#304 Frank Malzone - Boston Red Sox

Frank James Malzone
Boston Red Sox
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  180
Born:  February 28, 1930, Bronx, NY

Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:   Boston Red Sox 1955-65; California Angels 1966

Died:  December 29, 2015, Needham, MA (age 85)

Frank Malzone manned the hot corner for the Red Sox for over a decade, and in total spent nearly six decades in various roles with the club.  Malzone first got the chance to play regularly in 1957, and he'd reward manager Pinky Higgins with the first of eight All-Star Game selections and by finishing second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting to the Yankees' Tony Kubek.  Malzone also won the first of his three Gold Gloves that season and drove in a career-high 103 runs.  On the way to that first Gold Glove, he became the first player to lead the American League in every defensive category (games, putouts, assists, double plays turned, fielding percentage) as well as errors.  Dependable at the plate, Malzone hit .276 with the Red Sox over 11 seasons.  He left the club briefly following the 1965 season, finishing up his playing career with the Angels.

For his career, Malzone batted .274 with 1,486 hits, 133 home runs and 728 RBIs.  He re-joined the Red Sox as a scout in 1966 and he'd serve as a scout and instructor until the early 1990s when he joined the team's front office.  He was among the inaugural class of inductees into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set
January 27, 2001 from Moorestown Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #226
For Father's Day in 2021, we attended my youngest son's piano recital and then travelled to the Moorestown Mall (in nearby Moorestown, NJ) for a baseball card show.  I don't spend a lot of time in malls, but I thought this one looked vaguely familiar.  As it turns out, I was at the very same mall 20 years earlier with my Dad for his 57th birthday.  We paid $60 for four cards for our 1956 Topps set, with the biggest purchase being the Harmon Killebrew card (#164) that set us back $38.  Based on my checklist at the time, we got a good deal on this card as I had the Killebrew card listed as one of the more valuable cards we still needed at a range of $60 to $100.  The other three cards added were this Malzone card, Carl Erskine (#233) and Ellis Kinder (#336).

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
This is Malzone's first Topps card, and his rookie card can be found in the 1955 Bowman set.  The action shot shows Malzone about to apply a late tag to a baserunner that could be the Tigers' Bill Tuttle (#203), the Indians' Hank Majeski, or the Nationals' Pete Runnels (#234), as those three American Leaguers all wore #5 during the 1955 season.  The cartoons on the back highlight his successful minor league season in 1955, as well as his six hits in a double header against the Orioles on September 20th.  Malzone had just made his big league debut a few days before, pinch-running in a game on September 17th.

1956 Season

Malzone began the season with the Red Sox, but batted just .165 through 27 games, and was demoted to the Triple-A San Francisco Seals in the beginning of June for the remainder of the season.  With the Seals, Malzone batted .296 in 87 games with six home runs and 42 RBIs.  He'd be back in 1957 as the opening day third baseman for the Red Sox.

1955 Bowman #302

1958 Topps #260

1959 Topps #558

1962 Topps #225

1966 Topps #152

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #302
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1956-66
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-FM

96 - Malzone non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/18/24.

Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #303 Jim Dyck - Baltimore Orioles / #305 Brooks Lawrence - Cincinnati Redlegs

Order Collected: #233 Carl Erskine - Brooklyn Dodgers / #336 Ellis Kinder - St. Louis Cardinals

#252 Vernon Law - Pittsburgh Pirates

Vernon Sanders Law
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  March 12, 1930, Meridian, ID
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1950-1951, 1954-1967

Vern Law spent his entire 16-year big league career with the Pirates and his dominating season in 1960 led to a World Series ring and the National League Cy Young Award.  Law made his debut in 1950 and pitched for two seasons as a swingman for the Pirates before missing two entire years while serving in the military.  He earned a spot back in the Pirates' starting pitching rotation in 1954.  Law won at least 10 games in nine different seasons and his 18-9 record in 1959 was a precursor to his career year in 1960.  He was 20-9 with a 3.08 ERA and a league leading 18 complete games that season, throwing 271 2/3 innings as the Pirates won the National League pennant for the first time since 1927.  Law was the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 4 against the Yankees, and started the decisive Game 7 before being relieved in the sixth inning with the Pirates holding a 4-1 lead.  The Yankees would battle back, but Bill Mazeroski hit his walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Pirates the Series.  Law had also started and won the second All-Star Game in 1960, pitching two scoreless innings.

While he never again enjoyed the success he found in 1960, Law continued to be a key member of the Pirates' pitching staff, winning 17 games in 1965 and earning National League Comeback Player of the Year honors.  He retired following the 1967 season with a career record of 162-147, a 3.77 ERA and 1,092 strikeouts over 2,672 innings pitched - 4th on the Pirates' all-time franchise leaderboard.  Following his playing days, Law served as the Pirates pitching coach in 1968 and 1969.  He'd go on to coach at the collegiate level, in the minor leagues and for three seasons in Japan for the Seibu Lions.  His son, Vance Law, was an All-Star in 1988 and played 11 years in the majors for the Pirates (1980-1981), White Sox (1982-1984), Expos (1985-1987), Cubs (1988-1989) and Athletics (1991).

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #33
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 Walt Dropo (#238) post, back in February.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this Law card is the 15th of 16 from series three.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
Law returned to Topps with this card after appearing exclusively with Bowman in 1955.  Like many of the Pirates cards before this, Law is shown wearing the helmet required by then Pirates General Manager Branch Rickey.  I found this summary from SABR explaining Rickey's introduction of the helmets in September 1952, to be worn at all times by Pirates players and coaches - at bat and in the field.  Clicking on the link below for the Pirates team set will take you to a gallery of Pirates cards found in the set so far, with a majority of the players wearing these helmets.

I never noticed the Bing Crosby cameo on the back of this card, and when the card came into our collection originally, I likely didn't know who Crosby was.  Per Law's SABR biography, Crosby was a minority owner of the Pirates when the team was courting Law during his senior year of high school in 1947.  Crosby was instrumental in convincing Law, who was in high demand, to sign with the Pirates, with the crooner going so far as to call Law's house and speak to his mother.  I wonder if Crosby has made any more cameo appearances on other baseball cards?

1956 Season

Law suffered through a rough season, pitching in 39 games and going 8-16 with a 4.32 ERA for the seventh place Pirates.  He made 32 starts, with only Bob Friend (#221) and Ron Kline (#94) making more starts, with 42 and 39 respectively.

1951 Bowman #203

1954 Topps #235

1961 Topps #400

1966 Topps #15

1985 Topps #137

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #203
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1952, 1954, 1956-1967, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-VL

117 - Law non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/20/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #251 New York Yankees Team Card / #253 Irv Noren - New York Yankees

Order Collected: #251 New York Yankees Team Card / #255 Bob Lemon - Cleveland Indians

#221 Bob Friend - Pittsburgh Pirates

Robert Bartmess Friend
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  November 24, 1930, Lafayette, IN
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1951-1965; New York Yankees 1966; New York Mets 1966
Died:  February 3, 2019, O'Hara Township, PA (age 88)

Nicknamed "The Warrior," Bob Friend was a mainstay in the Pirates starting pitching rotation for 15 seasons, playing a key role in the team's advancement to the 1960 World Series.  Friend made the Pirates out of spring training in 1951, and he'd never return to the minor leagues.  He led the National League with a 2.83 ERA in 1955, becoming the first leader in the category to come from a last place team.  He made his first of four All-Star teams in 1956, while leading the league with 42 starts.  Playing for a second division Pirates team, he only crossed the 20-win plateau once, leading the league with 22 wins in 1958.  In 1960, Friend and Vern Law (#252) combined for one of the best two top of the rotation starters from their era, helping propel the Pirates into the World Series.  Friend struggled against the Yankees in the Series, but the Pirates prevailed in seven games thanks to Bill Mazeroski's dramatic walk-off home run.

Friend pitched with the Pirates through the 1965 season, and then played a final year with the Yankees and Mets.  He retired with a 197-230 record, a 3.58 ERA and 1,734 strikeouts in 3,611 innings pitched.  His 36 career shutouts are 63rd all-time.  He ranks high in several main pitching categories on the Pirates' all-time franchise leader board, including fourth in wins, third in games pitched, first (with 477) in games started, first in innings pitched and first in strikeouts.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set
September 25, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #265
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 $6 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 / Pirates Team Set
Like a lot of the cards to be found in this set's third series, this represents Friend's return to Topps after a three-year absence.  The cartoon panels on the back celebrate his 2.83 ERA title in 1955, and the one-hitter thrown against the Cubs on September 7th.  Frank Baumholtz (#274) had the only hit for the Cubs, a fourth inning single.  The final cartoon panel points out Friend made 44 appearances in 1955, with only 20 of those as starts.

