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Robert Ransom Rush
Chicago Cubs
Pitcher
Born: December 21, 1925, Battle Creek, MI
Signed: Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1948-1957; Milwaukee Braves 1958-1960; Chicago White Sox 1960
Died: March 19, 2011, Mesa, AZ (age 85)
Bob Rush was an effective starting pitcher for a number of fairly bad Cubs' teams throughout the late 1940s and 1950s. He made his first of two All-Star teams in 1950, and would go on to lead the league with 20 losses while pitching in a career high 254 2/3 innings. His best season came in 1952 when he was 17-13 with a 2.70 ERA over 34 appearances, and he was the winning pitcher in the rain-shortened All-Star Game played in Philadelphia's Shibe Park. Rush would make at least 25 starts for the Cubs in nine straight seasons between 1949 and 1957. Dealt to the Braves following the 1957 season, he'd finally get the chance to play for a playoff contender, winning 10 games for the pennant-winning Milwaukee team. In the 1958 World Series, won by the Yankees in seven games, Rush started Game 3, pitching six innings and allowing a pair of runs on three hits. Unfortunately, the Yankees won the game, 4-0, as Don Larsen (#332) and Ryne Duren combined for the shutout.
Rush would pitch for two more seasons with the Braves and White Sox before retiring. In 417 big league games, Rush was 127-152 with a 3.65 ERA and 1,244 strikeouts over 2,410 2/3 innings pitched.
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| December 24, 2007 - Dad and Doug |
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #327
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. This Rush card was one of the final 29.
The Card / Cubs Team Set
This card marks Rush's return to Topps' sets as he had been featured exclusively in Bowman sets between 1953 and 1955. It looks as if the action shot shows someone covering second base, as there's dirt being kicked up and the outfield grass seems close by. On the back, his 130 strikeouts in 1955 are highlighted, a mark good enough for sixth place in the league. An arm injury that caused a downturn in his innings pitched in 1953 is mentioned in the middle cartoon panel, and his wearing of glasses during night games is mentioned in the final panel. Rush's SABR biography notes he started to wear glasses during the 1954 season.
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1950 Bowman #61
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1952, 1956-1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2009 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BR
38 - Rush non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/5/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card / Next Card
Order Collected: #213 Detroit Tigers Team Card / #219 Lew Burdette - Milwaukee Braves
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