#182 Paul Minner - Chicago Cubs

Paul Edison Minner
Chicago Cubs
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  200
Born:  July 30, 1923, New Wilmington, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1941 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1946, 1948-1949; Chicago Cubs 1950-1956
Died:  March 28, 2006, Lemoyne, PA (age 82)

Paul Minner had his big league debut with the Dodgers delayed while he was serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.  He'd eventually see time with the Dodgers in parts of three seasons between 1946 and 1949, but he'd find his most success as a starting pitcher with the Cubs over seven seasons.  For a collection of awful Cubs teams, Minner managed to average 10 wins per year between 1950 and 1955.  While he led the league in losses with 17 in 1951, he bounced back the next year to win a career-high 14 games.  Perhaps his best season came in 1954 when Minner went 11-11 with a 3.96 ERA over 32 games and 218 innings pitched.  A solid fielder as well, Minner led all N.L. pitchers in assists in 1953 with 56.

Minner last appeared in the majors with the Cubs in June 1956, and after a failed comeback attempt with the Pirates in their 1957 spring training camp, he retired.  Minner was 69-84 during his career with a 3.94 ERA over 1,310 1/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #20
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this is the second of 16 from series three.  The first card from series three was the Billy Martin (#181) card, recently covered in last week's post.

The Card / Cubs Team Set
This card has been in my collection for almost 39 years and until composing this post, I had no idea Minner was a pitcher.  (And this is despite his position being included prominently on the front of the card.)  Based on the action shot on the card (where's the catcher?) I had always assumed Minner was a non-pitcher.  The main photo is the same used on Minner's 1954 Topps card.  Minner signed reprints of this card for the 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.

On the back, the first cartoon panel celebrates Minner's team-leading ERA of 3.48 from the 1955 season.  Topps should have clarified that was among starting pitchers as closer Hal Jeffcoat (#289) also qualified for the team ERA title and he had a mark of 2.95.  The middle panel explains Minner's evolution from a fastball pitcher to essentially a junk ball pitcher, as pitchers primarily throwing off speed pitches were called at the time.  And the final panel might be on the wrong card.  Throughout his career, Minner struck out 481 while walking 393, which isn't exactly a stellar ratio.

1956 Season

Minner began the season in the Cubs' starting pitching rotation, as their fifth starter behind Bob Rush (#214), Warren Hacker (#282), Sam Jones (#259) and Russ Meyer (#227).  He earned a complete game victory on April 22nd, his first start of the season, but quickly fell apart after that.  Minner allowed the first of Frank Robinson's eventual 586 career home runs on April 28th in a 9-1 shellacking by the Reds.  In total, he endured nine more difficult outings and allowed five runs on 11 hits in his final appearance on June 12th.  Shortly thereafter, Minner reportedly fell in his bathtub while staying in a New York City hotel room, suffering a concussion and fracturing a vertebra in his neck.  The injury ended Minner's career, with the Cubs releasing him following the season.

1952 Topps #127

1953 Topps #92

1954 Topps #28

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #127
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1952-1954, 1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #RO-PM

17 - Minner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/22/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#181 Billy Martin - New York Yankees

Alfred Manuel Martin
New York Yankees
Second Base-Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  165
Born:  May 16, 1928, Berkeley, CA
Acquired:  Traded by Oakland (PCL) with Jackie Jensen to the New York Yankees for a player to be named later and cash, October 13, 1949
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1950-1953, 1955-1957; Kansas City Athletics 1957; Detroit Tigers 1958; Cleveland Indians 1959; Cincinnati Reds 1960; Milwaukee Braves 1961; Minnesota Twins 1961
As a Manager:  Minnesota Twins 1969; Detroit Tigers 1971-1973; Texas Rangers 1973-1975; New York Yankees 1975-1978, 1979; Oakland Athletics 1980-1982; New York Yankees 1983, 1985, 1988
Died:  December 25, 1989, Johnson City, NY (age 61)

As a player, Billy Martin was the Yankees' every day second baseman in 1952, 1953 and 1956, providing steady defense with double play partners Phil Rizzuto (#113) or Gil McDougald (#225).  Martin's best offensive seasons came in the early 1950s, as he batted a career-high .267 in 1952 and hit career highs with his power numbers in 1953 with 15 home runs and 75 RBIs.  He was named to his only All-Star team in 1956 and departed the Bronx (for the first of many times) in mid-1957 having won World Series rings with the Yankees in 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1956.  For the rest of his playing days, Martin never stayed with one club for more than a full season, making stops with six different clubs.  He retired having played in 1,021 career games and batting .257 with 877 hits.

1983 Donruss #575

As a manager, Martin developed a reputation for his ability to turn around bad teams as well as his legendary temper.  First hired to manage the Twins in 1969, Martin led Minnesota to a division title but was fired following the season.  After stints with the Tigers and Rangers, he was first hired to manage his former team, the Yankees, in mid-1975.  Martin guided New York to three consecutive pennants between 1976 and 1978, including a World Series title in 1977.  He departed as the Yankees manager for the first time in July 1978 after highly publicized battles with the team's star outfielder, Reggie Jackson, and the team's owner, George Steinbrenner.  Martin and Steinbrenner would continue the pattern of reconciliation and self-destruction throughout the late 1980s, with Martin managing the Yankees in five different stints.  His lifetime managerial record was 1,253-1,013, including 48 career ejections. 

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #19
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post.  This Martin card would have definitely been one of the names I recognized when going through the Original 44, given his notoriety at the time and his inclusion in Topps and Donruss sets of the day on manager cards.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this is the first of 16 from series three.

The Card / Yankees Team Set
Martin was omitted from the 1955 Bowman and Topps sets, given his year away in the military.  It looks as if the runner has been forced out in the action photo.  The cartoon panels on the back feature his military discharge in 1955 and his .500 batting average in the 1953 World Series when he collected 12 hits.

1956 Season

Martin missed all of the 1954 season and most of the 1955 season while serving in the military.  He was the Yankees' opening day second baseman in 1956, his final full season as a player in New York.  Rumblings circulated during the season that Martin was a bad influence on his teammates, especially star slugger Mickey Mantle (#135).  Martin was named to his only All-Star Game and he grounded out against Warren Spahn (#10) as a pinch-hitter.  During the regular season, he played in 121 games, batting .264 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs.  He was again a key player in the World Series, delivering a go-ahead RBI single in Game 4 and hitting .296 overall with two home runs as the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in seven games.

1952 Topps #175

1962 Topps #208

1972 Topps #33

1978 Topps #721

1986 Topps #651

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #175
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25):  1952-1954, 1956-1962, 1969, 1971-1978, 1980-1981, 1983-1986
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps x Sports Illustrated #51

444 - Martin non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/22/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#180 Robin Roberts - Philadelphia Phillies

Robin Evan Roberts
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  September 30, 1926, Springfield, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1948-1961; Baltimore Orioles 1962-1965; Houston Astros 1965-1966; Chicago Cubs 1966
Hall of Fame Induction:  1976
Died:  May 6, 2010, Temple Terrace, FL (age 83)

Hall of Famer Robin Roberts was one of the most dominant right-handed pitchers of the 1950s, leading the National League in wins for four straight seasons between 1952 and 1955 and earning seven straight All-Star Game appearances.  A work horse for the Phillies, his 20-win season in 1950 led the Phillies to the World Series and made him the first pitcher to win at least 20 games for the club since Grover Cleveland Alexander did it in 1917.  Straddling the 1952 and 1953 seasons, he pitched 28 complete games in a row with his appearance on September 6, 1952 lasting 17 innings.  He led the league in strikeouts in 1953 and 1954, and was named The Sporting News pitcher of the year in both 1952 and 1955.

After departing the Phillies, Roberts bounced from the Yankees, Orioles, Astros and Cubs, pitching a total of 19 seasons and retiring at the age of 39.  He finished with a career record of 286-245 with a 3.41 ERA and exactly half of his 609 starts resulted in complete games (305).  His 609 games started currently rank 20th on the all-time list.  He was the first Phillies player to have his number retired in 1962 and the first player inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

Building the Set
Sometime in 1987, no record of purchase - Card #53
So this is a little embarrassing, and as diligent as I was in my record-keeping skills between 1987 and 2005, I have absolutely no record of how or when this card came into our collection.  There are four such cards we added to our set without me writing down the date of purchase, and this card is by far the most egregious, given it's a high-profile Phillies Hall of Famer.  What I have been able to piece together, based on our checklists from 1987 and 1988, is this card was likely added at some point in 1987, shortly after we officially decided to collect the set.

And it's somewhat fitting this card falls here in the history of this blog, as we're nearing the end of 2021 and I have no recollection of certain weeks/months from the past year.  May?  A complete blur.  September?  Maybe it happened, maybe it didn't.  This card also holds the distinction of breaking this blog's streak of consecutive weekly posting, every Friday at 7am, since January 31, 2019.  With the holiday hustle and bustle in full swing and a few unfortunate work-related events, I completed missed posting this past Friday.  So here's to taking a deep breath, remembering to keep records of where and when you purchased your baseball cards (if you're into that sort of thing) and a healthy and hopefully more peaceful 2022.

The Card / Phillies Team Set
Roberts appeared in the iconic 1952 Topps set and then disappeared from the company's offerings until 1956.  Exclusive to Bowman between 1953 and 1955, Roberts appeared in every Bowman set with the exception of their two black and white releases in 1948 and 1953.  The first cartoon panel on the back contains an error as Roberts led the league in wins four seasons in a row between 1952 and 1955.  The middle panel is accurate as Roberts' complete game totals topped the league between 1952 and 1955 and the mini cartoon actually looks impressively like the pitcher.

This card marks the end of the set's second series, and series three begins with a card of Yankees' All-Star second baseman Billy Martin (#181).  There were 100 cards in the set's first series, with 80 cards each following in the second, third and fourth series releases.  I'll eventually have a summary of the set's second series along the index bar at the top of this blog, and the first series review can be found here.

1956 Season

This was to be the last of Roberts' seven consecutive seasons of making the N.L. All-Star team.  He finished the year with a 19-18 record with a 4.45 ERA while leading the league with 22 complete games.  Roberts struck out 157 over 297 1/3 innings pitched, just missing the 300 innings pitched plateau for the first time since 1949.  He walked only 40 batters all season.  According to his SABR biography, the Phillies and Cardinals seriously discussed a swap of Roberts for Stan Musial, but the deal never happened.

Phillies Career
Roberts signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent before the 1948 season and he was sold to the Yankees on October 16, 1961.  In the decade-plus in between, he established himself as the best right-handed pitcher in franchise history.  He still ranks first in franchise history in games (529), complete games (272), and innings pitched (3,739 1/3), and is second only to Steve Carlton in games started (472), wins (234) and strikeouts (1,871).

Following his big league career, and after a partial season with the Reading Phillies in 1967 attempting a comeback, Roberts' later crossed paths with the Phillies when he served as a color commentary on Phillies broadcasts for games between 1974 and 1976.  Along with his induction into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978, he was also named to their Centennial Team in 1983.  His statute sits outside the first base gate of Citizens Bank Park, and when he passed away in 2010 the Phillies wore a black #36 patch on their uniforms and hung a Roberts jersey in their dugout during each game.

1949 Bowman #46

1952 Topps #59

1955 Bowman #171

1959 Topps #352

1966 Topps #530

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1952, 1956-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Panini Mosaic Vintage #V6

522 - Roberts non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/22/21.

Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

#179 Harry Chiti - Chicago Cubs

Harry Chiti
Chicago Cubs
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  221
Born:  November 16, 1932, Kincaid, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent, June 29, 1950
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1950-1952, 1955-1956; Kansas City Athletics 1958-1960; Detroit Tigers 1960-1961; New York Mets 1962
Died:  January 31, 2002, Haines City, FL (age 69)

Harry Chiti made his debut with the Cubs in 1950 at the age of 17, but it took five years, including a two-year stint while serving during the Korean War, before he became a regular in the Cubs line-up.  In 1955, Chiti got the chance to start everyday, ultimately appearing in 113 games and batting .231.  He led the league in assists (69) and runners caught stealing (34) that season.  Chiti would settle back into a platoon or back-up role over the next seven seasons.  Chiti spent a full season in the Yankees' minor leagues in 1957 before being dealt to the Athletics where he shared catching duties with Frank House (#32) and then Pete Daley between 1958 and 1960.  After a few seasons with the Tigers and minimal playing time, Chiti was on the move again, first to the Orioles and then to the Indians.  He was dealt to the expansion Mets at the start of the 1962 season for a player to be named later, with the Mets ironically sending Chiti back to the Indians a few months later to satisfy the deal.  Thus making Chiti the first player traded for himself.

In 502 career big league games, Chiti batted .238 with 41 home runs and 179 RBIs.

December 25, 2006

Building the Set
December 25, 2006 from Mays Landing, NJ - Card #281
I was officially given this card on Christmas Day in 2006, but my Dad had purchased it several weeks (months?) earlier at a baseball card show held at the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing, New Jersey.

This was one of nine cards I received that Christmas from my Dad, and he spent a total of $210 on all nine cards with the Hank Aaron (#31) card being the big ticket item at $150.  Like all his purchases, he was extremely proud of this card's condition and I'm sure there was a negotiation story that went along with the acquisition.

Our first son Doug was born a few weeks before Christmas that year and we brought him home just in time for the big day.  He obviously doesn't remember much from his first Christmas, but he spent the holidays being held and loved by his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  The picture shown here is from Christmas Day 2006, shortly after I had added those nine cards to our (and one day Doug's) 1956 Topps set.  One of the great joys of my life was seeing how proud my Dad was to have a grandson.

The Card / Cubs Team Set
This is Chiti's first appearance in a Topps set, and he had previously appeared in the 1953 and 1955 Bowman sets.  The mystery runner in the action photo looks to be out to me.  The cartoon panels on the back of the card highlight his stint in the military, his signing with the Cubs out of high school, and his league leading defensive prowess from the prior season.

1956 Season

After starting the majority of the Cubs' games in 1955 behind the plate, Chiti entered into a platoon role with Hobie Landrith (#314) in 1956.  On May 30th, while in the process of being intentionally walked by the Braves' Ray Crone (#76), Chiti connected with a pitch that wasn't quite outside enough for a triple.  He led the league in caught stealing percentage with a 48.7% mark.  In 72 games, including 63 starts behind the plate, Chiti batted .212 with four home runs and 18 RBIs.  On December 14th, he was dealt to the Yankees as the player to be named later in an earlier deal that had sent catcher Charlie Silvera and cash to the Cubs.  Chiti never played for the Yankees, spending all of 1957 with their Triple-A affiliate, the Richmond Virginians.

1953 Bowman Color #7

1955 Bowman #304

1959 Topps #79

1961 Topps #269

1962 Topps #253

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Bowman Color #7
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1956, 1958-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1979 TCMA Diamond Greats #119

19 - Chiti non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/10/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#178 Joe Black - Cincinnati Redlegs

Joseph Black
Cincinnati Redlegs
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  220
Born:  February 8, 1924, Plainfield, NJ
Acquired:  Purchased with Jim Gilliam (#280) by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Baltimore Elite Giants (Negro League) for $11,000, before 1951 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1952-1955; Cincinnati Reds 1955-1956; Washington Senators 1957
Died:  May 17, 2002, Scottsdale, AZ (age 78)

