#160 Billy Pierce - Chicago White Sox

Walter William Pierce
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  178
Born:  April 2, 1927, Detroit, MI
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1945 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1945, 1948; Chicago White Sox 1949-1961; San Francisco Giants 1962-1964
Died:  July 31, 2015, Palos Heights, IL (age 88)

Billy Pierce was a mainstay in the White Sox pitching rotation throughout the 1950s, earning seven All-Star Game berths and winning the league's ERA title in 1955 with a 1.97 mark.  Pierce won 15 games or more in eight different seasons and was a 20-game winner in both 1956 and 1957.  He led the league in complete games three seasons in a row between 1956 and 1958.  Pierce threw four one-hitters and came within one batter of a perfect game on June 27, 1958 against the Senators.  His career statistics most likely would have been even better if not for his frequent pitching appearances against the powerhouse Yankees, with Pierce often matched up against Whitey Ford (#240).  Pierce pitched effectively in two World Series, with the White Sox in 1959 and the Giants in 1962, but his clubs lost both times.

Pierce ranked atop almost all left-handed pitcher leaderboards when he retired, and his 1,999 career strikeouts were fifth best among all left-handed pitchers in 1964.  Over 18 seasons, Pierce appeared in 585 games and went 211-169 with a 3.27 ERA with 193 complete games.  His career WAR of 53.4 is currently 88th on the all-time list.  Pierce had his #19 retired by the White Sox in 1987, and the team unveiled a statute of their former All-Star pitcher outside U.S. Cellular Field in 2007.  He was also selected to the White Sox All-Century Team in 2000.

December 24, 2004

Building the Set
December 25, 2004 from San Diego, CA - Card #258
This is the sixth of six cards my Dad gave me for Christmas in 2004, and I've already covered the cards for Andy Carey (#12), Bob Kennedy (#38), "Windy" McCall (#44), Johnny O'Brien (#65) and Gus Triandos (#80).  My Dad never told me how much he paid for the six cards he ordered from Kit Young Cards in San Diego.  Kit Young was a favorite of my Dad's, and I can picture him making the long distance call to California with a dollar amount in mind for this purchase.

The Card / White Sox Team Set
Pierce returned to Topps after appearing exclusively in the Bowman sets from 1954 and 1955.  Is that another Yogi Berra (#110) cameo?  It's close to impossible to say for sure, but in any event, that's quite an unusual action shot to use for a pitcher's baseball card.  Given that Pierce isn't too far up the line, I'm assuming he was thrown out at first.  The back of the card celebrates his status as one of the American League's top pitchers of the day.

This card was reprinted for the 2002 Topps Archives set, with Pierce signing copies of the reprinted cards as well.  There's a chrome version of the reprinted card found in the 2002 Topps Archives Reserve set.

1956 Season

Pierce along with second baseman Nellie Fox (#118) were the unofficial team leaders for the White Sox during this era.  In his first of two 20-win seasons, Pierce went 20-9 with a 3.32 ERA over 35 appearances, as his club finished third in the American League.  Pierce was the clear staff ace in 1956 with fellow starting pitchers Jack Harshman (#29) and Dick Donovan (#18) winning 15 and 12 games respectively.  Pierce's 21 complete games tied him for the league lead with the Indians' Bob Lemon (#255).

1951 Bowman #196

1952 Topps #98

1957 Topps #160

1959 Topps #466

1964 Topps #222

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #196
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1951-1953, 1956-1964
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2013 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BP

123 - Pierce non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/10/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia