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John Charles Kucks
New York Yankees
Pitcher
Born: July 27, 1932, Hoboken, NJ
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1955-1959; Kansas City Athletics 1959-1960
Died: October 31, 2013, Saddle River, NJ (age 81)
Pitching in six full seasons with the Yankees and Athletics, Johnny Kucks enjoyed an All-Star season in 1956 in which he won 18 games and helped the Yankees reach and win the World Series. Other than his outlying 1956 season, Kucks (pronounced Cooks) was consistent throughout his big league career, winning 8 games in four seasons - 1955, 1957, 1958 and 1959 - and possessing an ERA that always hovered in the 3.50 to 4.50 range. He won World Series rings with the Yankees in 1956 and 1958 and was traded to Kansas City in May 1959. Kucks spent two seasons with the Athletics before ending his professional career with three seasons in the minor leagues with the Orioles and Cardinals' organizations.
For his career, Kucks finished with a lifetime 54-56 record and a 4.10 ERA over 207 games and 123 starts.
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| Christmas 1998 in Raleigh |
January 10, 1999 in Raleigh, NC - Card #176
I indicate clearly in my notes that this card (along with two others) was purchased at the Raleigh Sports Card & NASCAR Collectibles Show, not to be confused with the more benign Raleigh Sports Card & Memorabilia Show. In any event, the card set me back only $6, which is an absolute bargain considering the card is in pristine shape and it's a card from the highly coveted Yankees team set. Some of the cards in our set look as if they could have just come out of a brand new pack, and this is one of those.
I don't miss my time living in Raleigh, but I do miss these semi-regular baseball card shows which were held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds. As I'm primarily a Phillies collector, those dealers were always more than happy to unload their unwanted Phillies inventory on me and some of them would express genuine shock that I was trying to track down cards in the late 1990s and early 2000s of some very forgettable Phillies players.
The Card
This is Kucks' rookie card and I imagine it would have been a popular card to find in a pack or to trade for in the summer of 1956. The Gem Razor Blade sign along with the Esquire Boot Polish advertisement found on the right field wall at Ebbets Field makes another cameo, as it did with the Roberto Clemente (#33) card. As has been the case with quite a few cards, Topps was a year off with Kucks' birth year.
His SABR biography notes the Phillies first recruited him, but they withdrew a bonus offer and Kucks ended up signing with the Yankees on January 1, 1952. His one season of minor league ball before his big league debut came in 1952 with the Norfolk Tars of the B-Level Piedmont League. He served in the U.S. Army in 1953 and 1954, but stayed active pitching for various teams wherever he was stationed. Invited to the Yankees instructional camp in 1955, he impressed enough to get invited to spring training and then made the team as a fifth starter and occasional long reliever.
Yankees Team Set
1956 Season
In the World Series, Kucks appeared in three games including starting the decisive Game 7. He threw a complete game shutout, holding the Dodgers to just three hits. It was to be the last World Series game ever hosted at Ebbets Field, and Kucks also has the distinction of being the last pitcher to face Jackie Robinson (#30), striking out Robinson to end the game and clinch the title.
Kucks' Game 7 performance is often forgotten and overshadowed by Don Larsen's (#332) perfect game in Game 5. His SABR biography includes a great quote from Kucks, "Larsen got a car. I got a fishing rod."
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First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #88
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1956-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2003 Upper Deck Yankees Signature Series #50
29 - Kucks non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/10/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
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Order Collected: #21 Joe Collins - New York Yankees / #337 Bobby Morgan - Philadelphia Phillies
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