#213 Detroit Tigers Team Card

Topps included full team photos in its baseball card set for the first time in 1956, having previously experimented with team cards in a limited edition 1951 stand-alone set.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #326

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.  Wildly off-center but in great shape, this Tigers team card was one of three team cards, along with the Nationals team card (#146) and the White Sox team card (#188) in the final 29.

The Card / Tigers Team Set

Listed below are the players, coaches, and club personnel featured on the card.  The team's batboys must have been told to stay out of the picture.  This photo was taken at some point in mid to late July 1955 as Joe Coleman was signed as a free agent on July 8th, and he's in the back row of the photo.  Coleman is standing next to Earl Torgeson who was purchased from the Phillies on June 15th.  Coach Jack Tighe is misidentified as "Tie" on the front of the card.  Tighe would replace future Hall of Famer Bucky Harris as the team's manager in 1957.  

I couldn't find a first name for "Contway" although other team photos from the era have him listed as the club's traveling secretary.  I found it interesting that he'd be in full uniform here.  The "Fox" on the back row continues to elude me too.  The Tigers had no players by that name in 1955 and I can't find anyone with the Fox surname on their minor league teams either.

Front Row Jim Small (#207) Frank Lary (#191) Fred Hatfield (#318) Coach Jack Tighe Coach Billy Hitchcock Manager Bucky Harris Coach Schoolboy Rowe Harvey Kuenn (#155) Harry Malmberg Ray Boone (#6)

2nd Row Trainer Jack Homel Al Kaline (#20) Steve Gromek (#310) Bill Tuttle (#203) Charlie Maxwell Leo Cristante Red Wilson (#92) Jim Bunning Reno Bertoia Ned Garver (#189) Traveling Secretary Contway

Back Row Bubba Phillips Fox Jim Delsing (#338) Frank House (#32) Billy Hoeft (#152) Al Aber (#317) Jack Phillips Joe Coleman Earl Torgeson (#147) Babe Birrer (#84) Paul Foytack Jim Brady (#126)

The back of the card mentions the "proud 55 year history" of the club, given its formation in 1901.  In terms of all-time greats name checked in the historical summary of the franchise, the "immortal" Ty Cobb is of course mentioned.  Cobb was 69 years old when this card was released, and he'd pass away five years later in 1961.  Also mentioned are Harry Heilmann, Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, Rudy York, Schoolboy Rowe and Hal Newhouser.  Rowe is also featured on the front of the card as one of the team's coaches.

Here are the updated statistical categories through the 2021 season, and surprisingly there wasn't much that needed to be updated:

Most Home Runs - 225 in 1987

Most Games Won - 104 in 1984

Additional Pennant Winning Teams - 1968, 1972, 1984, 1987, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Additional Championship Teams - 1968, 1984

Briggs Stadium opened in 1912 as Navin Field, and in 1961 changed its name to Tiger Stadium.  The Tigers played their home games in Tiger Stadium through the 1999 season, moving to the newly built Comerica Park for their 2000 season.

1956 Season
The Tigers finished in the middle of the pack again in 1956 with manager Bucky Harris leading his team to a 82-72-1 record and a fifth place finish.  Starting pitcher Frank Lary was arguably the team's MVP with a 21-13 record and 3.15 ERA in 41 appearances.  Billy Hoeft was also a 20-game winner.  Shortstop Harvey Kuenn led the team with a .332 average and was second on the club behind Al Kaline with 88 RBIs.  Kuenn finished fourth in the league's MVP voting, again behind Kaline who finished third.  Right fielder Kaline enjoyed his second straight All-Star season, batting .314 with 27 home runs and 128 RBIs.  Left fielder Charlie Maxwell led the team with 28 home runs.

Tigers Cards That Never Were
There are some easy choices here and if I were put in charge of a fifth series for the set, listed below are the Tigers cards I'd include.  Infielder Bob Kennedy appeared in 70 games for the Tigers, and he's in the set with the White Sox (#38).

