#267 Bob Nieman - Chicago White Sox

Robert Charles Nieman
Chicago White Sox
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  195
Born:  January 26, 1927, Cincinnati, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Browns 1951-1952; Detroit Tigers 1953-1954; Chicago White Sox 1955-1956; Baltimore Orioles 1956-1959; St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1961; Cleveland Indians 1961-1962; San Francisco Giants 1962

Died:  March 10, 1985, Corona, CA (age 58)

The first thing that struck me about Bob Nieman's major league career is that he didn't seem to stick around very long with any one team.  His longest stint without switching teams came in the late 1950s with the Orioles between mid-1956 and 1959.  Before that, he was a regular with the Browns, Tigers and White Sox and his big league debut with the Browns in 1951 was one for the record books.  On September 14, 1951 against the Red Sox in Fenway Park, Nieman homered in his first two at-bats against Mickey McDermott (#340).  He became the first player in Major League history with two home runs in his debut game, a feat since accomplished by four other players.

Nieman's best years came with the Orioles.  He batted .322 with 12 home runs and 64 RBIs following a trade to Baltimore in May 1956, and in 1959, he clubbed a career best 21 home runs.  He departed Baltimore following the 1959 season, bouncing around again from the Cardinals to the Indians and finally to the Giants.  Serving almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter in 1962 with San Francisco, Nieman batted .300 for the season and saw his only World Series action, walking in Game 4 as a pinch-hitter against the Yankees.  The Yankees would prevail over the Giants in seven games.  Nieman spent the 1963 season with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan before retiring.  Over 12 major league seasons, Nieman batted .295 with 125 home runs and 544 RBIs.  He'd later serve as a scout for the Indians, Dodgers, Athletics, White Sox and Yankees.

Building the Set
September 25, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #268
This was a late edition to our set and one of 11 cards we purchased at the 92nd Philadelphia Sports Card Show held at the convention center in Ft. Washington.  My records show we paid $7 for this card. With the Ocean City baseball card shows long gone by now, our only options for local baseball card shows were the "Philly Shows" held in Ft. Washington at the time or the occasional mall baseball card show.

August 14, 2005 - Dad and me at Yankee Stadium

My Dad didn't like the drive to Ft. Washington, and this would have been one of only a few shows we attended together in this location.  Our next show together was a few months later in December, also in Ft. Washington.  Looking at my records of when and where we purchased our cards, a full year would go by before we'd add any more cards to the set after that December show.

The year-long hiatus in collecting the set came at a time my wife and I were expecting our first son and as we moved into our first real house, so we had a pretty good excuse not to be purchasing baseball cards at the time.

The Card / White Sox Team Set
Nieman's rookie card can be found in the 1955 Bowman set, and this is his first Topps card.  If the runner sliding into second base is in fact Nieman, the photo was taken while he was with the Tigers, wearing #5 in either 1953 or 1954.  With the White Sox, Nieman wore #18.  The back of the card rightfully highlights the two home runs he hit during his big league debut.  The final cartoon panel covers his fielding skills, and Nieman had five double plays as an outfielder in 1952, tying him with Mickey Mantle (#135) and Faye Throneberry.

1956 Season

Nieman began the season with the White Sox, appearing in 14 games and batting .300 (12 for 40), making 10 starts in right field.  On May 21st, Nieman, Mike Fornieles, Connie Johnson (#326) and George Kell (#195) were traded to the Orioles for Dave Philley (#222) and Jim Wilson (#171).  Nieman started off hot for the Orioles, batting .308 with five home runs and 30 RBIs in his first 37 games with the club, through the end of June.  He assumed the everyday left fielder's job and was arguably the team's MVP, leading the way with a 4.0 bWAR.  His .320 average was fifth best in the league and he finished seventh in the year's MVP voting.

1955 Bowman #145

1957 Topps #14

1959 Topps #375

1961 Topps #178

1962 Topps #182

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #145
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1956-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1979 TCMA The 1950s #211

32 - Nieman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/19/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #266 Don Ferrarese - Baltimore Orioles / #268 Dale Mitchell - Cleveland Indians

Order Collected: #239 Harry Simpson - Kansas City Athletics / #300 Vic Wertz - Cleveland Indians