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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