 |
.jpg) |
Howard Joseph Pollet
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher
Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 6'1" Weight: 175Born: June 26, 1921, New Orleans, LA
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1939 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1941-1943, 1946-1951; Pittsburgh Pirates 1951-1953; Chicago Cubs 1953-1955; Chicago White Sox 1956; Pittsburgh Pirates 1956
Died: August 8, 1974, Houston, TX (age 53)
Southpaw Howie Pollet was a three-time All-Star with the Cardinals, and twice authored 20-win seasons. Pollet joined the Cardinals' starting rotation in 1942, seeing his first World Series action and winning his first Championship as St. Louis defeated the Yankees in five games. In 1943, he won his first of two ERA titles with a 1.75 mark in 118 1/3 innings pitched. Pollet missed three full seasons while serving during World War II, but picked up where he left off in 1946, again winning the league's ERA title. That was to be his career year, as Pollet went 21-10 with a 2.10 ERA and a league-high 266 innings pitched. He'd help the Cardinals reach and win the World Series again, as his team defeated the Red Sox in seven games and The Sporting News named him the National League Pitcher of the Year. Pollet would win 20 games in 1949, his third and final season as an All-Star.
Pollet was traded to the Pirates at the start of the 1951 season, and he'd spend the next six years bouncing around somewhat. He'd last play in the majors during his second stint with the Pirates at the end of the 1956 season. Pollet was 131-116 lifetime in 403 games, with a 3.51 ERA and 934 strikeouts over 2,107 1/3 innings pitched. He'd win this third World Series ring with the Cardinals in 1964, this time as their pitching coach. Pollet coached with the Cardinals between 1959 and 1964, and was the first pitching coach for the newly-named Houston Astros in 1965.
December 25, 1994 from San Diego, CA - Card #136
The Roy Campanella (#101) card was my "big" present from Santa for Christmas 1994. With my Dad's help, Santa secured the Campanella card from Kit Young Cards in San Diego for what my notes say was $75. That price seems steep, but there were six other cards from the 1956 Topps set under the Christmas tree that year from Kit Young Cards, including this Pollet card, with the other six cards costing a combined $20. In December 1994, I would have been home from college for the winter break of my junior year.
This was the last Christmas my family and I spent in the house on 12th Street in my hometown where I grew up. My parents were in the process of building a new house and we'd visit the construction site throughout that winter break. I had a tough time leaving my childhood home behind and the 1994-1995 timeframe brought about quite a few major changes in my life.
The Card / White Sox Team Set
This was meant to be a Cubs card, but Topps pivoted and gave Pollet a SOX logo on his hat in both photos to reflect his latest team. Pollet had spent the prior 2 1/2 seasons pitching for the Cubs. The large photo is the exact same used by Topps on Pollet's 1954 and 1955 cards, just with the hat logo updated. The back of the card mentions his veteran status, his prior success in 1943 and 1946, and his recent arrival to the White Sox. This is his last Topps flagship card as an active player, and he'd later appear in the 1960 Topps set on a floating heads coach's card.
1956 Season
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1949 Bowman #95
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1951-1956, 1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #89
42 - Pollet non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/10/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
The Trading Card Database
Previous Card / Next Card
Order Collected: #101 Roy Campanella - Brooklyn Dodgers / #284 Ike Delock - Boston Red Sox
No comments:
Post a Comment