#204 Art Swanson - Pittsburgh Pirates

Arthur Leonard Swanson
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  175
Born:  October 15, 1936, Baton Rouge, LA
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent (bonus baby), August 27, 1955
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1955-1957

Given the bonus baby rules of the day, Art "Red" Swanson was required to be kept on the Pirates active major league roster during the first two years of his professional playing career.  Pirates managers Fred Haney and Bobby Bragan used him sparingly during those two years, and he only pitched 13 2/3 innings over 10 games.  He made his big league debut on September 10, 1955, just shy of his 19th birthday, and gave up four runs, including a home run to Chuck Tanner (#69), in a blow-out loss to the Braves.  Swanson appeared in 32 games for the Pirates in 1957, making eight starts, and was 3-3 with a 3.72 ERA over 72 2/3 innings pitched.  He'd pitch in six more seasons in the Pirates' minor league system before retiring in 1963.  For his big league career, Swanson was 3-3 with a 4.90 ERA in 42 games pitched.  In the minors, he was 37-38 in 194 appearances.

2005 Topps Heritage
Real One Autographs #RO-AS

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #23
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 Early Wynn (#187) post, back in January.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this is the fifth of 16 from series three.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
This is Swanson's first and last mainstream baseball card release, and he'd sign reprints of the card for inclusion in the 2005 Topps Heritage set.  The back of the card highlights his signing bonus, his stellar high school career and his time pitching for Louisiana State University.  Swanson's father was A.L. Swanson, a long-time football, baseball and basketball coach at LSU between 1930 and 1948.

1956 Season

Enjoying most of the Pirates' season as a spectator from the bullpen or the dugout, Swanson appeared in nine games between April and August.  In only one of those appearances did Swanson not allow a run or an inherited run to score.  In his final big league appearance of the season on August 14th against the Phillies, Swanson entered in the second with runners on first and second and one out.  He surrendered singles to Granny Hamner (#197) and opposing pitcher Curt Simmons (#290) to score both his inherited runners.  Swanson retired Richie Ashburn (#120) on a grounder to first, and he'd not pitch in the majors again until May 1957.  For the season, Swanson was 0-0 with a 10.03 ERA in 11 2/3 innings pitched.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #204
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #RO-AS

3 - Swanson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/27/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #203 Bill Tuttle - Detroit Tigers / #205 "Whitey" Lockman - New York Giants

Order Collected: #198 Ed FitzGerald - Washington Nationals / #210 Mike Garcia - Cleveland Indians

#203 Bill Tuttle - Detroit Tigers

William Robert Tuttle
Detroit Tigers
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  July 4, 1929, Elmwood, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1952, 1954-1957; Kansas City Athletics 1958-1961; Minnesota Twins 1961-1963
Died:  July 27, 1998, Anoka, MN (age 69)

For parts of 11 big league seasons, Bill Tuttle was an above-average defensive center fielder, leading the league five times in assists, twice in putouts and once in overall fielding percentage.  Tuttle took over regular center field duties for the Tigers in 1954, and he'd lead the league in games played in 1955 with 154.  Tuttle hit a career high in both home runs (14) and RBIs (78) that season.  He'd earn MVP votes in 1959 while playing every day center field for the Athletics and batting an even .300.  Tuttle joined the Twins in June 1961, and moved to third base for the newly relocated club where he'd make 84 starts.  He'd play in parts of two more seasons with the Twins before the club released him in May 1963.  Tuttle stayed active in the minor leagues through the 1967 season, playing within the Red Sox, Tigers and Yankees organizations.  For his career, Tuttle batted .259 with 149 doubles, 67 home runs and 443 RBIs.  His 92 career assists as a center fielder are currently 52nd on the all-time list.

In later life, Tuttle became a vocal advocate against chewing tobacco, as he endured several reconstructive facial surgeries as a result of his own years of addiction.

Building the Set

May 1997 - College graduation

July 19, 1997 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #155
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 - Tuttle 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 / Tigers Team Set
Tuttle's rookie card can be found in the 1955 Bowman set, and this is his first Topps card.  A common theme from Tuttle's Topps baseball card appearances is that he doesn't seem to be enjoying himself and he's usually found with a huge bulge of chewing tobacco in his cheek.  The cartoons on the back highlight his fine fielding skills and his third place finish in runs scored in 1955.  He was actually fourth in the American League with 102 runs scored with the Indians' Al Smith (#105) leading the league with 123.  Tuttle's teammate Al Kaline (#20) and Mickey Mantle (#135) were tied for third as each had 121 runs scored.

1956 Season

Tuttle was the opening day center fielder for the Tigers, and he'd ultimately make 133 starts at the position with his most frequent outfield mates being Charlie Maxwell in left and Kaline in right.  In 140 total games, Tuttle batted .253 with nine home runs and 65 RBIs.  On April 29th, he hit a game-winning, walk-off home run off the Indians' Herb Score (#140) to give his Tigers a 1-0, 10th inning win over the Indians.

1955 Bowman #35

1957 Topps #72

1959 Topps #459

1961 Topps #536

1963 Topps #127

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #35
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1956-1963
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1979 TCMA The 1950s #103

41 - Tuttle non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/21/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #202 Jim Hearn - New York Giants / #204 Art Swanson - Pittsburgh Pirates

Order Collected: #193 Wilmer Mizell - St. Louis Cardinals / #244 Bob Buhl - Milwaukee Braves

#202 Jim Hearn - New York Giants

James Tolbert Hearn
New York Giants
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Born:  April 11, 1921, Atlanta, GA
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1942 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1947-1950; New York Giants 1950-1956; Philadelphia Phillies 1957-1959
Died:  June 10, 1998, Boca Grande, FL (age 77)

Jim Hearn's big league pitching career was delayed by three years as he was serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.  After a mediocre start to his career with the Cardinals, he was selected off waivers by the Giants in July 1950 and he'd enjoy his greatest success in the New York starting pitching rotation for six and a half seasons.  Hearn would win the National League ERA title in 1950 with a 2.49 mark and he also led the league with five shutouts.  He won a career-high 17 games in 1951 as the Giants edged the Dodgers to advance to the World Series.  Hearn started and won Game 3 against Vic Raschi, and he pitched a scoreless inning of relief in Game 6, but the Yankees would prevail.  An All-Star in 1952, Hearn didn't appear in the five-inning, rain-shortened game.  Hearn went 8-8 with a 4.14 ERA for the eventual World Champion Giants in 1954, but did not appear in that World Series.

He finished his career with three seasons in Philadelphia, pitching mainly out of the bullpen and he retired following his release from the Phillies in May 1959.  In 396 games, including 229 starts, Hearn was 109-89 with a 3.81 ERA and 669 strikeouts over 1,703 2/3 innings pitched.

December 25, 2006

Building the Set
December 25, 2006 from Mays Landing, NJ - Card #282
I was officially given this card on Christmas Day in 2006, but my Dad had purchased it several weeks (months?) earlier at a baseball card show held at the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing, New Jersey.

This was one of nine cards I received that Christmas from my Dad, and he spent a total of $210 on all nine cards with the Hank Aaron (#31) card being the big ticket item at $150.  Like all his purchases, he was extremely proud of this card's condition and I'm sure there was a negotiation story that went along with the acquisition.

Our first son Doug was born a few weeks before Christmas that year and we brought him home just in time for the big day.  He obviously doesn't remember much from his first Christmas, but he spent the holidays being held and loved by his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  The picture shown here is from Christmas Day 2006, shortly after I had added those nine cards to our (and one day Doug's) 1956 Topps set.  One of the great joys of my life was seeing how proud my Dad was to have a grandson.

The Card / Giants Team Set
This is Hearn's return to Topps sets after a two-year absence.  The high leg kick of his pitching motion must have been a favorite go-to pose for him, as he has several baseball cards in which he's in a similar pose.  The cartoon panels on the back of the card celebrate his status as the Giants' top righty pitcher in 1955, his ERA title in 1950 and his postseason heroics in 1951.  Along with his World Series win mentioned above, Hearn was the starting and winning pitcher in Game 1 of a three-game playoff series at the end of the regular season between the Giants and Dodgers to decide the National League pennant winner.  He out-dueled Ralph Branca in that game, pitching a complete game.  The Giants would win dramatically in the third game on Bobby Thomson's (#257) walk-off three-run home run off Branca.

1956 Season

In his last season with the Giants, Hearn pitched in 30 games, making 19 starts, and was 5-11 with a 3.97 ERA.  After finishing in sixth place in the National League with only 67 wins, the Giants entered a rebuilding phase, going with a youth movement, and Hearn was one of the team's veterans traded away following the season.

Phillies Career
The Phillies acquired Hearn on October 11, 1956 for pitcher Stu Miller (#293), and the club immediately converted him to a full-time reliever.  The oldest pitcher on their staff, Hearn appeared in 36 games, largely setting up closer Turk Farrell.  He was 5-1 with a 3.65 that first season and was back with the club full-time in 1958.  The Phillies were dismal in 1958, finishing in eighth place and Hearn appeared in 39 games.  Again by far the most veteran pitcher on the staff, he pitched 73 1/3 innings and was one of four frequently used relievers along with Farrell, Seth Morehead and Jack Meyer (#269).  Hearn returned in 1959, but appeared in only six games before being released on May 22nd.  Back on May 10th, Hearn had pitched 1 1/3 innings in a game suspended by rain against the Pirates.  The game resumed and was completed on July 21th, with the Pirates hanging on to win, and with Hearn as the pitcher of record.  Retired and home for two months, Hearn still managed to be the losing pitcher in a ballgame.

For his Phillies career, Hearn appeared in 81 games and was 10-6 with a 4.04 ERA.  He appeared with the Phillies in the 1957, 1958 and 1959 Topps sets.

1949 Bowman #190

1951 Bowman #61

1953 Topps #38

1957 Topps #348

1959 Topps #63

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #190
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1952-1953, 1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #38

35 - Hearn non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/6/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#201 "Rip" Repulski - St. Louis Cardinals

Eldon John Repulski
St. Louis Cardinals
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  October 4, 1928, Sauk Rapids, MN
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1953-1956; Philadelphia Phillies 1957-1958; Los Angeles Dodgers 1959-1960; Boston Red Sox 1960-1961
Died:  February 10, 1993, Waite Park, MN (age 64)

Rip Repulski spent parts of nine seasons in the majors, enjoying his best seasons in the mid-1950s with the Cardinals.  He appeared in a career-high 153 games in his rookie season of 1953, earning the everyday center fielder's job in spring training.  Batting .275 with 15 home runs and 66 RBIs that season, Repulski finished fourth in the league's Rookie of the Year voting.  He'd drive in a career high 79 runs in 1954 and connect for a career-high 23 home runs in 1955.  Repulski was named to the 1956 National League All-Star team, and he popped out to the catcher in a pinch-hitting appearance in the fourth inning, batting against Whitey Ford (#240).  Traded to the Phillies following the 1956 season, Repulski would see his playing time dwindle in each successive year that followed.

He went to the World Series with the Dodgers in 1959 as a pinch-hitter and back-up outfielder, and he walked in his only postseason plate appearance.  The Dodgers would defeat the White Sox in six games.  Repulski finished out his career in Boston, hitting a pinch-hit grand slam on May 10, 1960, in his first American League at-bat.  The Red Sox released him in June 1961.  For his career, Repulski batted .269 with 830 hits, 106 home runs and 416 RBIs.

Building the Set

July 30, 1994 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #131
My Dad and I bought this card at the annual Ocean City baseball card show held within the famous Music Pier during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college.  We spent $41 on six cards for our 1956 Topps set at this show, with the most expensive card being (for some reason) this Repulski card for $9.

From the flyer (right), it looks as if The Eastern Pennsylvania Sports Collectors Club (EPSCC) had abandoned its sponsorship of this baseball card show by 1994.  Honestly after they pulled out, the show was never quite the same and the quality definitely suffered.  My Dad would have grumbled at the fact that comic books were now encroaching on the floor space of his beloved baseball card show.  1994 and 1995 were strange years for the baseball card hobby as the player's strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season chased a lot of fans away from the hobby, and some of them have never come back.

Johnny Callison was back signing autographs though, and the former Phillies player was ubiquitous at these events back in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
Repulski is one of only a handful of players to make appearances in the 1954 and 1955 Bowman sets, as well as the 1954 and 1955 Topps sets.  The photo used here is the same as used for his 1955 Topps card.  The cartoons on the back of the card play up Repulski's power abilities and to that point in his career he had increased his home run tally each season.  Unfortunately, he dropped to only 11 home runs in 1956 after the 23 he had hit in 1955.

1956 Season

In his All-Star season, Repulski was the Cardinals' most frequently used left fielder, making 93 starts at the position.  He batted .277 in 112 games with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs, a drop in production from his prior two seasons, as mentioned above.

Phillies Career
On November 19, 1956, Repulski and Bobby Morgan (#337) were traded to the Phillies for fan favorite and former Whiz Kid Del Ennis (#220).  Repulski resented the trade, as he did not want to leave St. Louis or the bar he co-owned within the city.  He also resented the Phillies fan base, as his SABR biography notes Repulski said, "They would boo the Pope."  As the club's regular right fielder in 1957, he batted .260 with 20 home runs (tops on the team) and 68 RBIs.  He'd slump in 1958, losing playing time throughout the season to Wally Post (#158) and Harry Anderson.  On December 23, 1958, the Phillies shipped Repulski, Jim Golden and Gene Snyder to the Dodgers for infield prospect Sparky Anderson.  In two seasons and 219 games with the Phillies, Repulski batted .255 with 33 home runs and 108 RBIs.

1953 Topps #172

1954 Topps #115

1957 Topps #245

1959 Topps #195

1961 Topps #128

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Topps #172
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1953-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #115

36 - Repulski non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/6/22.

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

Wikipedia