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Clinton Dawson Courtney
Washington Nationals
Catcher
Born: March 16, 1927, Hall Summit, LA
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1951; St. Louis Browns 1952-1953; Baltimore Orioles 1954; Chicago White Sox 1955; Washington Senators 1955-1959; Baltimore Orioles 1960; Kansas City Athletics 1961; Baltimore Orioles 1961
Died: June 16, 1975, Rochester, NY (age 48)
Catcher Clint Courtney found success early in his career with the Browns/Orioles franchise, but ultimately played the most games with the Senators in the mid to late 1950s. He's widely considered to be the first major league catcher to wear glasses. Courtney was acquired by the Browns at the request of manager Rogers Hornsby following the 1951 season, and his successful rookie campaign led to his winning The Sporting News A.L. Rookie of the Year honors in 1952. That was perhaps the best season of his career, as he batted .286 over 119 games with five home runs and 50 RBIs. Courtney followed the Browns to Baltimore where he was the team's opening day catcher in their inaugural game in 1954. His opening day home run was the first home run hit in Memorial Stadium history.
Courtney arrived in Washington in June 1955 and he'd appear in 473 games for the club, with a career high 134 appearances in 1958. He attained career highs in home runs (8) and RBIs (62) that season as well. Known as an intense competitor, Courtney was involved in at least two on-field skirmishes with Yankees' second baseman Billy Martin (#181). He retired as a player after 11 big league seasons, with a .268 batting average and 38 home runs. In 1965, Courtney served as the bullpen coach for the Astros and he managed the Braves' Triple-A team in Richmond between 1973 and 1975.
Building the Set
June 17, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #296
Our first son Doug was born in December 2006, and this happy event led directly to my Dad visiting us on a more regular basis. Dad was living by himself at this point in Mays Landing, New Jersey and he didn't enjoy the 40 minute drive north to our house. Among all the very positive memories I have of my Dad, one of my few negative memories is the fact he absolutely seemed to loathe driving and that loathing increased exponentially if there was traffic or if it were dark. But he made the trips anyway, sometimes staying no more than an hour, because he was so incredibly anxious and excited to spend time with his grandson.
By the time his second grandson (Ben) was born in April 2010, my Dad's health had started to fail and whatever visits we had were pre-arranged or consisted of us visiting him. Which is why these visits during Doug's infancy and first few years are so special to me. My Dad would show up usually unannounced, ecstatic to see Doug, there would be some small talk and we'd complain about the Phillies, and then he'd leave. But on his way out, he'd always say he'd see us again in a few days and I'd look forward to these visits.
This background is needed to better explain how this Courtney card came into our set. (I first shared all of this a few years ago in the post for the Jack Harshman card - #29.) In 2007, My Dad's days mostly consisted of an occasional round of golf, calls and visits to his kids - my sister and me, watching cable news, an afternoon nap and scouring eBay. Most (but not all) of his eBay purchases benefitted me in the form of 1956 Topps cards we needed for our set. He'd show up at our house for a visit with Doug and nonchalantly hand me one of his recent purchases. He brought this Courtney card and Elston Howard (#208) card on June 17, 2007, as what most likely was a Father's Day gift. From pictures at the time, I think we were staying in a house rented in Avalon, New Jersey during this week.
Throughout 2007, I suspect he had a backlog of purchased 1956 Topps cards piled up on his desk at his house, and he'd grab one or two to deliver to me as he was heading out the door to make the 40 minute drive to visit Doug.
The Card / Nationals Team Set
At first I thought Courtney was the catcher depicted in the action shot, but I believe that's Yogi Berra (#110) once again making another cameo on a 1956 Topps card. By my very unofficial tally, Berra has made cameos so far on the cards of Jim Piersall (#143), Sandy Amoros (#42), Roy Campanella (#101) and Bob Kennedy (#38). I'm going to call Courtney out at the plate on this play.
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| June 16, 2007 - Dad, Doug and me in Avalon, NJ |
June 17, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #296
Our first son Doug was born in December 2006, and this happy event led directly to my Dad visiting us on a more regular basis. Dad was living by himself at this point in Mays Landing, New Jersey and he didn't enjoy the 40 minute drive north to our house. Among all the very positive memories I have of my Dad, one of my few negative memories is the fact he absolutely seemed to loathe driving and that loathing increased exponentially if there was traffic or if it were dark. But he made the trips anyway, sometimes staying no more than an hour, because he was so incredibly anxious and excited to spend time with his grandson.
By the time his second grandson (Ben) was born in April 2010, my Dad's health had started to fail and whatever visits we had were pre-arranged or consisted of us visiting him. Which is why these visits during Doug's infancy and first few years are so special to me. My Dad would show up usually unannounced, ecstatic to see Doug, there would be some small talk and we'd complain about the Phillies, and then he'd leave. But on his way out, he'd always say he'd see us again in a few days and I'd look forward to these visits.
This background is needed to better explain how this Courtney card came into our set. (I first shared all of this a few years ago in the post for the Jack Harshman card - #29.) In 2007, My Dad's days mostly consisted of an occasional round of golf, calls and visits to his kids - my sister and me, watching cable news, an afternoon nap and scouring eBay. Most (but not all) of his eBay purchases benefitted me in the form of 1956 Topps cards we needed for our set. He'd show up at our house for a visit with Doug and nonchalantly hand me one of his recent purchases. He brought this Courtney card and Elston Howard (#208) card on June 17, 2007, as what most likely was a Father's Day gift. From pictures at the time, I think we were staying in a house rented in Avalon, New Jersey during this week.
Throughout 2007, I suspect he had a backlog of purchased 1956 Topps cards piled up on his desk at his house, and he'd grab one or two to deliver to me as he was heading out the door to make the 40 minute drive to visit Doug.
The Card / Nationals Team Set
At first I thought Courtney was the catcher depicted in the action shot, but I believe that's Yogi Berra (#110) once again making another cameo on a 1956 Topps card. By my very unofficial tally, Berra has made cameos so far on the cards of Jim Piersall (#143), Sandy Amoros (#42), Roy Campanella (#101) and Bob Kennedy (#38). I'm going to call Courtney out at the plate on this play.
The final cartoon panel on the back of the card covers Courtney's offseason exploits as a cattle rancher in Louisiana. At one point, he owned at least 200 acres of farmland where he'd raise his cattle.
1956 Season
In his first full season in Washington, Courtney appeared in 101 games the Senators, making 66 starts behind the plate. The team split catching duties three ways that season with Courtney getting the most starts ahead of Lou Berberet (#329) with 54 starts and Ed FitzGerald (#198) with 35 starts. Courtney batted an even .300 with five home runs and 44 RBIs for the seventh place team.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1953 Bowman Color #70
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1953, 1956-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1991 Topps Archives 1953 #127
33 - Courtney non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/10/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1953 Bowman Color #70
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1953, 1956-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1991 Topps Archives 1953 #127
33 - Courtney non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/10/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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