 |
 |
Harvey Edward Kuenn
Detroit Tigers
Shortstop
Born: December 4, 1930, West Allis, WI
Signed: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, June 9, 1952
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1952-1959; Cleveland Indians 1960; San Francisco Giants 1961-1965; Chicago Cubs 1965-1966; Philadelphia Phillies 1966
As a Manager: Milwaukee Brewers 1975, 1982-1983
Died: February 28, 1988, Peoria, AZ (age 57)
One of the most prolific hitters in the American League throughout the 1950s, Harvey Kuenn was the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1953 and was named to eight straight All-Star teams between 1953 and 1960. He and Al Kaline (#20) led the Tigers offense during those years, but the club never finished higher than fourth place in the junior circuit. A shortstop early in his career, Kuenn led the league in hits four times (1953, 1954, 1956 and 1959), doubles three times (1955, 1958 and 1959) and took the batting crown in 1959 with a .353 average. He was swapped to the Indians in April 1960 for Rocky Colavito, a blockbuster deal involving two All-Stars.
 |
| 1982 Donruss #578 |
Kuenn became a coach for the Brewers in 1972 and he served as an interim manager for a game in 1975 following the firing of Del Crandall (#175). He was named the team's permanent manager on June 2, 1982, replacing Buck Rodgers, and he led that Brewers team to their first and only World Series appearance to date. Despite losing to the Cardinals in the World Series, Kuenn and his team, affectionately called "Harvey's Wallbangers," cemented themselves as fan favorites in Milwaukee.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
The Card / Tigers Team Set
When I think of Kuenn, I think of the stocky manager of the Brewers from the early 1980s and not a nimble shortstop from the mid-1950s. Kuenn returned to Topps after a one year absence and having appeared on a card in the 1955 Bowman set. The back of this card, and one of the last white-backed cards in our set, highlights his offensive skills and the big signing bonus he received from the Tigers in 1952. Per his SABR biography, the amount of the "bonus" was $55,000 and it was actually his first three years' salary.
1956 Season
Kuenn was in the middle of the best stretch of his career in 1956 and he led the American League in hits for the third time. His .332 average was third in the league behind Ted Williams (#5) and Mickey Mantle (#135) who hit .345 and .353 respectively. Kuenn hit 12 home runs and had 88 RBIs, second on the team to only Kaline and his 128. Kuenn started all but 15 of the Tigers' 155 games at shortstop and was most often paired with Milt Bolling (#315) as his second base double play partner.
Phillies Career
The Cubs sold Kuenn to the Phillies three games into the 1966 season on April 23rd. He spent the rest of the season with the Phillies, his final season in the majors, serving as a right-handed pinch-hitter and occasional back-up in left for Tony Gonzalez or at first base for Bill White. Kuenn appeared in 86 games for the Phillies, hitting .296 with 9 doubles and 15 RBIs. He received an invitation to spring training in 1967, but he abruptly announced his retirement right before the start of camp to take a job with a television station in Milwaukee. Kuenn's time with the Phillies produced no official baseball cards.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #25
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1954, 1956-1966, 1973-1974, 1983-1984
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Panini Diamond Kings #3
Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #16
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-posted the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post last July. There were a lot of these Original 44 cards bunched together, meaning the original owner must have opened a few Series Two packs. Seven of the Original 44 came from Series One, with 11 coming from Series Two. So far I've covered the cards of Mathews, Yogi Berra (#110), Jim Brady (#126), Eddie Yost (#128), Willie Mays (#130), the Cardinals team card (#134), Johnny Logan (#136) and Johnny Antonelli (#138). Still to come from Series Two are the cards of Red Schoendienst (#165) and Sammy White (#168).
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-posted the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post last July. There were a lot of these Original 44 cards bunched together, meaning the original owner must have opened a few Series Two packs. Seven of the Original 44 came from Series One, with 11 coming from Series Two. So far I've covered the cards of Mathews, Yogi Berra (#110), Jim Brady (#126), Eddie Yost (#128), Willie Mays (#130), the Cardinals team card (#134), Johnny Logan (#136) and Johnny Antonelli (#138). Still to come from Series Two are the cards of Red Schoendienst (#165) and Sammy White (#168).
The Card / Tigers Team Set
When I think of Kuenn, I think of the stocky manager of the Brewers from the early 1980s and not a nimble shortstop from the mid-1950s. Kuenn returned to Topps after a one year absence and having appeared on a card in the 1955 Bowman set. The back of this card, and one of the last white-backed cards in our set, highlights his offensive skills and the big signing bonus he received from the Tigers in 1952. Per his SABR biography, the amount of the "bonus" was $55,000 and it was actually his first three years' salary.
1956 Season
The Cubs sold Kuenn to the Phillies three games into the 1966 season on April 23rd. He spent the rest of the season with the Phillies, his final season in the majors, serving as a right-handed pinch-hitter and occasional back-up in left for Tony Gonzalez or at first base for Bill White. Kuenn appeared in 86 games for the Phillies, hitting .296 with 9 doubles and 15 RBIs. He received an invitation to spring training in 1967, but he abruptly announced his retirement right before the start of camp to take a job with a television station in Milwaukee. Kuenn's time with the Phillies produced no official baseball cards.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #25
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1954, 1956-1966, 1973-1974, 1983-1984
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Panini Diamond Kings #3
173 - Kuenn non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/16/21.
Sources:
1965 Topps Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment