#195 George Kell - Chicago White Sox

George Clyde Kell
Chicago White Sox
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  175
Born:  August 23, 1922, Swifton, AR
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before the 1940 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1943-1946; Detroit Tigers 1946-1952; Boston Red Sox 1952-1954; Chicago White Sox 1954-1956; Baltimore Orioles 1956-1957
Hall of Fame Induction:  1983
Died:  March 24, 2009, Swifton, AR (age 86)

After a few false starts within the Dodgers and Athletics organizations, George Kell would become one of the best-hitting and best-fielding third baseman of his era, making ten All-Star squads and winning the American League batting title in 1949 with a .343 mark.  He struck out only 13 times that entire season, a record low for a league batting champion.  Kell topped the .300 mark in nine different seasons, and in eight consecutive seasons between 1946 and 1953.  In 1950, Kell led the American League in hits (218) and doubles (56) and repeated the feat in 1951, again leading the league in both categories with 191 hits and 36 doubles.  Kell led all third baseman in fielding percentage in seven different seasons and his .969 career mark is currently 14th all-time.

He retired with a .306 average and 2,054 hits in 1,795 career games.  Kell struck out only 287 times throughout his career in 7,529 plate appearances.  Following his playing days, Kell enjoyed a 37-year career as a fan-favorite Tigers broadcaster.  The Veterans Committee inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 1983.

January 28, 2006 - Celebrating Dad's 62nd birthday

Building the Set
December 3, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #274
This was a relatively late edition to our set and one of eight cards we purchased at the 93rd Philadelphia Sports Card Show held at the convention center in Ft. Washington. It was the most expensive card we purchased for our set that day at around $12 after a dealer discount.  With the Ocean City baseball card shows long gone by now, our only options for local baseball card shows were the "Philly Shows" held in Ft. Washington or the occasional mall baseball card show. 

My Dad didn't like the drive to Ft. Washington, and this would have been one of only a few shows we attended together in this location.  Looking at my records of when and where we purchased our cards, a full year would go by before we'd add any more cards to the set.

The year-long hiatus in collecting the set came at a time my wife and I were expecting our first son and as we moved into our first real house.

The Card / White Sox Team Set
This is Kell's first Topps card since 1953, as he was under exclusive contract with Bowman for 1954 and 1955.  The cartoon panels on the back of the card hit all his career highlights - his many seasons batting over .300, his 1949 batting title, and his fine fielding at third base.

1956 Season

Kell began the season with the White Sox, appearing in 21 games and batting .313 before a May trade sent him to the Orioles.  It was a six-player trade with Mike Fornieles, Connie Johnson (#326) and Bob Nieman (#267) going to Baltimore with Kell.  Dave Philley (#222) and Jim Wilson (#171) headed to Chicago.  Kell was reunited with his former White Sox manager Paul Richards, and he'd serve as the everyday third baseman for the Orioles throughout the season until the final week.  Rookie Brooks Robinson received the final seven starts of the season at third base, in an audition for the 1957 starting role.  (Robinson would pass the audition.)  In 102 games for the Orioles, Kell batted .261, the lowest mark of his career.

1949 Bowman #26

1950 Bowman #8

1952 Topps #246

1953 Topps #138

1958 Topps #40

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #26
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1952-1953, 1956-1958
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Panini Mosaic Vintage #V2

396 - Kell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/29/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#194 Monte Irvin - Chicago Cubs

Monford Merrill Irvin
Chicago Cubs
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  February 25, 1919, Haleburg, AL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Giants as a free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Newark Eagles 1938-1943, 1945-1948; New York Giants 1949-1955; Chicago Cubs 1956
Hall of Fame Induction:  1973
Died:  January 11, 2016, Houston, TX (age 96)

Monte Irvin's Hall of Fame career saw him play for almost two decades as an All-Star shortstop and left fielder for the Newark Eagles and the New York Giants.  Irvin was a six-time All-Star in the Negro Leagues, winning batting titles in 1941 when he batted .395 and in 1946 when he batted .363.  He lost almost three years of playing time between 1943 and 1945 while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, earning the rank of Sergeant.  Playing in Mexico in 1942, Irvin won the league's Triple Crown and earned MVP honors in the 1945-46 Puerto Rico Winter League.  He led the Eagles over the Kansas City Monarchs in the 1946 Negro League World Series while batting .462 with three home runs.