Joe Black helped lead the Brooklyn Dodgers to the 1952 World Series on his way to winning that year's National League Rookie of the Year honors.  He had started his professional career with the Baltimore Elite Giants, where he was a two-time All-Star, before the Dodgers acquired him in 1951 along with teammate Jim Gilliam (#280).  Black was a workhorse for Brooklyn in 1952, going 15-4 with a 2.15 ERA and 15 saves over 56 games pitched, including two starts.  Black started three games for the Dodgers in the World Series against the Yankees, winning Game 1, but losing Game 4 and the decisive Game 7.  Perhaps from overuse during the 1952 season, Black was never quite the same, and he'd spend the next 4 1/2 seasons pitching in middle relief roles with the Dodgers, Reds and Senators.  He found some success in Cincinnati in 1955 and 1956, appearing in 32 games each season and earning an ERA of 4.34.

Black last appeared in the majors with the Senators in 1957, making him the team's first American-born black player.  He stayed connected to baseball after his retirement, serving as a scout for the Senators (1959-1960), working with the commissioner's office in an outreach role, assisting with the Baseball Assistance Team, helping former players who were struggling financially, and working for the new Arizona Diamondbacks franchise as a community affairs representative.  Black was one of several Dodgers from the early 1950s featured in Roger Kahn's classic book from 1972, The Boys of Summer.

Building the Set
December 2, 2000 from Raleigh, NC - Card #214
I went nuts and bought 16 cards for our 1956 Topps set on this day at the Sports Card & NASCAR Collectibles Show in Raleigh.  My records show the 16 cards set me back $55 which I would have considered to be a small fortune back then.  I hadn't yet moved back north yet, so I was still living in Raleigh at this time planning for my eventual escape.  I would have provided my Dad with an updated checklist following this show as he was back in New Jersey.

The Card / Redlegs Team Set
The main photo is the same as used on Black's 1955 Topps card, except that Topps has replaced the Brooklyn hat logo with a Cincinnati hat logo.  This is also Black's fifth and final appearance in a Topps flagship set.  More proof that everything is pretty much cyclical is found on the final cartoon panel on the back of the card.  Managers using their best pitchers to start World Series games, even if those pitchers are relievers, is not a new thing.  Brooklyn's Chuck Dressen used Black to start three games of the 1952 World Series, as mentioned above.  Black had made only two starts during the regular season, both in late September.

1956 Season

Manager Birdie Tebbetts used Black as a middle reliever through the 1956 season for the Reds.  In 32 games, he was 3-2 with a 4.52 ERA and a pair of saves.  Black only pitched 61 2/3 innings, striking out 27 to 25 walks.  Only closer Hersh Freeman (#242), with 64 appearances, pitched in relief in more games for the Reds.

Phillies Connection
On May 25, 1957, the Phillies purchased Black from the Reds and assigned him to their Texas League club, the Tulsa Oilers.  Black made only four appearances for the Oilers, limited by a sore arm which landed him on the team's disabled list at the end of June.  On July 5th, with Black barely able to lift his pitching arm, the Phillies released him.  He'd sign with the Senators on August 6th and he'd appear in his final seven big league games over the last month and a half of the season.

1952 Topps #321

1953 Topps #81

1954 Topps #98

1955 Topps #156

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #321
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1952-1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2005 Topps Dem Bums #DB-JB

69 - Black non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/28/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#177 Hank Bauer - New York Yankees

Henry Albert Bauer
New York Yankees
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  192
Born:  July 31, 1922, St. Louis, IL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1948-1959; Kansas City Athletics 1960-1961
As a Manager:  Kansas City Athletics 1961-1962; Baltimore Orioles 1964-1968; Oakland Athletics 1969
Died:  February 9, 2007, Lenexa, KS (age 84)

