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Willard Lee Nixon
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher
Born: June 17, 1928, Taylorsville, GA
Signed: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent, June 7, 1948
Major League Teams: Boston Red Sox 1950-1958
Died: December 10, 2000, Rome, GA (age 72)
Willard Nixon spent his entire nine-year big league career as a reliable starting pitcher for the Red Sox. He compiled a lifetime record of 69-72 with a 4.39 ERA, winning at least 10 games in 1954, 1955 and 1957. His best season was most likely 1955 when he went 12-10 with a 4.07 ERA and topped 200 innings pitched for the only time in his career. Known as a "Yankee Killer," four of Nixon's 1955 wins came against New York. Nixon was also proficient at the plate, as he was a lifetime .242 batter with a pair of home runs and 41 RBIs. He retired following the 1958 season and served as a scout for the Red Sox until 1963.
Reading Nixon's SABR biography, I found it interesting that one of his lasting contributions to Red Sox collectors was his ability to convincingly forge Ted Williams' (#5) signature. Clubhouse attendant Don Fitzpatrick told how boxes of baseballs would be brought to Williams to sign and the slugger would give the instruction to, "Give it to Willard." According to Fitzpatrick, hundreds of baseballs thought to be signed by Williams were actually signed by Nixon.
Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #316
I first shared this story with the Roberto Clemente (#33) post, but I'll repeat myself here. The way my Dad and I finished the 1956 Topps set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory. Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set. Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning. I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired to finish off the set. And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards.
Our son Doug had just turned one, and on Christmas morning 2007, we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our families to our house to celebrate the day. I've had a few rough Christmases, but this was one of the worst as my Dad ended up in the hospital that day and it was the beginning of his health struggles that would continue until he passed away in late 2011. He was discharged from the hospital three days later, and it was only then we celebrated Christmas together, on December 28th, and I opened the package containing the last of the cards needed for our 1956 Topps set.
Dad was understandably distraught that Christmas, but not solely because of his own health issues. Because of his unselfish nature, he was worried that he had ruined Christmas for everyone since we had spent the holidays in a hospital. He was also upset that his surprise package containing those last 29 baseball cards sat in the back seat of his car for three days until he recovered enough to come home. I was just happy to have him out of the hospital, but I do remember feeling confused and somewhat hopeless as we weren't quite sure yet what was wrong with him.
I don't have any pictures from December 28th, which is unusual for me. I'm assuming I was just happy that Dad was out of the hospital and taking pictures never crossed my mind.
The Card / Red Sox Team Set
I can't tell if that's a 21 or a 15 peaking through on the back of Nixon's jersey. He wore #21 for most of his career, wearing #15 for only parts of the 1955 and 1956 seasons. This is Nixon's first Topps appearance since 1953, as he was most likely under an exclusive contract with Bowman in 1954 and 1955. On the back, his success against the Yankees is noted as is his 1947 and 1948 college record at Alabama Polytechnic Institute. Alabama Poly updated its name to Auburn University in 1960.
1956 Season
Nixon served as the Red Sox' third starting pitcher for most of the season, behind Tom Brewer (#34) and Frank Sullivan (#71). He missed time battling both arm and back injuries. In 22 starts, he went 9-8 with a 4.21 ERA, including 9 complete games and one 11-inning shutout against the Yankees on August 7th. He out dueled Don Larsen (#332) in that game, as Larsen allowed an unearned run in the 11th to give Nixon and the Red Sox a 1-0 victory. His season ended prematurely when he exited his September 16th start after just an inning with a sore arm.
Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #316
I first shared this story with the Roberto Clemente (#33) post, but I'll repeat myself here. The way my Dad and I finished the 1956 Topps set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory. Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set. Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning. I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired to finish off the set. And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards.
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| Doug and Dad on Christmas Eve, 2007 |
Dad was understandably distraught that Christmas, but not solely because of his own health issues. Because of his unselfish nature, he was worried that he had ruined Christmas for everyone since we had spent the holidays in a hospital. He was also upset that his surprise package containing those last 29 baseball cards sat in the back seat of his car for three days until he recovered enough to come home. I was just happy to have him out of the hospital, but I do remember feeling confused and somewhat hopeless as we weren't quite sure yet what was wrong with him.
I don't have any pictures from December 28th, which is unusual for me. I'm assuming I was just happy that Dad was out of the hospital and taking pictures never crossed my mind.
The Card / Red Sox Team Set
I can't tell if that's a 21 or a 15 peaking through on the back of Nixon's jersey. He wore #21 for most of his career, wearing #15 for only parts of the 1955 and 1956 seasons. This is Nixon's first Topps appearance since 1953, as he was most likely under an exclusive contract with Bowman in 1954 and 1955. On the back, his success against the Yankees is noted as is his 1947 and 1948 college record at Alabama Polytechnic Institute. Alabama Poly updated its name to Auburn University in 1960.
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1951 Bowman #270
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1952-1953, 1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1991 Topps Archives 1953 #30
21 - Nixon non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/23/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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Order Collected: #61 Bill Skowron - New York Yankees / #146 Washington Nationals Team Card
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