Irvin signed with the Giants before the 1949 season and after a slow start he'd cement his reputation as one of the best hitters of his era.  He finished third in the MVP vote in 1951, after batting .312 and leading the league with 121 RBIs.  Irvin batted .458 in that year's World Series against the Yankees, but the Giants fell in six games.  While mentoring the young Willie Mays (#130), Irvin was an All-Star in 1952 but was limited to only 46 games after suffering a broken ankle in spring training.  As the Giants' regular left fielder in 1954, Irvin helped the club win their first World Championship title since 1933, sweeping the Indians in four games.  While his Negro League statistics are incomplete, his known statistics include 137 home runs and a lifetime batting average of .304.  Irvin was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973, and the Giants retired his #20 in 2010.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #325

I first shared this story with the Roberto Clemente (#33) post, but I'll repeat myself, in an edited version, here.  The way my Dad and I finished the 1956 Topps set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory.  Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set.  Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning.  I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired to finish off the set.  And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards.  Off-center but with four sharp corners, this Irvin card was one of the final 29, and was one of the three Hall of Famers in the bunch, along with Whitey Ford (#240) and Pee Wee Reese (#332).

The Card / Cubs Team Set
This is Irvin's final baseball card appearance as an active player, and Topps used the same photo as his 1955 card, replacing the Giants logo on his cap with a Cubs logo.  I found the action shot used for the card through a Getty Images search, and the outcome of the play is one I'm sure Irvin would have rather forgotten.  In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, Irvin dropped a fly ball hit by the Indians' Bobby Avila (#132) in the top of the ninth inning with the score tied 2-2.  Avila would be stranded at second base and the Giants would ultimately win in the 10th inning on Dusty Rhodes' (#50) home run off Indians' pitcher Bob Lemon (#255).  That's shortstop Al Dark (#148) in the original photo with Irvin, and both Dark and his shadow have been removed from the photo used for Irvin's card.

The final cartoon panel on the back references his demotion to the minors in 1955, when he appeared in 75 games for the Minneapolis Millers, batting .352.  Topps reprinted this card twice, first for its 2001 Topps Archives set and then again as part of the 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set, containing Irvin's autograph.

1956 Season

The Giants left the former All-Star unprotected in the rule 5 draft following the 1955 season, and Irvin was selected by the Cubs.  He was Chicago's opening day left fielder and he'd split time at the position all season long with Jim King (#74).  Irvin batted .271 in 111 total games, with 15 home runs and 50 RBIs.  The Cubs finished dead last in the National League with a 60-94 record.  Set loose by the Cubs following the season, Irvin would attempt one more season with the Los Angeles Angels in 1957, then the top affiliate of the Dodgers, but a back injury limited him to only four games and he retired as a player.

1951 Topps Red Backs #50

1952 Topps #26

1953 Topps #62

1954 Topps #3

1955 Topps #100

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #198
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1951-1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps The History of Topps #HOT-2

448 - Irvin non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/11/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#193 Wilmer Mizell - St. Louis Cardinals

Wilmer David Mizell
St. Louis Cardinals
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Born:  August 13, 1930, Leakesville, MS
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1952-1953, 1956-1960; Pittsburgh Pirates 1960-1962; New York Mets 1962
Died:  February 21, 1999, Kerrville, TX (age 68)

