Friday, February 23, 2024

#279 Johnny Groth - Kansas City Athletics


John Thomas Groth
Kansas City Athletics
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  182
Born:  July 23, 1926, Chicago, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, August 6, 1946
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1946-1952; St. Louis Browns 1953; Chicago White Sox 1954-1955; Washington Senators 1955; Kansas City Athletics 1956-1957; Detroit Tigers 1957-1960
Died:  August 7, 2021, Palm Beach, FL (age 95)

Johnny Groth played 15 seasons in the majors, with 11 of those seasons spent with the Tigers.  A highly touted prospect, Groth's best year professionally came in 1948 as a member of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.  He batted .340 that season with 30 home runs and 97 RBIs, marks he wouldn't attain again during his career.  Groth was the opening day center fielder for the Tigers in 1949 and while he started off hot, a mid-season slump saw him lose playing time and a broken wrist in August ended his season early.  He'd have his best season in the majors in 1950, batting .306 with 12 home runs and 85 RBIs.  Dealt to the Browns in December 1952, Groth's playing time would steadily decrease over the next eight seasons.  He returned to Detroit for four more seasons at the end of his career, serving as a back-up outfielder and pinch-hitter.

Groth batted .279 for his career, collecting 1,064 hits, 60 home runs and 486 RBIs.  His 75 assists as a center fielder currently rank 83rd all-time.  Following his playing days, Groth served as a long-time scout for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, ultimately retiring from baseball in 1990.

Building the Set
May 1997 - College graduation

July 19, 1997 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #157
My Dad and I added this card to our set at the Ocean City baseball card show held inside the Music Pier.  We purchased 11 cards that July day - Groth and eight other commons, along with the Warren Giles (#2) card for $10 and the Ray Boone (#6) card for $5.

I graduated college in the spring of 1997, and that summer was a good one as I worked on the Sea Isle Promenade at a few t-shirt stores.  My days were spent jogging, barely working, reading and sitting on the beach.  Dinner would usually come from Phil's on 37th and Landis Avenue, and ice cream was consumed nightly.

Dad was still working in Millville at the time, and we probably met up in front of the Music Pier prior to his show.  The baseball card collecting landscape changed drastically in the ten year period between 1987 and 1997, with autographed cards making their way into packs and multiple parallel versions of the same card confusing us as "old school" collectors.  Still, I'd give anything to be back inside the Music Pier with my Dad searching for the next 1956 Topps card to add to our set.  I'm sure he was thrilled to find a dealer selling a bunch of '56s in good shape and at around $2 a card.  

The Card / Athletics Team Set
Groth was exclusive to Bowman in 1954 and 1955, and this card marks his return to Topps sets.  He wore #3 with the Tigers between 1949 and 1952, and with the Browns in 1953.  He's likely wearing a Tigers jersey in the action photo, given the piping around the neck, which was found on Tigers' jerseys but not Browns' jerseys.  Given the pinstripes on his jersey in the main photo, he's either wearing a White Sox or Nationals jersey.  

The first cartoon on the back highlights his two home runs hit in his first start on April 19, 1949 against the White Sox.  It's a little misleading as Groth had played two full games in September 1946, another full game in September 1947, and four more complete games in September 1948.

1956 Season
Groth was sold by the Washington Nationals to the Athletics on April 16th, the day before opening day.  He'd play in 95 games for the 102-loss Athletics, making 44 starts in center field, 15 starts in right field and a pair of starts in left field.  The Athletics shuffled outfielders in and out of the starting line-up all season with Gus Zernial (#45), Al Pilarcik and Harry Simpson (#239) receiving most of the starts.  Groth batted .258 with five home runs and 37 RBIs.

1950 Bowman #243
1952 Topps #25
1954 Bowman #165
1959 Topps #164
1960 Topps #171

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1950 Bowman #243
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1951-1953, 1956-1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-JG

47 - Groth non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/30/24.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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Friday, February 16, 2024

#278 Chet Nichols - Milwaukee Braves


Chester Raymond Nichols
Milwaukee Braves
Pitcher

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  165
Born:  February 22, 1931, Pawtucket, RI
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent, December 23, 1948
Major League Teams:  Boston Braves 1951; Milwaukee Braves 1954-1956; Boston Red Sox 1960-1963; Cincinnati Reds 1964
Died:  March 27, 1995, Lincoln, RI (age 64)

Chet Nichols' father, Chet Nichols Sr., pitched six seasons in the majors between 1926 and 1932 with the Pirates, Giants and Phillies.  The younger Chet Nichols had three distinct stints in the majors between 1951 and 1964, with each stint interrupted by multiple years away from the big leagues.  His first season in 1951 with the Braves was his best.  Nichols led the league with a 2.88 ERA and was 11-8 in 33 games pitched, finishing as runner-up to Willie Mays (#130) in the Rookie of the Year voting.  He'd miss two full seasons while serving in the Army during the Korea War, and when he returned in 1954, the Braves had moved to Milwaukee.  Plagued with wildness, Nichols walked more than he struck out during his two-plus seasons back with the Braves, and he'd toil in the minor leagues for four seasons before returning to the majors with the Red Sox in 1960.  He spent all of 1958 as a bank teller back in his home state of Rhode Island.

