Friday, June 17, 2022

#207 Jim Small - Detroit Tigers


James Arthur Patrick Small
Detroit Tigers
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  March 8, 1937, Portland, OR
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, June 11, 1955
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1955-1957; Kansas City Athletics 1958

As a bonus baby signing by the Tigers, Jim Small was required to stay on the team's active roster for the 1955 and 1956 seasons.  He appeared in 12 games in 1955 and another 58 games in 1956, making only 19 starts over those two seasons, and seeing most of his playing time as a pinch-runner, pinch-hitter or late-inning defensive replacement.  Small batted .319 in 1956 with ten RBIs and was 7 for 14 as a pinch-hitter.  He appeared in 36 games for the Tigers in 1957 and was then dealt to the Athletics following the season in a massive 13-player trade.  Small's last action in the  majors came with the Athletics in 1958, as he appeared in a pair of games as a September call-up.  He'd continue to play in the Athletics' minor league system through the 1962 season, and he retired after batting .317 with 13 home runs and 82 RBIs for the Albuquerque Dukes in the Texas League.

Small appeared in 108 big league games, batting .270 with 38 hits and ten RBIs.

Building the Set
September 25, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #264
This was a late edition to our set and one of 11 cards we purchased at the 92nd Philadelphia Sports Card Show held at the convention center in Ft. Washington.  My records show we paid $5 for this card. 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 at the time or the occasional mall baseball card show.

1957 Topps #33
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.  Our next show together was a few months later in December, also in Ft. Washington.  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 after that December show.

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, so we had a pretty good excuse not to be purchasing baseball cards at the time.

The Card / Tigers Team Set
This is Small's rookie card, and his only other mainstream baseball card can be found in the 1957 Topps set.  I don't believe Small appears as either the runner or the infielder in the action shot shown here as Small never played the infield in the majors, nor did he wear #10.  He wore #20 during his time with the Tigers.  The fielder actually appears to be wearing a Tigers hat, and if that's a White Sox player it could be catcher Sherm Lollar (#243) who wore #10 for the White Sox beginning in 1953.  The back of the card highlights the success Small had at Bellarmine College Preparatory High School in San Jose, California.  Also highlighted is his speed and ironically enough, Small never stole a base in the majors despite having 38 career appearances as a pinch-runner.  He was caught stealing twice in 1957.

1956 Season
As mentioned above, this was the season Small saw the most action in the majors, appearing in 58 games overall while making 11 starts in center field, six starts in right field and two starts in left field.  At just 19 years old, he was by far the youngest on the team.  The grizzled veteran Virgil Trucks (#117) was the oldest at 39.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #207
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1956-1957
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JM

5 - Small non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/14/22.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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