Wilmer Mizell first played baseball as a youth in Vinegar Bend, Alabama, giving him his lifelong nickname.  With the Cardinals he won 10 games in 1952 and another 13 games in 1953 before missing two full seasons while serving in the military.  Mizell returned and picked up where he had left off, winning 14 games in 1956.  He was a reliable starter for the Cardinals throughout the 1950s, starting at least 20 games in each of his seven full seasons with the club.  In 1959, Mizell was named to both All-Star teams although he didn't appear in either game.  He was dealt to the Pirates in May 1960, and he'd spend his final two and half seasons with the Pirates and expansion Mets.  Mizell won a World Series ring in 1960 with Pittsburgh, although he didn't make it out of the first inning in his Game 3 start.  Mizell gave up three singles and a walk to the potent Yankees line-up to start the game, and was relieved with only one out by Clem Labine (#295).  The Pirates would lose Game 3, 10-0, but would ultimately prevail in seven games.

Mizell retired following the 1963 season with a career record of 90-88 and a 3.85 ERA in 268 games.  He was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives serving three terms as a Republican representing North Carolina's 5th congressional district between 1969 and 1975.

Building the Set

May 1997 - College graduation

July 19, 1997 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #154
My Dad and I added this card to our set at the Ocean City baseball card show held inside the Music Pier.  We purchased 11 cards that July day - Mizell and eight other commons, along with the Warren Giles (#2) card for $10 and the Ray Boone (#6) card for $5.

I graduated college in the spring of 1997, and that summer was a good one as I worked on the Sea Isle Promenade at a few t-shirt stores.  My days were spent jogging, barely working, reading and sitting on the beach.  Dinner would usually come from Phil's on 37th and Landis Avenue, and ice cream was consumed nightly.

Dad was still working in Millville at the time, and we probably met up in front of the Music Pier prior to his show.  The baseball card collecting landscape changed drastically in the ten year period between 1987 and 1997, with autographed cards making their way into packs and multiple parallel versions of the same card confusing us as "old school" collectors.  Still, I'd give anything to be back inside the Music Pier with my Dad searching for the next 1956 Topps card to add to our set.  I'm sure he was thrilled to find a dealer selling a bunch of '56s in good shape and at around $2 a card.  

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
We probably didn't notice it at the time, but this Mizell card has several creases running parallel down the left side of the card, almost as if a paper clip had been affixed to it at some point.  I also found it interesting the man best known as Vinegar Bend Mizell, who had a first name of Wilmer, signed his name David Mizell.  He's absent from the 1955 Topps set, but this card uses the same main photo as his 1954 Topps card.

The first cartoon panel on the back references his unusual nickname, as does his "home" in the biographical write-up.

1956 Season

Mizell returned to the majors after a two-year absence and went 14-14 in 33 starts with a 3.62 ERA.  He struck out 153 over 208 2/3 innings pitched and was arguably the ace of the fourth place Cardinals' staff.  Mizell threw 11 complete games, including three shutouts.  His best game of the year came on September 7th when he threw a complete game, two-hit shutout against the Reds.

1952 Topps #334

1953 Topps #128

1954 Topps #249

1957 Topps #113

1958 Topps #385

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #334
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1952-1954, 1956-1958
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #249

26 - Mizell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/7/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#192 "Smoky" Burgess - Cincinnati Redlegs

Forrest Harrill Burgess
Cincinnati Redlegs
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'8"  Weight:  185
Born:  February 6, 1927, Caroleen, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1949, 1951; Philadelphia Phillies 1952-1955; Cincinnati Reds 1955-1958; Pittsburgh Pirates 1959-1964; Chicago White Sox 1964-1967
Died:  September 15, 1991, Asheville, NC (age 64)

Smoky Burgess played for 18 seasons in the majors as a catcher and later as one of the game's top pinch-hitters.  A nine-time All-Star, Burgess was a fine defensive catcher, leading the league in fielding percentage at the position in 1953, 1960 and 1961.  He enjoyed productive seasons early in his career with the Phillies, making his first All-Star team in 1954 and hitting a lofty .368 for the season.  That mark would have given him the National League batting title, but he didn't have enough at-bats to qualify.  Burgess is perhaps best remembered for his time in Pittsburgh and as the primary backstop for the Pirates team that won the World Series in 1960.  He batted .333 in that World Series and the season before, on May 26, 1959, Burgess was behind the plate when Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix (#77) took a perfect game into the 13th inning.  Later in his career as a prolific pinch-hitter, Burgess set the record for most pinch-hits in the game's history with 145.  His mark was ultimately broken in 1979 by Manny Mota and Lenny Harris holds the record today with 212.