In Boston, Nichols established himself as a reliable lefty reliever, appearing in 82 games over four seasons.  His last big league action came in three games with the Reds in 1964 before he was released a month into the season, ending his big league career.  Nichols was 34-36 lifetime with a 3.64 ERA.  He tallied 266 strikeouts and 280 walks in 603 1/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set
December 25, 2003 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #247
My Dad/Santa brought me nine cards for our set for Christmas in 2003, with all but one of the cards coming from his dealer of choice, Kit Young Cards in San Diego.  The Brooklyn Dodgers team card (#166) was the lone non-Kit Young Cards addition, as that card came from TemDee in Turnersville, New Jersey.  It was a strange mix of commons from Kit Young Cards, with no semi-star or star card to balance out the lot.  We were admittedly in a lull collecting the set, with only 18 cards added during all of 2003 and only six cards added, as Christmas presents, in 2004.

Pictures from the Christmas of 2003 show us opening gifts at my Mom's house on December 26th, which has since become a tradition for us.  So while the official set records indicate these nine cards were added on December 25th, it was most likely a day later I opened the cards while in Millville.

The Card / Braves Team Set
That's a nasty scratch across Nichols' eye and if I were ever looking to upgrade some of the cards in our set, this would be a good candidate.  Like a lot of the players appearing in the set's fourth series, this card marks Nichols' return to Topps after a lengthy absence and he wouldn't appear in his next Topps set until 1961.  The first cartoon panel on the back features a cameo from his father, and the second cartoon panel highlights his ERA title from 1951.  The third panel showcases his statistics against the Giants in 1955.  He was 3-0 in five starts against the Giants with a 3.89 ERA.

1956 Season
Nichols appears to have made the Braves' opening day roster, but he pitched in just two games with the club before being put on waivers in May.  He was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in those two games.  Having cleared waivers, he was outrighted to the Triple-A Wichita Braves.  Baseball Reference's statistics aren't complete for Nichols' 1956 season, but they show him pitching in 16 minor league games, going 2-4 in 32 innings pitched.

1952 Bowman #120
1952 Topps #288
1955 Bowman #72
1961 Topps #301
1963 Topps #307

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Bowman #120
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1952, 1956, 1961-1963
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1983 Topps 1952 Reprint Series #288

23 - Nichols non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/29/24.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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Friday, February 9, 2024

#277 Daryl Spencer - New York Giants


Daryl Dean Spencer
New York Giants
Infield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  185
Born:  July 13, 1928, Wichita, KS
Acquired:  Purchased by the New York Giants from the Pauls Valley Raiders (Sooner State League) before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1952-1953, 1956-1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1959; St. Louis Cardinals 1960-1961; Los Angeles Dodgers 1961-1963; Cincinnati Reds 1963
Died:  January 2, 2017, Wichita, KS (age 88)

Daryl Spencer spent the late 1950s and early 1960s as an everyday shortstop and second baseman for the Giants and Cardinals, and would later find success in the late 1960s during a seven season stint playing in Japan.  Spencer made his debut with the Giants in 1952 and would miss two full season (1954 and 1955) while serving in the military.  He became a regular with the Giants in 1956 and was the team's opening day shortstop on April 15, 1958, the Giants' first game in San Francisco.  His home run in the fourth inning of that game, off Dodgers' pitcher Don Drysdale, was the first home run in San Francisco Giants' history.  Spencer batted .256 that season, attaining career highs in home runs (17) and RBIs (74).  His final year as an everyday player stateside came in 1960 with the Cardinals, and over his final three seasons with the Cardinals, Dodgers and Reds he'd serve as a back-up infielder and pinch-hitter.  In 10 seasons, Spencer batted .244 with 105 home runs and 428 RBIs.

Spencer signed with the Hankyu Braves for the 1964 season, and he'd go on to be a star in Japan.  He connected for 36 home runs and 94 RBIs in 1964, topping that with 38 home runs in 1965 while batting .311.  Retired in 1969 and 1970, Spencer returned to Japan for two more seasons in 1971 and 1972 as a player-coach.  In 731 games for the Braves, he batted .275 with 152 home runs and 391 RBIs.

Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #38
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 Walker Cooper (#273) post last month.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and 16 from series three.   This is the fourth of ten cards to come from the final series four.

The Card / Giants Team Set
This is Spencer's first Topps card, and his rookie card can be found in the 1954 Bowman set.  The photo used here looks suspiciously similar to the photo used on his Bowman rookie card.  That's Roy Campanella (#101) making a cameo appearance for the play the plate, as the future Hall of Fame catcher wore #39 during his career with the Dodgers.  The photo above was used at MLB.com at the top of Spencer's obituary in 2017, and the caption for the photo notes the play took place in 1953.  Unless Spencer had a habit of losing his hat whenever he slid into home plate when Campanella was catching, this photo is likely from the same play featured on Spencer's 1956 Topps card.

The cartoons on the back of the card explain Spencer's two-year absence from baseball, highlight his high batting average with the Minneapolis Millers in 1952, and demonstrate his ability to play all three infield positions.  He's one of six players in the set to have "Infield" as the listed position, along with teammate Bobby Hofman (#28), Freddie Marsh (#23), Harmon Killebrew (#164), Jerry Coleman (#316) and Rocky Bridges (#324).

1956 Season
Spencer returned from the Army in 1956, having missed all of the 1954 and 1955 seasons.  He was the Giants' opening day second baseman and switched to third base and eventually shortstop following the acquisition of Red Schoendienst (#165) on June 14th.  Spencer appeared in 146 games overall, batting .221 with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs, as the Giants finished in sixth place in the National League.

1954 Bowman #185
1957 Topps #49
1959 Topps #443
1961 Topps #357
1963 Topps #502

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1954 Bowman #185
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1956-1963
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2013 BBM Legendary Foreigners #4

52 - Spencer non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/29/24.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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Friday, February 2, 2024

#276 George Zuverink - Baltimore Orioles


George Zuverink
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  195
Born:  August 20, 1924, Holland, MI
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1951-1952; Cincinnati Reds 1954; Detroit Tigers 1954-1955; Baltimore Orioles 1955-1959
Died:  September 8, 2014, Tempe, AZ (age 90)

George Zuverink spent the first eight seasons of his professional baseball career within the Cardinals, Indians, Reds and Tigers organizations before finally finding a home in the Orioles bullpen in 1955.  A side-arming sinker ball pitcher, Zuverink emerged as one of the game's top relievers in 1956, leading the league with 62 appearances and 16 saves.  He'd have an even better year in 1957, again leading the league with 56 appearances and pitching to an impressive 2.48 ERA in 112 2/3 innings pitched.  A series of arm injuries derailed Zuverink's career, and after 45 appearances in 1958 out of the Orioles' bullpen, he was limited to just six games in 1959 before a demotion to the minors.  Zuverink would attempt a comeback in 1960, but his big league career was over.

In 265 big league games, Zuverink was 32-36 with a 3.54 ERA and 40 saves.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #334
I last shared this full story with the Foster Castleman (#271) post, but I'll repeat myself, in an edited version, here.  The way my Dad and I finished the 1956 Topps set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory.  Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set.  Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning.  I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired to finish off the set.  And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards.  This Zuverink card was one of the final 29.  It was one of the commons included in a memorable haul that included the cards of Pee Wee Reese (#260), Roberto Clemente (#33), Whitey Ford (#240) and a spotless checklist card for the 1st and 3rd Series.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
Despite having pitched in the league since 1951, this is only the third of Zuverink's mainstream baseball card appearances, to go along with his cards in the 1952 Topps and 1955 Bowman sets.  The back of the card highlights his minor league success, his strong fielding skills and his control.  It would seem as if Zuverink's control slipped somewhat as his career went on, as he owns 203 career walks to 223 career strikeouts.

1956 Season
The Orioles claimed Zuverink off waivers from the Tigers on July 8, 1955, and the 1956 season was the first full season the pitcher spent in Baltimore.  Installed as the top reliever out of the Orioles' bullpen, Zuverink pitched 97 1/3 innings over his league-leading 62 appearances and converted 16 of 21 save opportunities.  As told by his SABR biography, Zuverink was honored by the Maryland Firemen Association as the "Firemen's Favorite Fireman," between games of a double header on June 3rd.

1952 Topps #199
1955 Bowman #92
1957 Topps #11
1958 Topps #6
1959 Topps #219

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #199
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1952, 1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-GZ

23 - Zuverink non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/29/24.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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