pick, signed with the Mets for $55,000. And baseball's draft era was on.

The draft was notable for more than being the first in baseball history. The Reds selected catcher Johnny Bench in the second round (36th overall). The Mets drafted Nolan Ryan in the 12th round (295th overall).

Future Cub Rick Monday was the first player drafted in baseball's first draft in 1965.

The '65 draft started Tom Seaver's odd trek to the Mets that, with Ryan, helped fuel the stunning 1969 World Series championship. The Dodgers selected Seaver out of USC in the 10th round (190th overall), but Seaver did not sign a contract and became eligible for the 1966 secondary-phase of the draft (for players drafted the previous June who did not sign).

Seaver was drafted by the Braves in the first round of the secondary-phase (20th overall) and signed a $40,000 contract. But the contract was nullified because he was signed after USC had already played a game that season — breaking a rule that said players could not be signed after their college season had started. (The USC schedule the Braves had did not include a late-addition game against Cal Poly.) The Mets won a special drawing (over the Indians and Phillies) among teams willing to match the $40,000 bonus the Braves initially gave Seaver.

In a touch of irony, the 1965 draft also included Andy Messersmith (the Tigers' third-round pick), whose grievance after playing out his contract with the Dodgers in 1975 led to an historic decision by arbitrator Peter Seitz that declared Messersmith and Dave McNally free agents, ended the reserve clause and opened the door for the free agency era. (Messersmith, like Seaver, did not sign in 1965 and went into the secondary phase in 1966. He was drafted by the Angels in the first round and signed with them.)

The White Sox drafted catcher Ken Plesha, from Notre Dame and St. Mel High School in Chicago in the first round (17th overall). But Plesha never got higher than Class A in three minor-league seasons. Pitcher Paul Edmondson was their biggest success, only to see his career end in tragedy. Edmondson, drafted in the 21st round in 1965, pitched a complete game, allowing two hits, in a 9-1 victory over the Angels in his major-league debut on June 20, 1969. He was 1-6 with a respectable 3.70 ERA in 14 appearances in 1969, but tragically died in a car accident in southern California on Feb. 13, 1970 — a day after his 27th birthday.

The White Sox drafted Ken Plesha, a catcher from Notre Dame and old St. Mel High School in Chicago, with their first-round pick in 1965.

As for the Cubs, they drafted high school pitcher Richard James from Florence, Ala. with their first-round pick (sixth overall). James was from the same town that produced Bears wide receiver Harlon Hill, an immediate sensation after the Bears took him in the 15th-round pick in 1954 from Florence Teachers College. Alas, James was not as successful as Harlon Hill.

He did have a debut to remember in 1967 against the Giants — getting two outs on his first pitch in the big leagues when he got Ollie Brown to hit into a double play. But James made just two more appearances that season (allowing seven earned runs in three innings in the 1967 season finale) and never pitched in the big leagues again. The Cubs lost James to the Padres in the expansion draft in 1969 and reacquired him in 1970, but released him the following season.

But the 1965 draft was indeed fruitful for the Cubs. They drafted University of Illinois left-hander Ken Holtzman in the fourth round. Holtzman was an immediate hit in the low minors in 1965 (he did not allow a run in his first 19 innings in rookie ball) and became the first player from the 1965 draft to play in the big-leagues when he was called up in September that year (it reportedly was written in his contract that he would get that opportunity).

Holtzman allowed a home run to the Giants' Jim Ray Hart in his first appearance with the Cubs on Sept. 4, but it was the only run he allowed in three appearances (four innings). He became a full-time starter in 1966 and pitched six seasons for the Cubs. Holtzman was often compared to Sandy Koufax because he was left-handed and Jewish. And like Koufax he struggled early in his career to maximize his obvious talent.

Among the future major-leaguers drafted in the first round were Rick Monday, Joe Coleman, Billy Conigliaro, Ray Foss from downstate Marion, Ill., future White Sox first baseman Jim Spencer and "Carbo Bernardo," who actually is Bernie Carbo.

Holtzman went 9-0 in 1967 (pitching around National Guard responsibilities) and pitched two no-hitters (against the Braves in 1969 at Wrigley Field; against the Reds in 1971 at Riverfront Stadium). Overall, he was 74-69 with a 3.59 ERA from 1966-71. After slumping in 1971 (9-15, 4.48 ERA), he was traded to the Oakland A's — for Rick Monday.

That trade of underachieving 1965 draft picks ended up typifying the way the Cubs were running in those days. Monday was a big addition and more productive with the Cubs than with the A's — he hit .270 and averaged 21 homers and 59 RBIs per season. As the Cubs' leadoff hitter in 1976, Monday hit .272 with 32 home runs and 77 RBIs.

But Holtzman left Cub fans wondering what could have been. He became an All-Star with the A's in 1972 (19-11, 2.51 ERA) and 1973 (21-13, 2.97 ERA. Overall, he went 77-55 with a 2.92 ERA overall in four seasons, winning three consecutive World Series championships and four consecutive division titles.

That Holtzman was at his best in the postseason made it even more bittersweet for Cub fans who rooted for his success — Holtzman was 6-2 with a 1.97 ERA in the 1972-74 postseasons. The A's were 6-1 in his seven World Series starts and was the winning pitcher in Game 7 against the Mets in 1973. Holtzman also hit .308 with three doubles and a home run (a 1.126 OPS) in the World Series. In 1974, he broke a scoreless tie in Game 4 against the Dodgers with a home run — off Andy Messersmith.