• Bucky Harris (manager) - Bucky Harris was in his 29th and final season as a big league manager, and he'd retire following the season with a lifetime record of 2,158-2,219 and World Series rings with the 1924 Senators and the 1947 Yankees.
• Frank Bolling (second base) - Bolling missed all of the 1955 season while in the military, so the team's regular second baseman was omitted from the set.
• Charlie Maxwell (left field) - Regular left fielder and team home run champ Maxwell was also left off the 1956 Topps checklist.
• Jim Bunning (pitcher) - Future Hall of Famer Bunning would receive his rookie card in the 1957 Topps set, but he pitched in 15 games for the 1956 Tigers.
• Paul Foytack (pitcher) - Foytack started 33 games for the Tigers, third most behind Lary and Hoeft.

Sources

Baseball Reference

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #212 Johnny Temple - Cincinnati Redlegs / #214 Bob Rush - Chicago Cubs

Order Collected: #194 Monte Irvin - Chicago Cubs / #214 Bob Rush - Chicago Cubs

#212 Johnny Temple - Cincinnati Redlegs

John Ellis Temple
Cincinnati Redlegs
Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  August 8, 1927, Lexington, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1952-1959; Cleveland Indians 1960-1961; Baltimore Orioles 1962; Houston Colt .45s 1962-1963; Cincinnati Reds 1964

Died:  January 9, 1994, White Rock, SC (age 66)

Johnny Temple was a six-time All-Star, playing primarily for the Reds as their steady lead-off hitter throughout much of the 1950s.  He led the league in at-bats in 1956 with 632 and in walks the following season with 94.  He also led the league twice in sacrifice bunts with 16 in 1957 and 17 in 1958.  His career year came in 1959 when he batted .311 while hitting eight home runs and 67 RBIs - all three marks career highs for Temple.  Dealt to the Indians following that season in a deal that included Billy Martin (#181) going to the Reds, Temple played a few more seasons as a regular and then served as a bench player with the Orioles and Colt .45s in the early 1960s.  He returned to Cincinnati as a player-coach in 1964, but left the team that August after a fight with fellow coach Reggie Otero.

One of the most popular Reds players from the decade prior, Temple was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1965.  He retired with a lifetime .284 average, 1,484 hits, 720 runs scored and 395 RBIs.  Temple led the league in putouts at second base in three different seasons and his 3,172 career putouts are currently 55th on the all-time list.

Building the Set
December 25, 2006 from Mays Landing, NJ - Card #283
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.  One of the great joys of my life was seeing how proud my Dad was to have a grandson.

The Card / Redlegs Team Set
This is Temple's first Topps card, and his rookie card appears in the 1955 Bowman set.  Temple is #16 in the action photo, and I assume he just completed a force out of the runner after a throw from shortstop Roy McMillan (#123), wearing #11.  That very well could be Phillies slugger Del Ennis (#220) making a cameo appearance as the baserunner, as it appears to be a Phillies player and Ennis wore #14.  

1956 Season

As the Reds' regular second baseman, Temple led the league in assists (432) and putouts (389) and appeared in 154 games overall.  He made 152 starts at second with Alex Grammas (#37) starting the other three Reds games.  He was one of five Reds players to start for the National League in the All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., batting lead-off and going 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI.  The National League prevailed 7-3 over the American League.  Temple batted .285 for the season while leading the league with 157 singles.  Not known for his power, he also connected for a pair of home runs.

1955 Bowman #31

1957 Topps #9

1958 Topps #478

1961 Topps #155

1963 Topps #576

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #31
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1956-1963
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1963 Topps #576

62 - Temple non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/25/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #211 Murry Dickson - Philadelphia Phillies / #213 Detroit Tigers Team Card

Order Collected: #202 Jim Hearn - New York Giants / #224 "Bud" Podbielan - Cincinnati Redlegs

#211 Murry Dickson - Philadelphia Phillies

Murry Monroe Dickson
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  157
Born:  August 21, 1916, Tracy, MO
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1937 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1939-1940, 1942-1943, 1946-1948; Pittsburgh Pirates 1949-1953; Philadelphia Phillies 1954-1956; St. Louis Cardinals 1956-1957; Kansas City Athletics 1958; New York Yankees 1958; Kansas City Athletics 1959

Died:  September 21, 1989, Kansas City, KS (age 73)

Murry Dickson was an 18-year big league veteran, winning World Series rings with the 1942 and 1946 Cardinals, as well as the 1958 Yankees, and making the National League All-Star team in 1953.  Dickson led the league in losses in three consecutive seasons, losing 21, 19 and 20 games from 1952 to 1954.  He found early success with the Cardinals, and after missing all of 1944 and 1945 while serving in the military, he helped lead his team to the 1946 World Series with 15 wins.  He was on the mound in the decisive tie-breaking game against the Dodgers to determine the winner of the National League pennant that season, and was also the starting pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series with the Cardinals ultimately defeating the Red Sox.  Dickson was a 20-game winner for the Pirates in 1951.

He pitched as a reliever late in his career, retiring at the age of 42 following the 1959 season.  In 625 career games, including 338 starts, Dickson was 172-181 with a 3.66 ERA and 1,281 strikeouts over 3,052 1/3 innings pitched.  Upon his retirement he ranked second among pitchers with home runs allowed with 302, with former teammate Robin Roberts (#180) surpassing his mark in 1957.

Building the Set
October 1, 1987 in Bridgeton, NJ - Card #50
My notes indicate we bought this card at Hummel's in Bridgeton, New Jersey a few days before my 14th birthday.  We acquired three Phillies card that day - manager Mayo Smith (#60), this Dickson card and Frank Baumholtz (#274) and I don't know how much we paid for the trio.  My memories of Hummel's are hazy at best, but I seem to recall it was a large building with a sprawling liquor store on the first floor and a baseball card shop on the second floor.  With baseball card stores booming in the mid to late 1980s, we'd often take a ride to one of the four or five local card shops we were lucky enough to have near us.  October 1st was a Thursday, so it's strange to me that we would have made the 20 minute or so drive to Hummel's on a week night after work and school.  My approaching birthday might have contributed to the motivation for the trip.

I tried to find Hummel's on Google Maps a few years ago and sure enough a liquor store came up, but not the one I remember.  I remember a bigger builder, with the second floor, and this clearly isn't it.

The Card / Phillies Team Set
Topps opted not to crop Dickson's facsimile autograph here, going with his full name, including his middle name of Monroe.  This card marks his return to Topps after a three-year absence, and he received Phillies cards in the 1954 and 1955 Bowman sets.  The cartoon panels on the back of the card highlights his 12-11 record in 1955, which included four shutouts, and his 20-win season in 1951.  I'll take the cartoonist's word for it on Dickson being a "Phil Favorite" as I couldn't find anything indicating that to be the case.  I'm guessing he would have been a bit of a novelty on the club, given he was roughly ten years older than their average player.

Phillies Career/1956 Season
On January 13, 1954, the Phillies acquired Dickson from the Pirates for Andy Hansen, Jack Lohrke and $70,000.  He led the league in losses in 1954 with 20, going 10-20 overall but with a respectable 3.78 ERA.  As the oldest pitcher on the Phillies' staff in 1955, Dickson made 28 starts with only Roberts and Herm Wehmeier (#78) taking the ball more that season.  He was 12-11 with a 3.50 ERA in 216 innings pitched, throwing ten complete games and one shutout.  Dickson was in the team's starting rotation to begin the 1956 season, but he made only three starts before being traded back to his original team, the Cardinals.  On May 11, 1956, Dickson and Wehmeier were sent to St. Louis for Ben Flowers, Harvey Haddix (#77) and Stu Miller (#293).  Dickson appeared in 79 games overall for the Phillies, and was 22-34 with a 3.71 ERA.

He pitched very well for the Cardinals for the duration of the 1956 season, going 13-8 with a 3.07 ERA in 28 appearances.

