Friday, June 30, 2023

#256 Tom Hurd - Boston Red Sox


Thomas Carr Hurd
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  155
Born:  May 27, 1924, Danville, VA
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:   Boston Red Sox 1954-1956
Died:  September 5, 1982, Waterloo, IA (age 58)

Originally signed by the White Sox as a shortstop, Tom Hurd made the full-time transition to pitcher in 1948.  He'd play for 14 seasons professionally, waiting until 1954 to make his big league debut at the age of 30.  With no path forward with the White Sox, Hurd was sold to the Red Sox on July 25, 1954.  He'd debut with the club five days later, making 16 appearances overall with Boston.  He'd return to the Red Sox in 1955 and 1956 as one of the club's most frequently used relievers.  Hurd pitched in a career-high 43 games in 1955, with a 3.01 ERA over 80 2/3 innings pitched.  He'd struggle somewhat in 1956, but still made it into 40 games.  Hurd's final big league appearance came on September 29, 1956.

He'd pitch four more seasons in the minor leagues, with a dominating performance in 1958 when he went 10-8 with a 1.65 ERA in 52 appearances for the Minneapolis Millers, managed by Gene Mauch.  It's baffling the third place Red Sox couldn't use his talents during the 1958 season.  Hurd retired from baseball following the 1960 season.  In 99 big league games, Hurd was 13-10 with a 3.96 ERA, with 96 strikeouts and 97 walks in 186 1/3 innings pitched.

1955 Topps #116
Building the Set
January 18, 2003 in Plymouth Meeting, PA - Card #239
In January 2003, I added seven cards to our set, purchased at a baseball card show held inside the Plymouth Meeting Mall.  I paid $45 for the seven cards, which included this Hurd card.  My Topps set building had stalled out somewhat in 2003 as I had switched over to become primarily a Phillies collector, and I was also spending my disposable income trying to put together the early Topps Heritage sets.  This was one of only 18 cards we added to our set in 2003, but we did cross the threshold of needing less than 100 cards to complete the set late in the year.

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
Hurd is wearing either a White Sox or a minor league jersey in the photo here, and the action shot was taken at Yankee Stadium.  Hurd wore #28 during his Red Sox career, with the #8 peaking through on the back of his jersey.  Hurd appeared in only the 1955 and 1956 Topps sets, with both cards from those sets using the same photo.  The middle cartoon panel on the back of the card highlights his switch from infielder to pitcher.

1956 Season
Hurd was 3-4 with a 5.33 ERA in 40 relief appearances in 1956.  His wildness did him in, as he had 47 walks and 34 strikeouts in 76 innings pitched.  Only Ike Delock (#284) and Dave Sisler had more relief appearances than Hurd, and Hurd's five saves were second on the team behind Delock's nine.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #116
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1955-1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #256

7 - Hurd non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/23/23.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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Friday, June 23, 2023

#255 Bob Lemon - Cleveland Indians


Robert Granville Lemon
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher


Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180
Born:  September 22, 1920, San Bernardino, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1938 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1941-1942; 1946-1958
As a Manager:  Kansas City Royals 1970-1972; Chicago White Sox 1977-1978; New York Yankees 1978-1979, 1981-1982
Hall of Fame Induction:  1976
Died:  January 11, 2000, Long Beach, CA (age 79)

The first 10 games Bob Lemon played with the Indians in 1941 and 1942 were as a pinch-hitter, pinch-runner or back-up third baseman.  He'd miss all of 1943, 1944 and 1945 while serving during World War II, and come back as a pitcher in 1946.  After a few mediocre seasons, Lemon emerged in 1948 as one of the premier pitchers in the game.  Lemon was 20-14 in 1948, leading the league with 20 complete games and 10 shutouts, including the no-hitter he threw on June 30, 1948.  He was 2-0 in the 1948 World Series, in which the Indians defeated the Braves in six games.  Lemon was an All-Star every season between 1948 and 1954, winning at least 20 games in seven seasons and helping the Indians reach the World Series in 1948 and 1954.  He was one of several future Hall of Famers in the Indians' pitching rotation during the 1950s along with Bob Feller (#200) and Early Wynn (#187).  Lemon led the league in wins three times, in complete games five times and in innings pitched four times.  The workhorse crossed the 200-innings pitched plateau in nine straight seasons between 1948 and 1956, hitting a career-high 309 2/3 innings pitched in 1952.

Lemon was 207-128 lifetime, with a 3.23 ERA and 1,277 strikeouts over 2,850 innings pitched.  After retiring as a player, Lemon began a long career as a big league coach and manager.  He was the pitching coach for the Indians (1960), Phillies (1961), Angels (1967-1968), Royals (1970) and Yankees (1976).  Lemon's managerial career saw him go 430-403 in eight seasons with three different teams, guiding the Yankees to a World Championship in 1978.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1976, and the Indians retired his #21 in 1998.

Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #34
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 Walt Dropo (#238) post, back in February.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this Lemon card is the last of 16 from series three.   Lemon is one of eight Hall of Famers (or future Hall of Famers) from that Original 44 haul, along with Ed Mathews (#107), Yogi Berra (#110), Willie Mays (#130), Red Schoendienst (#165), Wynn and Larry Doby (#250).

The Card / Indians Team Set
Like a lot of the players featured in Series 3 of the set, and I'm keeping track of these, Lemon had appeared exclusively in Bowman sets in 1954 and 1955.  I'm assuming Lemon is standing in the infield of Cleveland's Municipal Stadium in the "action" photo, although I could be wrong.  The cartoon panels on the back highlight his league-leading 18 wins in 1955, and his six seasons of winning at least 20 games.  He'd have his final 20-win season in 1956.  The final cartoon panel mentions the start of his career as a "slugging infielder."  In 1942, while playing for the Double-A Baltimore Orioles, then a farm team of the Indians, Lemon batted .269 with 21 home runs and 80 RBIs.

1956 Season
Now 35 years old, Lemon was one of three 20-game winners for the Indians along with Wynn and Herb Score (#140).  Lemon went 20-14 with a 3.03 ERA over 255 1/3 innings pitched.  His 21 complete games tied him for the league lead with Billy Pierce (#160).  On September 11th, Lemon recorded his 200th career victory in a 3-1 win over the Orioles.  He hit a two-run home run in the second inning, the 36th of his career, which proved to be the margin of victory.  The Indians would finish in second place, nine games behind the pennant-winning Yankees.

Phillies Career
Lemon joined the Phillies coaching staff for their 1961 season, lasting only a year as the awful team's pitching coach.  He joined Gene Mauch's staff in Mauch's first full year at the helm, along with fellow coaches Peanuts Lowrey and Al Vincent.  

The Phillies were 47-107-1 in 1961, with Art Mahaffey by far the team's best pitcher with a 11-19 record and a 4.10 ERA.  Al Widmar would replace Lemon on the coaching staff for the 1962 season.

1949 Bowman #238
1951 Bowman #53
1952 Topps #268
1957 Topps #120
1979 Topps #626

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #238
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1952, 1956-1958, 1960, 1971-1972, 1977-1979
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Donruss #215

383 - Lemon non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/21/23.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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Sunday, June 11, 2023

#254 George Crowe - Milwaukee Braves


George Daniel Crowe
Milwaukee Braves
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  210
Born:  March 22, 1921, Whiteland, IN
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent, April 28, 1949
Major League Teams:  New York Black Yankees 1947-1948; Philadelphia Stars 1948; Boston Braves 1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953, 1955; Cincinnati Reds 1956-1958; St. Louis Cardinals 1959-1961
Died:  January 18, 2011, Rancho Cordova, CA (age 89)

George Crowe began his professional baseball career with the New York Black Yankees in the Negro Leagues, with his high batting average attracting the attention of the Boston Braves.  He was an All-Star with the Black Yankees in 1948, while also playing basketball professionally in the NBL and later the ABL.  He joined the Braves in 1952, playing sparingly for the club first in Boston and then as they moved west to Milwaukee.  At the outset of the 1956 season, Crowe was dealt to the Redlegs, beginning the best stretch of his career.  Cincinnati's regular first baseman in 1957, Crowe batted .271 with 31 home runs and 92 RBIs - both marks career highs.  Crowe was an All-Star in 1958, although he wouldn't appear in the All-Star Game.  He'd spend his final three years in the majors with the Cardinals, playing mainly as a left-handed bat off the bench.  After being released in early 1961 and retiring as a player, Crowe reported to the Cardinals' Triple-A team as a player/coach.

By all accounts a hard working and well-respected athlete, Crowe should be remembered as one of the earliest and more important pioneers of integrated baseball.  His Negro League statistics are likely incomplete, but the official record shows him hitting .325 in 46 games.  He collected 467 hits in 702 major league games, batting .270 with 81 home runs and 299 RBIs.

Building the Set
September 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #305
My records show my Dad gave me this card in late September 2007, and I'd receive six more cards over the following week as actual birthday presents.  I'm not sure why my Dad pulled this Crowe card out of the pile of cards I'd receive a few days later, other than maybe he was visiting us that Friday and wanted to have something to give me.  A few days later, as my family got together to celebrate my birthday, he gave me five "star" cards - Roger Craig (#63), Bill Bruton (#185), Bob Feller (#200), Don Newcombe (#235) and Don Larsen (#332).

The Card / Braves Team Set
This card marks Crowe's first mainstream baseball card since he appeared in the 1953 Topps set, and by the time collectors were pulling this card out of packs of the 1956 Topps Series Three release, Crowe was long-gone from Milwaukee (see below).  Scanning this card for this post, I noticed for the first time one of the card's former owners had written "56" on the back at the top left of the cartoon panel.  Topps is a few years' off with Crowe's birth year, as he was actually born in 1921.

The cartoons on the back highlight his basketball prowess, and the success Crowe had found in the minor leagues.

1956 Season
On April 9th, about a week before opening day, Crowe was dealt to Cincinnati for a player to be named later and Bob Hazle.  The Braves had Frank Torre (#172) ready to go at first base, and the Redlegs needed a replacement for injured slugger Ted Kluszewski (#25).  Crowe started at first base until Kluszewski came back, and he'd start only 25 games all season at first with Kluszewski starting 130.  Crowe made 46 appearances as a pinch-hitter, batting .256 (11 for 43) with three home runs in the role.  Overall, Crowe batted .250 with 10 home runs and 23 RBIs, and his best season was on the horizon.

1952 Topps #360
1953 Topps #3
1957 Topps #73
1958 Topps #12
1961 Topps #52

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #360
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1952-1953, 1956-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #3

26 - Crowe non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/11/23.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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Friday, June 2, 2023

#253 Irv Noren - New York Yankees


Irving Arnold Noren
New York Yankees
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  November 29, 1924, Jamestown, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1950-1952; New York Yankees 1952-1956; Kansas City Athletics 1957; St. Louis Cardinals 1957-1959; Chicago Cubs 1959-1960; Los Angeles Dodgers 1960
Died:  November 15, 2019, Carlsbad, CA (age 94)

Irv Noren spent 11 years in the major leagues and briefly appeared in the professional National Basketball League, playing three games for the Chicago American Gears during the 1946-47 season.  Drafted by the Dodgers, Noren won Pacific Coast League MVP honors in 1949, batting .330 with 29 home runs and 130 RBIs.  With no room on the Dodgers' major league roster for him, the club sold him to the Senators before the 1950 season.  Noren had a great rookie year in Washington, batting .295 with 14 home runs and 98 RBIs (both career highs) while finishing 15th in the league's MVP voting.  He'd join the Yankees in 1952, playing all three outfield positions and seeing action in the 1952, 1953 and 1955 World Series against his original club, the Dodgers.  (The Yankees would win Championships in 1952, 1953 and 1956.)  His career year came in 1954, and as the Yankees' regular left fielder, he batted .319 with 12 home runs and 66 RBIs, while making the American League All-Star team.

Over the final four years of his playing career, Noren spent time with the Athletics, Cardinals, Cubs and finally the Dodgers, appearing in 26 games for the team in 1960.  Noren was a career .275 batter with 65 home runs and 453 RBIs.  Noren pivoted to coaching and scouting in the early 1960s, and he was a coach with the Oakland Athletics when they won World Championships in 1972 and 1973.

Building the Set
August 16, 1987 from Cooperstown, NY - Card #47
This was one of the first four cards we purchased in the summer of 1987, officially marking the beginning of us collecting the 1956 Topps set.  As told now frequently in our set's origin story, and most recently with the post for the Walt Dropo (#238) card, I was essentially gifted with a shoebox of vintage Topps baseball cards in the summer of 1983 or 1984.  Within the spoils were 44 cards from the 1956 Topps set – by far the most cards from any one set.  I studied them, I sorted them, and I pretty much memorized every detail of those 44 cards.

A few years later, in the summer of 1987 while on a family vacation, I was giddy with excitement when we came across a few 1956 Topps cards in the Walker Gallery on the main drag in Cooperstown, New York.  It was our first trip to Cooperstown, and details from that family vacation still make up several of my most important core memories from my childhood.  My Dad and I studied the cards for sale and he casually asked me the question, “Why don’t we try to put together the whole set?” We bought four cards that day for $9.25, including this Noren card which was all of $2.50.  Those cards, along with the 44 from the magic shoebox, became the basis for our 1956 Topps set.

That small but incredibly meaningful purchase meant so much to me that I tacked a Walker Gallery business card to my bulletin board in my bedroom on 12th Street, where it hung for years.  I also felt compelled to clip the price tags from the rigid plastic sleeves in which each of these cards were originally purchased.  I knew then I wanted to remember everything about the purchase, and these are included at the back of our 1956 Topps binder, along with other ephemera from baseball card shows, stores and special occasions when cards were added to our set.

The Card / Yankees Team Set
What's going on with the fielder in the action photo?  That can't be a natural shadow due to the lighting of the photo, and it seems as if Topps purposely blacked out the player.  This is Noren's first Topps card since his appearance in the 1953 Topps set.  The back of the card celebrates his minor league MVP wins in both 1948 and 1949.  It's crazy to think the Dodgers couldn't find room for him in their outfield, given the 1948 regulars were Gene Hermanski, Carl Furillo (#190) and Marv Rackley.  In 1949, Duke Snider (#150) joined the group so maybe Noren's main competition at the time was Snider.

1956 Season
Suffering from chronic knee ailments, Noren was limited to 29 games all season with the Yankees, with 21 of those appearances coming as a pinch-hitter.  He batted .216 overall with a double and six RBIs, and completely missed the World Series, which the Yankees won in seven games over the Dodgers.  In February 1957, Noren was part of a massive 13-player trade between the Yankees and Athletics, ending his time in the Bronx.

1950 Bowman #247
1951 Bowman #241
1953 Topps #35
1957 Topps #298
1960 Topps #433

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1950 Bowman #247
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1951-1953, 1956-1960, 1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-IN

48 - Noren non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/2/23.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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