Hank Bauer was a hero during World War II before joining the Yankees and winning seven World Series rings with the club as their regular right fielder.  Bauer was consistently dependable throughout his Yankees tenure, and between 1950 and 1959 he batted .279 with an average of 15 home runs and 60 RBIs per season.  Bauer owned a 17-game World Series hitting streak, still a record today as tied by Derek Jeter, and contributed a three-run triple in the decisive Game 6 fo the 1951 World Series.  He slugged four home runs in the 1958 World Series, his final postseason action as a player.  Bauer was a three-time All-Star between 1952 and 1954, and earned MVP votes each year between 1952 and 1956.  He was dealt to the Athletics in December 1959 as part of the deal that brought Roger Maris to the Bronx.  While Maris went on to set the single-season home run record, Bauer played in parts of two seasons with the Athletics, becoming their player-manager in June 1961, before retiring as a player and focusing on his managing career.  Bauer retired with 1,424 hits, 164 home runs, 703 RBIs and a .277 career average.

His first managerial stint with the Athletics lasted only through the 1962 season.  He joined the Orioles as a first base coach in 1963, and was promoted to their manager following the season.  Bauer guided the Orioles to their first ever World Series title in 1966, sweeping the heavily favored Dodgers in four games.  His success with the Orioles waned after a few years and he was fired on July 10, 1968, to be replaced by Orioles' first base coach Earl Weaver.  Bauer managed one last time, returning to the Athletics, now in Oakland, for the 1969 season.  His lifetime managerial record was 594-544-1.  Bauer managed the Mets' top farm team in Tidewater in 1971 and 1972, before leaving the dugout for good.  He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1990.

March 4, 2007 - Dad and Doug

Building the Set
February 7, 2007 in Voorhees, NJ - Card #292
This is one of six cards I purchased at the Echelon Mall Baseball Card show in February 2007, spending $70 total, including $12.50 on this Bauer card.  At the time, Doug was a few days away from turning two months old and we had just celebrated my Dad's 63rd birthday a few weeks earlier.  I also realized as I was composing this post that Bauer passed away just two days after we had added his card to our set.

I think Jenna had been out shopping on this day when she texted (or called) me to let me know there was a baseball card show being held at what used to be the Echelon Mall.  The former mall has since been converted as part of the Voorhees Town Center. 

The Card / Yankees Team Set
Bauer is one of only eight players featured in the set's second series who were also in the 1954 and 1955 Topps sets, and who appeared with the exact same photos.  This is a sharp drop from the 32 players appearing in the set's first series for whom their photo was the same used in 1954 and 1955.  The majority of players in the set's second series were those who had been exclusive to Bowman over the past few years, so Topps had to come up with new photos for those players.

I'm calling Bauer safe on the play at the plate.  If the photo is from 1955, the only two American League catchers who were #9 that season were the Senators' Bob Oldis and the Tigers' Jay Porter.  Porter didn't catch in any games against the Yankees that season, but Oldis caught in two games against the Yankees in April 1955.  My best guess is the action photo is from April 13, 1955 when the Yankees destroyed the Senators, 19-1.  In the seventh inning, with Oldis catching, Bauer was the last of three runners to cross the plate on a bases-clearing triple from Bob Cerv (#288).

1956 Season

Bauer was again the opening day right fielder for the Yankees, with Mickey Mantle (#135) in center and Elston Howard (#208) in left, and it was the fourth straight season in which he earned that honor.  He'd start three more opening days for the Yankees before moving on to the Athletics in 1960.  Bauer hit career highs with his power numbers, slugging 26 home runs and driving in 84 runs, but his average slipped to .241.  He appeared in 147 games overall, making 128 starts in right and seven starts in left.  When the Yankees reached the World Series for the second consecutive year, and the seventh time in Bauer's eight seasons so far with the club, he hit safely in all seven games against the Dodgers, beginning his then record 17-game World Series hitting streak.

1950 Bowman #219

1954 Topps #130

1959 Topps #240

1967 Topps #1

1969 Topps #124

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1950 Bowman #219
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18):  1951-1952, 1954-1962, 1964-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2010 Topps New York Yankees 27 World Series Championships #YC13

289 - Bauer non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/19/21.

Sources:  

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia