'59 Topps set build #22/572 Pete Whisenant

It's been a while since I've written one of these posts, and with a few days vacation time ahead of me I guess I should get back into the swing of things.  This is the 22nd of 572 cards for the '59 set...

Card # 14:  Pete Whisenant

Redlegs.   Gotta love that name.   It didn't last much longer as they moved back to the Reds in 1961.

The black background with the yellow letters is a great look.  The front of this card is in decent enough shape that I probably will not look for an upgrade.

Love the cartoon on the back.  I'm not sure if that's a hot dog or a hoagie that he's eating, but it sure looks like Pete is enjoying it!!  (Upon closer inspection, I see the box beside Pete on the bench says hot dogs)

Pete was signed as a 17 year old free agent by the Boston Braves in 1947, where he would spend 7 seasons in the minors (Pete served in the military in 1951), with only limited service on the major league squad in 1952. 

Pete would play in Atlanta for two years for a team called the Crackers.  Not the greatest of team names if you ask me...

How'd he fare in 1959?: Pete didn't play a lot for the Reds during the '59 season, only appearing in 36 games and hitting .239 with 5 HR and 11 RBI's.

Pete would only play two more seasons in the majors before being released by the Reds in 1961.  Pete would be part of the coaching staff in '61 and '62 for Cincinnati, with the '61 team losing to the Yankees in 5 games in the World Series. 

Pete passed away in 1996 at the age of 66.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #21/572 Batter Bafflers

I had scanned this card months ago in order to write about it, but it sat in the draft folder just collecting dust.  So it's time to find out about these two pitchers, deemed to be Batter Bafflers by the good folks at Topps.


Card #346: Batter Bafflers

The players listed are Tom Brewer (left) and Dave Sisler.  The card itself is in really good condition, well centered and no nicks or dings on the edges or corners.  Brewer had an 8 year major league career, all with the Red Sox, between 1954 and 1961,  Sisler's career was 1 season shorter, lasting from 1956-1962. 

The back is also in decent shape, the borders look a bit off line though. 

How'd they fare in 1959? Dave Sisler only lasted a month in a Red Sox uniform in 1959, as he was traded on May 2nd with Ted Lepcio to the Tigers for Billy Hoeft.  Sisler's days as a starter were over, and the final 4 years of his career were spent in the bullpens of Detroit, Washington and Cincinnati.
Tom Brewer had a decent '59 season with the Sox, completing his 6th straight season of double digit wins and earning a couple of saves as well.

Brewer's best start of the '59 season was his 2nd, against the Yankees on April 17th.  Tom pitched a 2 hit shutout, facing only 31 batters.

Dave Sisler's best relief appearance in '59 was his 2nd to last appearance of the season, coming in the game in the bottom of the 8th against the White Sox with the bases loaded.  Dave got out of that inning and the Tigers hung on to win 5-4 on September 20th. 

While the concept of the card was a good idea, results over the next couple of seasons didn't pan out for the Red Sox.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #20/572 Faye Throneberry

Older brother of Marv Throneberry who I featured in the last post in this series a couple of months ago.  I do believe that this picture was taken at Griffiths stadium in Washington (I'm sure that someone will correct me if I'm wrong here).  Let's see how Marvelous Marv's big brother fared, shall we?

Card #534:  Faye Throneberry

The front of the card is in fine shape, no pen marks at all.  A bit off center, but it's still good enough for my set. 

Faye spent two years in the Army (53 and 54) and served in Korea.

The back is something else.  The cartoon is great, depicting Faye and his brother Marv.  The centering is off, and it appears that the border is on an angle.  Interesting...

How'd he fare in 1959? The '59 season for Faye was solid, setting multiple career highs in games played (117), hits (82), HRs (10) and RBI's (42).  His .251 average in '59 was also a personal best.

• During one four game stretch from May 22-26, he went 10 for 18 (.556) with a double, triple, homer and 6 RBI's.  
• Hit a grand slam in a 7-6 loss to the KC Athletics on July 27th.  Ned Garver was the "victim". 

Faye's career ended after the '61 season as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.   He would go on to become a dog trainer, winning a national award for training the top bird dog in 1973.

Faye passed away in 1999 at the age of 67.

Thanks for reading, Robert

'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

'59 Topps set build #18/572 Bob Giallombardo

It's been quite a while since I wrote one of these posts (again), so I figured I'd start with the next player I had lined up to write about.  Let's see how year 5 shapes up, shall we?

Card # 321:  Bob Giallombardo

The front of the card is in OK shape, corners are soft and the lower left is creased, but there are no pen markings to speak of.  This is Bob's RC and only Topps card ever made of him.

The back has a scribbled pen mark over the top of the cartoon.  The scribble really doesn't affect the wording or the picture however, so it's nothing major.

I love the "optioned to Montreal in March 1959" line at the beginning of the bio, which tells me that the cards weren't printed/released until the season probably started.   A quick look at the trading card database told me that this is the more common card, as there is a variation of the card that doesn't have the optioned statement.  The non optioned card appears to be rarer and worth quite a bit more.

How'd he fare in 1959?  Well, his entire 1959 season was spent in AAA with the Spokane Chiefs, where he posted a 3-7 record with an even 3.00 ERA.  The 1958 stats you see on the card?  Those are Bob's entire major league career stat line.

• As you can see, Bob did a lot of moving during the early part of career.   Hornell is in the southern tier of New York state.   Then out west to Reno, then east to Montreal, then back out west to Los Angeles.  
• Bob's only major league hit was a single off of Curt Simmons, who pitched in the majors for 20 years.
• Bob only pitched 3 more seasons in the minors, and was out of professional baseball after 1961 at the age of 24.

Unfortunately, I didn't find a lot out about Mr. Giallombardo, but it's cool that even back in the 50's a player could only play a handful of games and still garner a card to show to his grand kids.


Thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #17/572 Neil Chrisley

Neil's major league career was very short, only 5 seasons between 1957-1961.  More often than not, when players have that short a big league career, their minor league stats are quite extensive.  I found out that Chrisley played 2 seasons in my hometown as a member of the International League Toronto Maple Leafs.  Even more interesting was when I learned that the 2nd baseman for that team in 1962 & 1963 was "captain hook" himself, Sparky Anderson.

Card # 189:  Neil Chrisley

This card is in great shape, the centering isn't too bad and no creases or corner dings.

The back is also in really good shape, no real issues to speak of.  The cartoon kind of speaks to Neil's career, as the highlights unfortunately were made during his minor league playing days.  None the less, anytime a ball player hits 40 doubles in any season, that's quite an achievement.

How'd he fare in 1959?  Neil only appeared in 65 games for the Detroit Tigers in 1959, hitting a very modest .132 with 6 HRs and 11 RBI.  His limited playing time was largely due to the great outfield that the Tigers trotted out there everyday, namely Al Kaline in center (.327/27/94), Harvey Kuenn in right (.353/9/71) and Charlie Maxwell in left (.251/31/95).

• His first hit in 1959 was a double on April 24th.  He didn't get another hit until July 1st, a homer.  His next two hits would also be HRs, and then his 5th hit would be a double.   
• 9 of Neil's 14 hits during the '59 season were for extra bases.
• Johnny Kucks would be the only pitcher to serve up more than one HR to Chrisley during his career; Chrisley hit 2 in the same game off of him in 1960, then hit a 3rd HR two weeks later.
• Neil was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 1960 expansion draft, but was returned back to the Tigers the same day.
• His final big league season in 1961 with the Milwaukee Braves would see him only appear as a pinch hitter.  2 for 9 with a walk were his totals.  He never took the field for the Braves in '61.

Even though Chrisley didn't appear in the majors after '61, he had a card in the '62 Topps set (#308), depicting him as a member of the NY Mets.  He didn't appear for the Mets in '62 during the season, as he was returned back to the Braves at the beginning of April.  He would play in the minors until retiring after the 1964 season.    

Neil passed away at the age of 81 in 2013.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #16/572 Jim Busby

Every time I looked at this card before doing some research for this post, I would think of Steve Busby, who pitched for the Royals between 1972 & 1980.   Little did I know that the two of them were 4th cousins.  Here is the 16th post in the '59 set build, as I slowly make my way through the set:

Card #185:  Jim Busby

The front of the card is in decent condition.   The bottom corners are both rounded, but there are no creases or markings on the front.  Even though the back has several pen markings at the top (as if someone were testing their pen on the card) it's still in pretty decent shape.

I'm not sure why someone wrote the number 28 on the back as well.  Jim wore 11(!) different uniform numbers during his 13 year career, but none of them were the # 28. 

Cartoon:  For a somewhat light hitting player like Busby, hitting grand slams in consecutive games is quite an achievement.  Jim did this on July 5th and 6th, 1956 as a member of the Cleveland Indians. 

The very short bio on the back says that "he's a fine defensive flychaser".  During a 7 year stretch between 1951 & 1957, Jim was ranked in the top 5 in the AL for putouts by a center fielder, including 3 straight seasons ranked #1.

How'd he fare in 1959?  At this point in Jim's career, he'd been relegated to part time duty.  He was with the Red Sox for the entire '59 season, hitting just .225 with 1HR and 5 RBI in 102 ABs.  At least he was able to say that he shared time in left field that year with the great Ted Williams. 

• Jim was a World War II veteran, spending three years in the Army
• Jim was also a two sport player in college at TCU, splitting time between the diamond and on the gridiron.   Busby was the quarterback for the Horned Frogs in the 1945 Cotton Bowl, which they lost 34-0 to Oklahoma A&M (now known as Oklahoma State)
• Busby was also a part of the expansion Houston Colt .45s in 1962, as a player-coach.  He would go on to be a coach for the Astros, Braves, White Sox and Mariners.  

Jim passed away in 1996 at the age of 69.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #15/572 Stu Miller

It's time to get back into the swing of things around here, and I'll start off with another installment of the '59 Topps set build, featuring the card of one of the best "swing" men of his era, Stu Miller.


Card #183:  Stu Miller

Career beginnings:   Stu was signed by the Cardinals in 1949 as an amateur free agent.  He would first appear on the Cardinals roster in 1952, starting 11 games, winning 6 of them with 2 shut outs. 
Stu served in the Navy before starting his career with the Cards.

Cartoon on the back:  Interesting cartoon depicting a hitter being frightened by what appears to be a fast ball.  But, if you look at Stu's bio, it speaks to the "junk" that he throws, and further goes on to describe his best pitches as slow and slower. 

How'd he fare in 1959?  Quite well, actually.  Stu appeared in 59 games, 9 of them starts.   He had 8 saves, and had just enough innings to qualify for the ERA title.  His 2.84 ERA for the '59 season trailed only his teammate Sam "toothpick" Jones' mark of 2.83. 

• Stu had a great September, compiling a 1.45 ERA and finishing 9 of the 12 games he appeared in.   Unfortunately, the Giants were just 2-10 in those 12 games. 
• His 2.47 ERA led the National League in 1958. 
• Stu became a reliever exclusively at the start of the 1961 season, and was named relief pitcher of the year in '61(NL) and '63 (AL).
• He was selected to the NL All-Star team in '61, and was famous for committing a balk by being blown off the mound by high winds at Candlestick Park.
• Stu combined with Steve Barber on 4/30/67 to be the first pitchers to throw a combined no-hitter in over 50 years while with the Orioles.
• Stu would also win a World Series with the Orioles in 1966 while not appearing in any of the games.   The only WS in which he did appear was in 1962 with the Giants.  He pitched in games 1 & 5, not allowing any earned runs.   The Yankees won that series in 7.

Stu passed away in January of 2015 at the age of 87.


Thanks for reading, Robert 

'59 Topps set build #14/572 George Strickland

I didn't really realize how long it had been since I created one of these posts.  It's been almost a month, which is way too long.  I've got a bunch of '59s scanned and in the queue, and with a much needed week long vacation coming in a couple of weeks, I should be able to pop a few of these posts out in the not too distant future.


Card # 207:  George Strickland

One day, I will sit down and rank the different color combinations from the '59 set in order of preference.  I'll be curious when I do to see where the light blue border with the white letters stacks up against the rest. 

George is another example of a player signing very young; the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him to his first contract when he was just 17 years old in 1943.   He would play the 1943 season in single A New Orleans before spending 1944 & 1945 in the US Navy. 

1946 was his first year in the Red Sox organization, where he would stay for 3 years until the Pirates picked him up in the Rule 5 draft in 1949.

The cartoon puzzles me a bit.  Yes, George did play all the infield positions during his 10 year pro career, but I'm not too sure why the player in the cartoon is shrugging his shoulders and saying "who needs more?"  Maybe someone out there can enlighten me.

George had a gap in his career, as he was retired for the 1958 season.  But there were no gaps in his baseball card library, as you can see here.  

How'd he do in 1959?  George played in 132 games for the Indians, hitting .238 with 3 HR and 48 RBI (the 48 RBIs were a career high).

• George hit well off of Mickey McDermott during his career, sporting a .415 average with 17 hits and 4 doubles.  
• Strickland and the Indians made it to the '54 Series, losing to the New York baseball Giants in 4 straight.   George unfortunately went 0 for 9 with 2 K's while appearing in 3 of the 4 games.
• He didn't have any 4 hit games during the '59 season, but he did have 6 3-hit games, including a 3 for 4 opening day with 2 RBI's in a 6-4 over the Kansas City A's.
• His longest hitting streak in '59 was 10 games.  A 2 hit game to start the streak, and 9 consecutive 1 hit games afterwards.  George's average actually dropped 39 points during the streak.

George's playing career ended in 1960 with the Indians.   He would go on to manage the tribe over parts of the 1964 & 1966 seasons, winning 48 while losing 63.

George passed away in 2010 at the age of 84 in his hometown of New Orleans, LA.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #13/572 Joe DeMaestri

This week has been a good start to get back into the rhythm of writing regularly again. The '59 Topps set build is going to help keep me in that rhythm.  Here's the 13th post about this set...

Card # 64:  Joe DeMaestri

This card is one of the nicest I own from the '59 Topps set.  Aside from being slightly off center and the upper left corner having a slight ding, the card is in great condition.   No pen marks and the back is really clean and bright.  Thanks again to Commishbob for including this as part of my introductory group of cards towards the set.

Joe is the type of shortstop that I remember watching in my early days of baseball.   A good glove, and any offense that he provided was a bonus.

The cartoon is great, I love how it depicts the 6 singles that Joe earned in one game as little balls off of the bat.  4 of those 6 singles were off of starter Billy Hoeft, but it wasn't enough as the A's lost to the Tigers 11-8 in 11 innings.  Those 6 singles actually raised Joe's average from .230 to .246.

Joe's bio only tells part of the story, those two seasons that he led the league in fielding were part of a 7 year run which would see him finish in the top 5 in fielding percentage for shortstops.

How'd he fare in 1959?  The '59 season would be Joe's last as a regular for the A's, and it would see him hit .244 with 6 HRs and 34 RBI.

• Joe's nickname was "Oats", given to him by a family friend because of his blond hair.
  

• Blue Jays connection--Joe was traded by the White Sox in November of 1951 to the St. Louis Browns.  One of the players going the other way was Al Widmar, who spent 10 seasons as the Blue Jays pitching coach, including the Jays first AL division championship in 1985.

• Rogers Hornsby was the manager of the St. Louis Browns the one season that Joe spent there in 1952.

• He set career highs for himself during the '57 season with 6 triples and 9 round trippers.

• Joe earned a trip to the all star game in '57, but did not appear in the game.

• Joe spent the last two seasons of his career as a Yankee, traded to the Yankees with Roger Maris.  He was one of 3 players who implored Maris to come out of the dugout for a curtain call after Maris' 61st HR in October of '61.

• He would only play in the World Series once, a part of the '60 Yankees team that lost to the Pirates in 7 games.  Joe only appeared in 4 games, going 1 for 2 in the series.  Joe was a member of the '61 Yankees that won the World Series, but he did not appear in any of the games.

Joe is currently 86 years of age and living in Novato, CA which is near San Francisco.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #12/572 Irv Noren

I'm sure that the blogosphere will be quiet today, it is Super Bowl Sunday after all!!  (Light up the skies New England, I have a contest to win)  So before I head out in the snow to do some shopping for the game, here's the latest in the '59 Topps set posts.

Card #59:   Irv Noren

This is the third consecutive card in the set (#57, #58 and now #59) that was graciously sent my way by Commishbob as a starter lot for this set.  I had never noticed until I scanned the card today that there is a smudge on the right hand side (makes me wonder how I missed it before).  The colors are still really nice on the card, and the corners are in good shape. 

I decided to take a look at who wore #24 for the Cardinals in 1958/59 to see if I could identify who that was in the background.   Fat chance, as 6 different players wore the number over those 2 seasons.

How'd he fare in 1959?  Not bad, once he got out of St. Louis.  Irv was traded in the middle of May to the Cubs for Chick King.

Irv batted only 8 times for the Cardinals in 1959, going 1 for 8.  With the Cubs, he fared much better, getting 50 hits for a .321 average in part time duty.

Love the cartoon!!  Irv did earn two World Series rings with the Yankees, as they defeated the crosstown rival Brooklyn in both '52 and '53.  Brooklyn did get some measure of revenge in '55 by defeating Irv and the Yanks in the fall classic.

• The 1 for 1 trade with the Cubs in '59 was something new for Irv.   The first time he was traded, in 1952, the deal involved 6 players.   The second time he was traded, in 1957, the deal involved 13 players!!
• Irv's first two seasons in the bigs were as a regular for the Senators, and he received MVP votes in both 1950 & 1951 for his contributions.
• The two pitchers he had the most career hits off of are both Hall of Famers, Early Wynn and Bob Lemon.
• See the number of games played for Hollywood in 1949?  That 180 is not a typo, as the Hollywood Stars played 187 games that year!!
• Irv finished up his career the way I would love to finish up mine.   His 1962 & 1963 stat lines show that he played/managed in AAA Hawaii.  Irv issued a $50 fine to any player who showed up too sunburned to play!
• Irv also played two seasons of professional basketball for the Chicago Gears of the NBL.  
• Irv was inducted to the Chautauqua County (NY) Hall of Fame in 1985.  Irv received the Legends Award from the Pasadena Hall of Fame in 2010. 

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #11/572 Cincinnati Red Legs team card

I felt like doing something a little bit different with this '59 Topps post, so instead of going in order after the Eddie Miksis card, I jumped ahead and grabbed my first team card to go over.

Card #111:  Cincinnati Red Legs (checklist 89-176) 

I had never really thought about it in the past when I looked at team cards, but there's an awful lot of players in this photo.  So many that I decided to count them.   There's 37 players in uniform, with maybe a handful of them having their faces defaced over time. 

There is only one Hall of Famer on the '59 squad, Frank Robinson.   I didn't see uniform #20 on any of the players, so I'm going to guess and say that he is 3rd from the left in the 2nd row from the top, standing to the left of Brooks Lawrence (#46).

Overall record:  74-80, 5th place in the NL, 13 games behind the division winning Dodgers.

Team Leaders:  

• Hits: Vada Pinson 205.   Pinson also led the team in runs, doubles and ABs (all 3 of those categories he led the NL), as well as batting average (.316) and steals (21).   Team MVP, no?
• Homers:  Frank Robinson, 36.  Frank also led the Red Legs in RBI with 125.
• Wins:  Don Newcombe and Bob Purkey had 13 apiece.   Newcombe also led the team in K's, with 100 and complete games with 17.
• Saves:  Brooks Lawrence had 10 saves, the number being so low because he also started 14 games.

The Reds fired their manager halfway through the season, as they struggled under first year manager Mayo Smith (35-45).  He was replaced by Fred Hutchinson, who guided them to a 39-35 record the rest of the way, and would guide them to three straight winning seasons between 1961 & 1963, also earning an NL pennant for the Reds in '61.

The back is in very nice shape, no pen marks or lost paper at all.  

I thought it very interesting that the checklist on the back was the 2nd series check list, instead of a team list.   This intrigued me so much that I had to see if I had any other team photos (I do, the Senators) to see if there was a team list on the back (there wasn't, the Senators are the 6th series check list).  The Blue Jays very first All-Star from 1977 also appears on this checklist, see if you can figure out who. (answer below)

There's a few interesting names on this check list...Bill "Moose" Skowron at #90, Felipe Alou #102, Stan Musial at #150 and Sandy Koufax at #163, none of which I own yet. 

I also wondered where the name "Redlegs" came from.  It appears that the "Reds" nickname was removed from the uniform between 1956-1960,  because of the association of the color red with communism.  Redlegs was once a derogatory term used to describe a group of poor white people that live in the Caribbean, mostly coming from Ireland and Scotland (reference here).  The team became the Reds again after the 1958 season, maybe not in time for Topps to change the name on the front of this card?

Ron Fairly (card #125) was the very first Blue Jay to appear in an all-star game in 1977, hitting .307 at the break and finishing the season with a .279 average with a career high in homers with 19.

thanks for reading, Robert                 

'59 Topps set build #9/572 Al Cicotte

Baseball Reference is definitely a boon for me when writing these posts.  How else would I have known that Al's last name was pronounced "SEE-cot".  

Career beginnings:   Al was signed as a free agent by the New York Yankees in 1948.  Al played several years in the minors (along with two years of military service in '49 and '51) before finally making the Yankees squad in 1957.

How'd he fare in 1959?  Al pitched for the Indians in 1959, his 4th team in his first 3 big league seasons.   He went 3-1 with a 5.32 ERA in 26 appearances (1 start).

Al's career would span 5 seasons, the last being in 1962 with the expansion Houston Colt .45s.  

Close to home I:  Al's first season in pro ball was spent with the Butler Yankees in the Mid Atlantic league.  I wasn't aware that Butler, PA (20 miles east of where I live) had fielded a team associated with professional baseball.  

Close to home II:  Al pitched the 1960 season in Toronto (my home town) for the Maple Leafs of the International League.   During that season, Al pitched an 11 inning no-hitter against the Montreal Royals.  At one point, he retired 29 batters in a row.  A bobbled ground ball by Sparky Anderson ended the streak.  Al also won the IL pitching triple crown that year, finishing 16-7 with a 1.79 ERA.

Interesting fact:  Al is the grand nephew of Eddie Cicotte, who was part of the infamous Black Sox scandal of 1919.

The card itself:  This card was part of a generous lot that was sent my way by CommishBob, and is the first card that I've featured with the orange background/white lettering mix. 

The card is in OK shape, the corners are soft and there are creases.   I probably will not replace it though unless I get another that is part of a lot from eBay.

The cartoon on the back is interesting, saying that Al is constantly practicing to better his control.   Isn't that what all pitchers do? 

I'd love to know what stadium Al is pictured in.   Is that Tiger Stadium?  I'm sure that some of the stadium aficionados can help me out with identifying the ball park.

Thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #8/572 Coot Veal

I haven't done a lot of writing lately due to the Thanksgiving holiday and the fatigue that set in because of it.  So to break out of the malaise that has been gripping me lately, it's time to feature a card that has its own blog. 

Card #52:  Coot Veal

I thought for the longest time that this wasn't a real name.   Just a figment of someone's imagination, along the lines of the Sports Illustrated Sidd Finch April Fools gag back in 1985.  Not until I discovered DHoff's blog a couple of years back did I realize that the gentleman does indeed exist.

Coot's full name is Orville Inman Veal, and he was born in Sandersville, GA.

Career beginnings:   He was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1952.

Career Line:  .231 average, 1 HR and 51 RBI in 247 games played.

I mentioned on the Bill Hall post about whether there would be other cards in the set that had detailed minor league statistics, well here you go!  Veal's card back details a 6 year journey from the time he signed in '52 to his eventual debut and selection to the '58 all rookie team with the Tigers.

Loved to face:  Bob Grim  6 for 13 (.462)
Hated to face:  Hoyt Wilhelm 1 for 12 with 4 K's (.083)

Coot's only career home run came in 1959 off of White Sox lefty Billy Pierce.

How'd he fare in 1959?  Coot wound up being more of a defensive replacement in 1959, appearing in 77 games but only garnering 89 ABs.  Coot hit .202 with 1 HR and 15 RBI's that year. 

• Coot's career was short lived, only lasting 6 seasons in the majors.  
• He was drafted by the Angels in the 1960 expansion draft, and was traded that very same day to the Washington Senators where he spent the '61 season.
• Coot has the distinction of being the first player to get a base hit for the expansion Senators in the '61 season.  He also scored the first run, driven in by a Gene Woodling triple with 2 outs in the first inning.  The Senators lost to the White Sox 4-3.
• His '62 season with the Pirates consisted of only 1 AB.
• Coot would spend parts of the '63 and '64 seasons in the minors before retiring at the age of 32

The card that I own is in really nice shape, there are no creases or markings of any kind.   The corners are a bit soft, but it's still a really nice copy of Veal's RC.

I love the cartoon on the back that features Coot receiving a trophy for making the '58 all rookie team.  The cartoon guy in the top hat and tails reminds me of Brian Doyle Murray in the movie Groundhog Day.  

I also never knew what the "Pony League" was, but learned today that Pony is short for Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York.  See, you do learn something new every day...

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #7/572 Danny's All-Stars

As I mentioned the other day, I am really starting to enjoy seeing a lot of the multi-player cards from the 50's and 60's.  I haven't looked to see exactly how many of these are in the '59 set, but I do own 6 of them already, and I will say that they are an interesting diversion from the normal every day player card.  

Card #17:  Danny's All-Stars

How unfortunate was the timing of this card.   I'm sure that plans are made the summer before to identify and get cards ready for production the following year, but Thomas was part of the big trade with Cincinnati that I mentioned on the Bill Hall post last Monday.  By the start of 1959 Thomas was in a Reds uniform. 

What's even more interesting is that Ted Kluszewski never made it to an All-Star game in a Pirates uniform, as a matter of fact he hadn't been to an All-Star game since 1956 when he was with the Reds.  Ted's time in Pittsburgh didn't go all that well, and he was traded for two players in August of '59 who appeared in a total of 9 games for the Pirates. 

There were certainly other star players on the '58 Pirates club.  Names such as Dick Groat, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Skinner and Roberto Clemente all could have been used instead of Kluszewski on this card.   I'm sure that Topps went with the two names that "packed a punch" with their bats.  Hindsight is always 20/20, right?

Interesting to look at the back of the card, especially the last three lines that discuss Thomas' switch to third base.  It probably could have said that it was a switch back to third base, where he had played regularly during the 1956 season.   The Pirates moved him to 1st base in 1957, but with 15 errors in just 71 games at first, it probably made sense for Murtaugh to move him back to third, especially after acquiring Kluszewski, a natural first baseman.

It really would have been interesting to see what kind of lineup the Pirates would have had had they acquired Kluszewski during his big offensive years in the mid 50's.  Unfortunately he only hit 6 HRs during his days at Forbes Field, and wound up giving up the 1st base job to Dick Stuart, who was a part of the 1960 World Series team.

Originally I wondered about giving so much of the back of the card to Murtaugh, but after thinking about it for a short time, I guess you could say it made sense.  

The card is named Danny's All-Stars after all.

Thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #6/572 Bill Hall

With the recent acquisitions at the monthly card show, I have a little over 100 cards towards the set.  I may need to make the posts on this project a little more frequent in order to keep up.   This is the 6th post so far...

Card #49:  Bill Hall

My poor effort at scanning unfortunately chopped a little off the top of Hall's card.  There is a little more white at the top, making this a nice copy of Bill's only card.  Many of you will probably remember the Bill Hall that played for the Brewers during the early 2000's.  The Trading Card Database doesn't distinguish between the two players if you do a Bill Hall search.

I'm pretty sure that this was one of the first cards I purchased for the '59 set last May at the Robert Morris card show.  It's in really good shape, the corners are nice and the edges are nice and smooth.  I don't think that I'll even worry about replacing this card.

Career beginnings:  Bill signed with the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1947

Career Line:  .262 average, 1 HR and 15 RBI's.

• I'll be very curious to see if there are any other cards from the '59 set that contain detailed minor league stats similar to what you see on Bill's card.
• Bill had 3 ABs with the Pirates in the '56 season.  These were not included on the back of the card.
• Hall played for teams such as the Hollywood Stars (appropriate), the Columbus Jets (in '59 & '60) and the Salt Lake City Bees.
• This card is also the first card that I've shown that doesn't have a cartoon drawing on the back.  
• I can imagine that Bill batted 8th a lot during the '58 season, because 8 of his 15 walks were intentional.

Bill spent his entire 13 year career in the Pirates system.  I can see why Topps wrote the line that Bill was a fine candidate for the regular catchers position. Bill was one of 3 backstops to play for the Pirates in 1958, and his OPS was higher than the other catchers who played for the Pirates that year.   Unfortunately for Bill, the Pirates made a big trade in January of '59, picking up Smoky Burgess (the #1 catcher for the '59 Pirates), Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak from the Reds for Frank Thomas and 3 part time players. 

Bill's only career HR came off of St. Louis pitcher Jim Brosnan.

Bill passed away on New Years Day, 1986 at the age of 57 in his hometown of Moultrie, GA.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #5/572 Nellie Fox

This is the first opportunity I've had to write a little bit about a Hall of Fame player.  I've heard the name Nellie Fox over the years, but have had little opportunity to learn about his playing career.

How many cards do you think in 2015 will feature a player with a cheek full of chaw?  (Assuming that is what his left cheek is full of). 

Fox's selection to the '59 All Star team was his 9th consecutive honor, and the selection was well earned.  By the All-Star break he had amassed 30 multi-hit games, including a 5 for 7 effort on opening day against the Tigers.  Nellie was hitting .330 at the break, and had struck out a total of 7 times in 369 plate appearances. 

I remember hearing on a documentary a few years back about Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak.  The narrator put the streak in perspective, saying that Joe D had a hit each day for 2 months straight.

As a guy who is a fan of players who seldom strike out, the back of the Fox card really caught my eye.  That 98 game streak lasted 3 months and 5 days during the '58 season, and spanned 451 plate appearances.  It took a hall of fame pitcher to end this incredible run, as Whitey Ford struck out Fox in his first at bat on 8/23/58.

Outside of the centering, this card is in really nice shape.  The corners are good and there's no random pen marks or any other indicators of a 55 year old card.   I won the card on eBay, and if I remember correctly the price I paid for the lot was quite reasonable ($10), and included the "Destruction Crew" card of Minoso, Colavito and Doby.

