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Wesley Noreen Westrum
New York Giants
Catcher
Born: November 28, 1922, Clearbrook, MN
Acquired: Sent from Crookston (Northern) to the New York Giants in an unknown transaction before 1941 season
Major League Teams: New York Giants 1947-1957
As a Manager: New York Mets 1965-1967; San Francisco Giants 1974-1975
Died: May 28, 2002, Clearbrook, MN (age 79)
Wes Westrum was a fixture with the New York Giants during their final 11 seasons on the East Coast before the team's move to San Francisco in 1958. He was a two-time All-Star and played in two World Series with the Giants, helping them win the World Championship in 1954. Westrum's best season was perhaps 1950 when he batted .236 with career highs in home runs (23) and RBIs (71). Known more for his defense than his offense, Westrum led all National League catchers in fielding percentage in 1950 and also led the league in caught stealing percentage twice (1953 and 1954). When the Giants moved west for their 1958 season, he was offered a job as either the team's third-string catcher or as a coach. He accepted the coaching position, beginning a nearly two decade run as a big league coach or manager. For his playing career, Westrum appeared in 919 games and batted .217 with 96 home runs and 315 RBIs.
He original stint as a Giants coach lasted until 1963, when he departed to join the Mets staff under manager Casey Stengel. Westrum was named the Mets' interim manager in 1965 when Stengel broke his hip and he'd have the interim tag removed when Stengel was no longer able to manage. Between 1965 and 1967 with Westrum at the helm, the Mets went 142-237 and he resigned with less than two weeks to go in the 1967 season. He rejoined the Giants serving as a coach (1968-1971) and then a scout (1972-1974) before succeeding Charlie Fox as manager on June 28, 1974. In a year and a half with his original club, he had a 118-129 record and was let go following the 1975 season. Westrum would then leave the Giants for a final time, serving as a long-time scout for the Braves between 1977 and 1994.
Building the Set
October 10, 1998 in Winston-Salem, NC - Card #168
In what had to have been a post-birthday purchase, I spent $52 in the Season Ticket baseball card store in Winston-Salem for ten 1956 Topps cards. This Westrum 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 / Giants Team Set
I'm calling the Cardinal baserunner out, as Westrum seems to have tug him before his foot reached the plate. And I might be wrong here, but I think Topps used the same headshot photo for Westrum's 1951, 1952 and 1954 cards. He was exclusively in the Bowman set in 1955, and this card marks his brief return to Topps sets. The cartoon panels on the back play up his fine defensive skills and mention his ability to catch a knuckle ball.
1956 Season
Ray Katt took over the everyday catcher's job from Westrum in 1955 and while Westrum was the team's opening day catcher in 1956, he soon lost playing time to Katt and eventually Bill Sarni (#247). Westrum appeared in 68 games, making 45 starts behind the plate, and batted .220 with three home runs and eight RBIs.
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| 1998 birthday haul, including 1998 Topps factory set |
October 10, 1998 in Winston-Salem, NC - Card #168
In what had to have been a post-birthday purchase, I spent $52 in the Season Ticket baseball card store in Winston-Salem for ten 1956 Topps cards. This Westrum 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 / Giants Team Set
I'm calling the Cardinal baserunner out, as Westrum seems to have tug him before his foot reached the plate. And I might be wrong here, but I think Topps used the same headshot photo for Westrum's 1951, 1952 and 1954 cards. He was exclusively in the Bowman set in 1955, and this card marks his brief return to Topps sets. The cartoon panels on the back play up his fine defensive skills and mention his ability to catch a knuckle ball.
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1951 Bowman #161
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1951-1952, 1954, 1956-1957, 1960, 1966-1967, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2002 Topps Super Teams #6
68 - Westrum non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/16/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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