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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