'59 Topps set build #19/572 Marv Throneberry

Great shot of Marvelous Marv with the lights of Yankee Stadium in the background.  In an effort to get myself into a posting rhythm again, I'm striving to do one of these posts on the weekends.  We'll see how long that lasts.

Card # 326:  Marv Throneberry

Marv was signed by the Yankees in 1952 as a free agent.

The front of the card is in decent shape, with the "W" not really distracting from the picture itself.  The corners aren't in bad shape, and the edges are smooth with no rough spots.l

Great cartoon on the back of the card, noting that Marv's brother Faye was also a baseball player (Faye will be the next post in this series).  What's been interesting about the backs of the cards so far is the various minor leagues that were around at that time.

The I.I.I. league, also known as the 3I league, was a minor league that played in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.  Marv played as you can see on the back of the card  in the league for the 52 and 53 seasons, winning a championship with the Quincy Gems in 53.

How'd he fare in 1959?  Marv was a part time player for the Yankees in the 59 season, playing in 80 games.  He hit .240 with 8 HR and 22 RBI. 

• Marv started and completed a game only 36 times in 1959.  In 9 of those games, he had 2 or more hits, including 3 3-hit games.  
• He was part of the big off season trade in December of 59 that saw Hank Bauer, Don Larsen, Norm Siebern and Marv shipped off to the KC Athletics for 3 players, including Roger Maris.  
• Marv had one career post season AB in 1958, but it was enough to get him a World Series ring as the Yankees beat the Milwaukee Braves in 7 games

On a side note, I found out that there is a band named "Throneberry", named for the marvelous one.

Marv passed away from cancer in 1993 at the age of 60.

Thanks for reading, Robert