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Paul Edison Minner
Chicago Cubs
Pitcher
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
1956 Season
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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
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