1949 Bowman #8

1952 Topps #266

1955 Bowman #236

1957 Topps #71

1959 Topps #23

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #8
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1951-1952, 1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1983 Topps 1952 Reprint Series #266

37 - Dickson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/19/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Phillies Room

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #210 Mike Garcia - Cleveland Indians / #212 Johnny Temple - Cincinnati Redlegs

Order Collected: #60 Mayo Smith MG - Philadelphia Phillies / #274 Frank Baumholtz - Philadelphia Phillies

#210 Mike Garcia - Cleveland Indians

Edward Miguel Garcia
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  November 17, 1923, San Gabriel, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1942 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1948-1959; Chicago White Sox 1960; Washington Senators 1961

Died:  January 13, 1986, Fairview Park, OH (age 62)

Mike Garcia was the fourth starting pitcher in the celebrated "Big Four" rotation for the Indians between 1949 and 1954, along with Bob Lemon (#255), Early Wynn (#187) and Bob Feller (#200).  Despite being the only member of the Big Four not in the Hall of Fame, Garcia had an extremely successful run during those years, winning the league's ERA title in 1949 and 1954, and leading the league in shutouts in 1952 and 1954.  He won 20 games in 1951 and 22 games in 1952, but his career year came in 1954 when he was 19-8 with a 2.64 ERA in 45 appearances.  Garcia helped his club reach the World Series that season, although they fell to the Giants in four games.  He was an American League All-Star in 1952, 1953 and 1954.  Garcia struggled somewhat in the years that followed his World Series appearance, but he still managed to win at least 11 games in 1955, 1956 and 1957.  Released by the Indians following the 1959 season, Garcia signed with the White Sox and he'd spend two final seasons working out of the bullpen for the White Sox and Senators.

In 428 major league games, Garcia was 142-97 with a 3.27 ERA and 1,117 strikeouts over 2,174 2/3 innings pitched.  He's currently 11th on the all-time Cleveland franchise leaderboard for strikeouts, and he was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2007.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #24
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 sixth of 16 from series three.

The Card / Indians Team Set
Like a lot of the subjects featured in the set's third series, this marks Garcia's first Topps card since 1953, as he had been exclusively with Bowman in 1954 and 1955.  He's posed here in Yankee Stadium, with the famous Yankee Stadium facade appearing in the background.  On the back, Topps notes Garcia's nickname, "The Bear," which his SABR biography says was given to him by veteran teammate Joe Gordon.  Garcia explained the nickname was because he wore his black hair cut short and "maybe I walk a little like a bear."  Topps credits the nickname to his fastball, but I think the nickname had more to do with his physical appearance.

1956 Season

Garcia was 11-12 with a 3.78 ERA for the Indians in 30 starts and 35 appearances overall.  He failed to meet the 200 innings plateau for the first time in five seasons, reaching 197 2/3 innings pitched.  By this time, two of the original Big Four were barely hanging on with Garcia slumping and Feller limited to only 19 appearances in his final season.  Both Wynn and Lemon, along with newcomer Herb Score (#140), were all 20-game winners in 1956.

1950 Bowman #147

1952 Topps #272

1954 Bowman #100

1957 Topps #300

1960 Topps #532

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1950 Bowman #147
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1951-1953, 1956-1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Ted Williams #26

45 - Garcia non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/20/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #209 Max Surkont - Pittsburgh Pirates / #211 Murry Dickson - Philadelphia Phillies

Order Collected: #204 Art Swanson - Pittsburgh Pirates / #216 Jerry Schoonmaker - Washington Nationals

#209 Max Surkont - Pittsburgh Pirates

Matthew Constantine Surkont
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  June 16, 1922, Central Falls, RI
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1938 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1949; Boston Braves 1950-1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953; Pittsburgh Pirates 1954-1956; St. Louis Cardinals 1956; New York Giants 1956-1957

Died:  October 8, 1986, Largo, FL (age 64)

Signed by the Cardinals prior to the 1938 season, Max Surkont pitched for five seasons in the minors, missed three years while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and pitched three more seasons in the minors before finally getting the call to the major leagues in April 1949.  He appeared in 44 games for the White Sox that season as one of their most frequently used relievers and he recorded a team high four saves.  Surkont joined the Braves in 1950, where he earned a spot in their starting pitching rotation for three seasons between 1951 and 1953, winning at least 11 games each year.  Surkont's best season came in 1952 when he went 12-13 with a 3.77 ERA over 215 innings pitched, striking out 125.  On May 25, 1953, he entered the record books by striking out eight consecutive Reds batters, and his record stood until broken by Tom Seaver in 1970 who struck out ten in a row.  

He had a few lackluster seasons with the Pirates in 1954 and 1956, then bounced around over the final year and a half of his big league career.  Surkont last pitched int he majors in 1957 with the Giants, but he continued to pitch professionally in the minor league systems of the Giants, Reds, Phillies and Mets through the 1963 season.  In parts of nine seasons in the majors, Surkont was 61-76 with a 4.38 ERA in 149 games pitched.  He recorded 571 career strikeouts to go along with 53 complete games, seven shutouts and eight saves.

Building the Set
Sometime in 1991, no record of purchase - Card #98
So this is a little embarrassing, and as diligent as I was in my record-keeping skills between 1987 and 2005, I have absolutely no record of how or when this card came into our collection.  There are four such cards we added to our set without me writing down the date of purchase, and the worst thing is one of those four cards is a fairly high profile card.  I'll get to it soon enough, but at some point in 1987, when we had decided to start collecting this set in earnest, the Robin Roberts (#180) card was purchased and I have no idea when we added it or how much we paid for it.

Based on my review of checklists we had kept at the time, this Surkont card, along with the card for Joe Astroth (#106) entered our set at some point in 1991.  Our checklists from 1990 have us needing the Astroth and Surkont cards, and then our checklists from 1992 have those cards crossed off.  It's a mystery.

My only excuse here is I would have been a junior in high school in the first part of 1991, and then a senior in the fall/winter.  I had college, girls, friends and general high school stuff on my mind and I'll forgive my younger stuff for not recording the purchase of two 1956 Topps cards.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
If we assume this photo was taken in 1955, Surkont is 33 years old here which seems impossible.  This is Surkont's first Topps card since 1952, as he appeared exclusively in Bowman sets in the intervening years.  The first cartoon panel on the back highlights his record-setting eight consecutive strikeouts.  Also highlighted is his variety of pitches and he'd add a knuckleball later in his professional career, prolonging his minor league service time.

1956 Season

This was a busy year for Surkont as he began the season in the Pirates bullpen, appearing in one game in relief and pitching a pair of innings on May 6th.  He was traded following that game to the Cardinals for pitcher Luis Arroyo (#64).  Surkont appeared in five games for the Cardinals, all in relief, and was touched for six runs on ten hits in 5 2/3 innings of work for a 9.53 ERA.  Having seen enough, the Cardinals sold him to the Red Sox on June 4th and Surkont would report to their top farm team in the Pacific Coast League.  With the San Francisco Seals, he appeared in 16 games, making 13 starts, and was 4-6 with a 2.38 ERA.  He wasn't good enough to get a promotion to the Red Sox, but was good enough to be sold again, this time to the Giants on August 20th.  Surkont would appear in eight games for the Giants, starting four, and earning a 2-2 record with a 4.78 ERA.  For the season, and including three big league stops, Surkont was 2-2 with a 5.45 ERA in 39 2/3 innings pitched.

Phillies Connection

As a 37-year-old, Surkont joined the Buffalo Bisons in 1959, then the top farm team of the Phillies.  He was a mainstay in the Bisons' bullpen for four seasons, appearing in 24 games in 1959, 58 games in 1960, and 52 games in both 1961 and 1962.  He produced a decent ERA of 3.93 in 337 innings pitched, but never got a promotion to a second division Phillies club during those years.  He stayed behind in Buffalo in 1963 as the team's pitching coach when the Bisons switched its affiliation to the Mets.

1952 Topps #302

1953 Bowman Color #156

1954 Bowman #75

1955 Bowman #83

1957 Topps #310

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Bowman #12
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1952, 1956-1957
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1983 Topps 1952 Reprint Series #302

19 - Surkont non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/19/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #208 Elston Howard - New York Yankees / #210 Mike Garcia - Cleveland Indians

Order Collected: #106 Joe Astroth - Kansas City Athletics / #3 Elmer Valo - Kansas City Athletics