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #4/572 Roy Sievers

I decided to keep on going with the 2nd of the 3 all star cards that I currently own.  This time, I'll take a look at an American League slugger, Roy Sievers.

Card # 566 Roy Sievers:

The '59 season saw Roy Sievers start in left field for the Senators, but by May 16th he was the regular first baseman.

When I first looked at the card, it appeared that it had been trimmed.  What I noticed is that the right hand border got smaller as you looked upwards on the card.  But if you look at the left hand border, you will notice that it gets larger as you go up the card.

If you look at the borders on the back, you'll see the same thing.  

Maybe someone with some better card inspection ability can tell me if the card appears trimmed to them. 

Interesting on the back about Roy being the only player to ever win the HR title with a last place club.  His 42 HRs led the AL in 1957, as well as his 114 RBIs.  Alas, his triple crown chances fell short as Ted Williams would hit .388 that year.  Roy would actually finish 3rd in the MVP race (Mantle and Williams finished ahead of him) that season, even though the Senators were dead last, 43 games behind the pennant winning Yankees.

Roy only made one plate appearance during the All Star Game "double header", it was a pinch hit walk in the 8th inning of the first game that was played in Forbes Field 7/7/59.   The 2nd half of the All Star game double header would be played a month later, and would mark the first time the game was played on the west coast. 

I never knew that there were 2 AS games in 1959, so I learned something today.  It was even more interesting that instead of playing both games during the break, they split them a month apart.   I would love to find out what the reasoning was behind that...

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build: Post #3/572 Bob Friend

Sometimes you just never know what to expect.   I won an eBay auction last week that advertised 10 cards from the '59 set, I wound up receiving 13!  The card you're about to see is one of the "bonus" additions to the envelope.

Card #569:  Bob Friend all star card

 

Interesting that the card front lists Friend as a '59 All Star Selection, when in fact he played in the '58 All Star game.

Bob certainly earned the All Star nomination in 1958, he had 10 wins by mid July, and wound up leading the NL with 22 wins that year.

For you stat geeks (guys like me), the caption on the back held true for the rest of Friend's career.  Bob finished with 31 wins versus the Braves over his 16 year career.

It's not surprising that this card was added to the envelope.  It's about as beat up a card as you'll find in my collection.  Most of the other '59 cards that I own are still pretty "solid", however this one is very flimsy and creased in several spots.

This is one of those cards that you'd describe as "adding character" to the set.  You know how it is, going through all of the pages with the cards that are in nice shape, and then hitting the final page and seeing this beat up beauty.   A conversation between collectors as to how the card got this bad would certainly ensue.   Bike spokes?  Folded up in a kids pocket?  Flipped endlessly to the ground, landing on corners constantly?

We'll never know, but for now, it's found a home. 

Thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps Set Build: #2/572 Jim Bolger

 I've decided to create posts of the cards I own in numerical order, instead of jumping around the set.  This should help get me motivated to create posts more often instead of wasting time trying to figure out which player to write about.  

Card #29:  Jim Bolger

 
Career beginnings:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent in 1950.  Jim appeared in 2 games for the Reds in 1950 as an 18 year old.  The Cubs acquired him from the Reds at the end of the 1954 season as part of a 4 player trade.

Awards/League Leader/Titles:  None

Career Line:  .229  6HR 48 RBI
Loved to face:  Vinegar Bend Mizell (.450 9 for 20, 2 2B)
Hated to face:   Ruben Gomez (.067 1 for 15)

How did Jim fare in 1959?   1959 was Jim's last season in the majors, and he struggled with two different teams (Cleveland and Philadelphia), hitting just .073 in 55 ABs.

About the card:  This card arrived via the generosity of CommishBob, the original '59 Topps blogger.  Even though the corners are rounded and there are dirt marks on the back, this card is good enough for my '59 set, so it probably will not be upgraded.

The green background with white lettering on the front is one of 13 different color combinations that I've discovered so far.  The photo of Jim is actually quite good, and the signature is very legible. 

The cartoon on the back depicts Jim sliding into 3rd base, honoring his league leading 16 triples in 1953 in the South Atlantic League (Sally).  The shoes actually look like shoes on this card(compared to the Dick Drott "boots"), and it almost looks like there is a face drawn on the bottom of the left shoe.

eBay auctions:  I performed a search for Jim Bolger cards on eBay, and I found a wide spectrum of prices.   The lowest was $1.99 shipped, and the highest was for a PSA 9 that was listed for $350 (!) or OBO. 

thanks for reading, Robert