One of the most recognized Relief Pitchers of the 1970s is Sparky Lyle, who first debuted in the Majors with the Boston Red Sox in 1967.  Lyle became Boston's closer in 1969, putting forth three straight 15 Save years, but he was deemed expendable, and the Red Sox traded him to the New York Yankees, who, as history would show, gave up nothing in return for him.

Lyle blossomed in New York, setting a then American League record 35 Saves and finishing third for the MVP, and raising the bar for closers.  Lyle was an All-Star three times in the 70s, was a crucial part of New York's back-to-back World Series titles (1977 & 1978), and won the Cy Young in 1977.

Following the '78 World Series win, Lyle was traded to the Texas Rangers, but his skills were no longer there.  He bounced around to Philadelphia and the Chicago White Sox before retiring in 1982.  Lyle left the game with 238 Saves, and he finished 634 of the 899 Games he appeared in.

The first half of George Gore's career was by far the best half, where he was a member of the Chicago White Stockings, the team that became the iconic Chicago Cubs.

Ellis Burks compiled a much better career than you might initially realize.

Beginning with the Boston Red Sox in 1987, Burks became their starting Centerfielder and, as a rookie, was a 20-20 player.  As a member of the Red Sox, Burks had his best year in 1990, when he went to his first All-Star Game and was a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger recipient.  Burks hit 21 Home Runs that year and finished 13th in MVP voting.

After an injury-plagued 1992 season, he signed with the Chicago White Sox for one season and joined the Colorado Rockies the year after.  In the mountains, he had his best season in baseball, albeit after two more years of missing a plethora of games.  In 1996, he was third in MVP voting, was an All-Star, and led the National League in Runs Scored (142) with career-highs in Home Runs (40), Runs Batted In (128), Stolen Bases (32), and the Slash Line (.344/.408/.639).  

Burks couldn't replicate that year, but he had six more 20-HR seasons and would play for San Francisco and Cleveland, and had one final stop in Boston in 2004.  He retired with 2,107 Hits, 352 Home Runs, 1,206 RBIs, and a Slugging Percentage of .510. 

Wally Berger was one of the better sluggers of the National League in the first half of the 1930s, and the Boston Braves were lucky to have him. 

Berger had a spectacular rookie season in 1930, where the Outfielder batted .310 and blasted 38 Home Runs, which would be his career-high.  His power dipped below the 20 HR mark in the next two years, but he batted over .300 in his first four seasons.  

When the Majors debuted their All-Star Game in 1933, Berger was a part of the first four.  In those four seasons, Berger would have at least 25 Home Runs, and in 1935, he won the Home Run Title (34) and the RBI Title (139), and he was sixth in MVP voting.  Berger also finished third for the MVP in 1933. 

Berger's skills eroded in 1937, and he was injured for the second half of his career.  He was traded to the New York Giants during the '37 season and would finish his career with Cincinnati and Philadelphia (NL).

He retired with a lifetime Batting Average of .300 with 242 Home Runs.