Burgess played in 1,691 games, batting .295 while accumulating 1,318 hits, 230 doubles, 126 home runs and 673 RBIs.  He was a long-time scout and minor league batting instructor for the Braves following his playing days.  Burgess was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1975.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

January 28, 2006 - Celebrating Dad's 62nd birthday

Building the Set
December 3, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #273
This was a relatively late edition to our set and one of eight cards we purchased at the 93rd Philadelphia Sports Card Show held at the convention center in Ft. Washington. With the Ocean City baseball card shows long gone by now, our only options for local baseball card shows were the "Philly Shows" held in Ft. Washington or the occasional mall baseball card show. 

My Dad didn't like the drive to Ft. Washington, and this would have been one of only a few shows we attended together in this location.  Looking at my records of when and where we purchased our cards, a full year would go by before we'd add any more cards to the set.

The year-long hiatus in collecting the set came at a time my wife and I were expecting our first son and as we moved into our first real house.

The Card / Redlegs Team Set
Burgess returned to Topps in 1956 after a two-year absence and only appearing on Bowman cards.  As I've done with several other cards, I've tried to find the date of the action photo featured.  My best guess is that Burgess is sliding into second base and that's Pirates' infielder Dick Cole, who wore #12 between 1951 and 1956.  There are four games in 1955 in which Burgess reached based against the Pirates with Cole playing either second base or shortstop.  Based on the Baseball Reference game finder tools, I think this play happened on June 4, 1955 at Forbes Field with Cole at second base.  Burgess doubled to lead off the fifth, and I imagine this photo shows the aftermath of his safe slide into the base.  The back of the card refers to him as "Smokey" three different times, misspelling his "Smoky" nickname.  (I've been guilty of this many times in the past too.)

1956 Season

This was Burgess' second full season with the Reds, and while he was the club's opening day catcher, he settled into a back-up role to Ed Bailey.  Bailey started 102 games to Burgess' 53.  In 90 games total, Burgess batted .275 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs.  On September 29th, the penultimate game of the season, the Reds needed one more home run to tie the then single-season record for home runs by one team.  Manager Birdie Tebbetts called on Burgess to pinch-hit in the eighth inning with the instruction, "Home run or nothing."  Burgess obliged, hitting a home run off the Cubs' Sam Jones (#259).  The Reds finished the season with a record 221 home runs, since broken many times since then.

Phillies Career
The Phillies acquired Burgess from the Reds with Howie Fox and Connie Ryan on December 10, 1951 for Andy Seminick (#296), Niles Jordan, Eddie Pellagrini and Dick Sisler.  The trade marked the beginning of the end of the Whiz Kids era with Seminick and Sisler heading to Cincinnati.  Burgess was the team's opening day catcher in 1952 and 1953, but was steadily losing playing time to Stan Lopata (#183) in what had started as a platoon.  With Lopata ultimately replacing Burgess as the regular behind the plate, Burgess was sent back to the Reds on April 30, 1955, with Seminick ironically coming back to the Phillies.  Stan Palys and Steve Ridzik went to the Reds with Burgess, with Glen Gorbous (#174) and Jim Greengrass (#275) coming to Philly with Seminick.

Burgess was an All-Star for the Phillies in 1954 and in three-plus seasons with the club he batted .316 over 327 games with 15 home runs and 139 RBIs.

1951 Bowman #317

1952 Topps #357

1957 Topps #228

1960 Topps #393

1967 Topps #506

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #317
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1952-1953, 1956-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2007 SP Legendary Cuts #97

111 - Burgess non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/4/22.

Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia