#116 Eddie O'Brien - Pittsburgh Pirates

Edward Joseph O'Brien
Pittsburgh Pirates
Shortstop-Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  165
Born:  December 11, 1930, South Amboy, NJ
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent, March 19, 1953
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1953, 1955-1958
Died:  February 21, 2014, Seattle, WA (age 83)

Eddie O'Brien and his twin brother Johnny (#65) played together for parts of five seasons with the Pirates in the mid to late 1950s.  Eddie appeared in fewer games than Johnny with the Pirates - 231 to 283.  On May 10, 1953, the O'Brien's became the first twins to play on the same team in the same game, and they also were the first of four brothers to serve as double play combinations on the same team.  The others being Garvin and Granny Hamner (#197) in 1945 with the Phillies, Frank and Milt Bolling (#315) in 1958 with the Tigers and Billy and Cal Ripken in the 1980s with the Orioles.

For his career, O'Brien hit .236 with no home runs and 25 RBIs.  He served as the bullpen coach for the Seattle Pilots in 1969, their only year of existence.

1998 birthday haul, including
1998 Topps factory set

Building the Set
October 10, 1998 in Winston-Salem, NC - Card #167
In what had to have been a post-birthday purchase, I spent $52 in the Season Ticket baseball card store in Winston-Salem for 10 1956 Topps cards.  This O'Brien card cost me $4.  I say it had to have been a post-birthday purchase as I didn't have a lot of disposable income back then, but I made sure that any birthday money from my parents went towards something fun and not towards something practical.

I spent 5 years living in Winston-Salem, but I still managed to get lost driving around in those pre-GPS days quite frequently.  Season Ticket was one of the few locations in the city I memorized and I could drive to without having to ask someone to remind me of the directions.  I mean no disrespect to the former owners, but the place was a glorious dump.  Baseball cards were stacked precariously and haphazardly throughout the store, there was hardly any flat surface without something piled on it, nothing was ever in order and if you asked for something specific the owners may or may not remember the general direction of where they had last seen it.

And I loved it in there.  I took my Dad a few times when my parents visited me, and he couldn't wait to get out of the store and back into some fresh air.  Sadly, a recent Google Maps search shows that Season Ticket has gone the way of a lot of hobby shops, and there's now something called Beauty Touch in its place.  But I bet there are still random stacks of baseball cards hiding in a nook or crevice somewhere in the shop.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
This is O'Brien's third Topps card and his second without his brother.  It looks as if the Giants runner at second is out and O'Brien is attempting to turn the double play.  If it is a Giants runner, my best guess for the game date is September 20, 1955.  That's the only date O'Brien faced the Giants during the 1955 season during which he played shortstop.  He appeared as a center fielder or pinch-runner in his other appearances against the Giants that season.  My best guess is the player sliding is Hank Thompson (#199).  But based on the incomplete data from Retrosheet, there's no indication Thompson reached base after the sixth inning, which is when O'Brien came into the game, so who knows?

This is the only instance of the "SS-Outfield" position combination in the entire set.  On the back, O'Brien's college basketball exploits are highlighted as is his then rare position combination.  For his career, he played 108 games at shortstop and 62 games in the outfield.

1956 Season

O'Brien was a super utility player for the Pirates in 1956, playing every position except catcher and first base.  In 63 games, he hit .264 (14 for 53) with no home runs and 3 RBIs.  He pitched two scoreless innings of relief against the Cardinals on July 31st, relieving his brother (!) who had also pitched two scoreless innings of relief (!!).

Apparently, his pitching appearance wasn't an anomaly as Topps listed his position as "SS-P" on his 1957 card.  Amazingly enough, following the 1956 season, his next four (and final) big league games, all in 1957 and 1958, came as a pitcher.  In five total games pitching, O'Brien went 1-0 with a 3.31 ERA over 16 1/3 innings.  He started the first end of a double header on September 14, 1957 against the Cubs, pitching a complete game 3-1 victory while allowing only one run.

1953 Topps #249

1954 Topps #139

1957 Topps #259

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Topps #249
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1953-1954, 1956-1957
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-EOB

11 - O'Brien non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/17/20.

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.