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Boyd Gail Harris
New York Giants
First Base
Born: October 15, 1931, Abingdon, VA
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams: New York Giants 1955-1957; Detroit Tigers 1958-1960
Died: November 14, 2012, Gainesville, VA (age 81)
Gail Harris played six years in the Majors with the Giants and Tigers, never playing anywhere on the field other than first base. His best season by far came in 1958 with the Tigers. Serving as their every day first baseman, Harris hit career highs in average (.273), home runs (20) and RBIs (82). He didn't match those numbers before or after that season and in 437 career games, Harris had a .240 average. Traded to the Dodgers prior to the 1960 season, he played in parts of two seasons in the Dodgers' minor league system before retiring.
His son Mark is currently a successful and long-time minor league hitting coach in the Washington Nationals' organization.
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| Easter Sunday, 2000 |
April 22, 2000 in Raleigh, NC - Card #196
I paid $2 for this card at the Sports Card & NASCAR Collectibles Show held in Raleigh, NC a week after tax deadline day and the day before Easter. I bought six cards that day, paying a grand total of $20. Pictures from this time in my life are few and far between, but it looks as if my parents paid a visit to Raleigh for Easter weekend as I have photos of them dressed for what has to be for a church service. We're standing outside the apartment complex where I was living at the time. And it's quite possible my Dad attended this baseball card show in Raleigh with me, which would have been a rarity in those days.
If my Dad did attend this show with me, I'm surprised we bought this particular Harris card given the clear scuff mark across the team name on the front. Dad typically wouldn't have allowed a card with a clear surface blemish into our set.
This day is also notable as it's almost 10 years to the day before our youngest son Ben was born. There were some bumpy roads coming up for a few years following this picture, but eventually things got back on track.
The Card
This is Harris' rookie card, and he'd go on to appear in Topps' sets between 1957 and 1960. That sure looks as if it could be a "2" on the back of the first baseman's jersey in the action photo, and if that's the case, the player isn't Harris as he wore #15 in 1955. It could be Whitey Lockman (#205), as he wore #25 in 1955 and started 66 games at first base to Harris' 67. I'll guess the runner is on the Cardinals and it appears as if he was safe on the play.
This is the first blue-green name/team bar color combination that appears in the set. It's the 11th different color combination overall.
I couldn't find any records indicating the date of the game mentioned in the middle cartoon panel on the back, but Harris did hit 184 home runs over nine minor league seasons. He also holds the distinction of being the last New York Giant to hit a home run prior to the team moving to San Francisco. On September 21, 1957, Harris hit a pair of home runs and drove in 7 runs leading the team to a 9-5 win over the Pirates. Harris was a star athlete at William King High School in Abingdon.
Giants Team Set
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #91
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1956-1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1979 TCMA The 1950s #275
11 - Harris non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/19/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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.
Previous Card / Next Card
Order Collected: #71 Frank Sullivan - Boston Red Sox / #104 Bob Lennon - New York Giants
Probably is Whitey Lockman. Harris was left handed.
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