#322 Karl Olson - Washington Nationals

Karl Arthur Olson
Washington Nationals
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Born:  July 6, 1930, Ross, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1951, 1953-55; Washington Nationals 1956 Washington Senators 1957; Detroit Tigers 1957

Died:  December 25, 2010, Reno, NV (age 80)

Karl Olson was a back-up outfielder in parts of six big league seasons with the Red Sox, Nationals/Senators and Tigers.  He appeared in five games for the Red Sox in 1951, and then missed the entire 1952 season while in military service during the Korean War.  Olson appeared in 101 games for the Red Sox in 1954, making 44 starts, and being used primarily as a pinch-hitter or late inning defensive replacement for Ted Williams (#5) in left or Jim Piersall (#143) in right.  Dealt to the Nationals in November 1955 as part of a nine-player deal, he'd have his strongest season in 1956.  Olson was the club's opening day center fielder, and he'd play in a career-high 106 games for the 95-loss Nationals.  Batting .246, Olson collected hit his career bests for both home runs (four) and RBIs (22).

He'd play in just 16 more major league games following the 1956 season, spending most of 1957 playing for the Tigers' farm teams in Charleston and Birmingham.  In 279 games, Olson batted .235 with 25 doubles, six home runs and 50 RBIs.

August 1989 - Trip to Cooperstown

Building the Set
August 13, 1989 in Bridgeton, NJ - Card #89
We went nuts at the Bridgeton Baseball Card Show in August 1989, buying 12 different cards for our 1956 Topps set, all at $1.50 a piece.  That's an impressive haul for $18!

I have no other information on the location of this show, other than it was held in the nearby city of Bridgeton, New Jersey.  What I do have however is the checklist I brought with us to the show.  I believe this is the second full checklist we carried around, having retired the prior version I created in 1988 and posted with the William Harridge (#1) card.

Just looking at this checklist (shown here) brings back fond memories of finding the cards, deciding to make a purchase, negotiating a price and then finding a flat surface so that we could cross off the newest additions.

The Card / Nationals Team Set
We've got a rare, third series trifecta with Olson's card, given Topps had used the exact same photo of Olson on his 1954 and 1955 Topps cards.  They did have to replace the "B" on his hat with a "W" for this 1956 card, however.  Olson looks absolutely massive in the action shot, sliding back into first base after presumably a pick-off throw from the pitcher.  The cartoon panels on the back of the card highlight his minor league success, his .260 average in 1954 and his arrival in Washington during the 1955 offseason.

1956 Season

As summarized above, this was to be Olson's best season.  He made 75 starts in center field (Whitey Herzog had 79) and five starts in left field.  On opening day against the Yankees, Olson connected for a pair of home runs off Don Larsen (#332), but Mickey Mantle (#135) countered with two home runs of his own, leading the Yankees to a 10-4 victory.

1952 Topps #72

1954 Topps #186

1955 Topps #72

1957 Topps #153

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #72
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1952, 1954-57
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-KO

11 - Olson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/23/25.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #321 Jim Konstanty - New York Yankees / #323 Willard Schmidt - St. Louis Cardinals

Order Collected: #316 Jerry Coleman - New York Yankees / #328 Preston Ward - Pittsburgh Pirates