1956 Season

Friend was 17-17 with a 3.46 ERA in 49 games for the Pirates, including 42 starts.  His 314 1/3 innings pitched led the league and his 19 complete games were third in the league.  (Robin Roberts - #180 - led the league with 22 complete games.)  Friend started the 1956 All-Star Game, earning the win with three scoreless innings.  He had three strikeouts in the start, including Ted Williams (#5).  Among his 19 complete games was an 11-inning shutout pitched against the Cardinals on June 8th.  Friend allowed six hits in that game, out-dueling Cardinals' starting pitcher Murry Dickson (#211), who also pitched all 11 innings.

1952 Topps #233

1955 Bowman #57

1961 Topps #270

1963 Topps #450

1966 Topps #519

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Bowman #191
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1952, 1956-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-BF

139 - Friend non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/3/22.

Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #220 Del Ennis - Philadelphia Phillies / #222 Dave Philley - Baltimore Orioles

Order Collected: #207 Jim Small - Detroit Tigers / #228 "Mickey" Vernon - Boston Red Sox

#180 Robin Roberts - Philadelphia Phillies

Robin Evan Roberts
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  September 30, 1926, Springfield, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1948-1961; Baltimore Orioles 1962-1965; Houston Astros 1965-1966; Chicago Cubs 1966
Hall of Fame Induction:  1976
Died:  May 6, 2010, Temple Terrace, FL (age 83)

Hall of Famer Robin Roberts was one of the most dominant right-handed pitchers of the 1950s, leading the National League in wins for four straight seasons between 1952 and 1955 and earning seven straight All-Star Game appearances.  A work horse for the Phillies, his 20-win season in 1950 led the Phillies to the World Series and made him the first pitcher to win at least 20 games for the club since Grover Cleveland Alexander did it in 1917.  Straddling the 1952 and 1953 seasons, he pitched 28 complete games in a row with his appearance on September 6, 1952 lasting 17 innings.  He led the league in strikeouts in 1953 and 1954, and was named The Sporting News pitcher of the year in both 1952 and 1955.

After departing the Phillies, Roberts bounced from the Yankees, Orioles, Astros and Cubs, pitching a total of 19 seasons and retiring at the age of 39.  He finished with a career record of 286-245 with a 3.41 ERA and exactly half of his 609 starts resulted in complete games (305).  His 609 games started currently rank 20th on the all-time list.  He was the first Phillies player to have his number retired in 1962 and the first player inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards

Building the Set
Sometime in 1987, no record of purchase - Card #53
So this is a little embarrassing, and as diligent as I was in my record-keeping skills between 1987 and 2005, I have absolutely no record of how or when this card came into our collection.  There are four such cards we added to our set without me writing down the date of purchase, and this card is by far the most egregious, given it's a high-profile Phillies Hall of Famer.  What I have been able to piece together, based on our checklists from 1987 and 1988, is this card was likely added at some point in 1987, shortly after we officially decided to collect the set.

And it's somewhat fitting this card falls here in the history of this blog, as we're nearing the end of 2021 and I have no recollection of certain weeks/months from the past year.  May?  A complete blur.  September?  Maybe it happened, maybe it didn't.  This card also holds the distinction of breaking this blog's streak of consecutive weekly posting, every Friday at 7am, since January 31, 2019.  With the holiday hustle and bustle in full swing and a few unfortunate work-related events, I completed missed posting this past Friday.  So here's to taking a deep breath, remembering to keep records of where and when you purchased your baseball cards (if you're into that sort of thing) and a healthy and hopefully more peaceful 2022.

The Card / Phillies Team Set
Roberts appeared in the iconic 1952 Topps set and then disappeared from the company's offerings until 1956.  Exclusive to Bowman between 1953 and 1955, Roberts appeared in every Bowman set with the exception of their two black and white releases in 1948 and 1953.  The first cartoon panel on the back contains an error as Roberts led the league in wins four seasons in a row between 1952 and 1955.  The middle panel is accurate as Roberts' complete game totals topped the league between 1952 and 1955 and the mini cartoon actually looks impressively like the pitcher.

This card marks the end of the set's second series, and series three begins with a card of Yankees' All-Star second baseman Billy Martin (#181).  There were 100 cards in the set's first series, with 80 cards each following in the second, third and fourth series releases.  I'll eventually have a summary of the set's second series along the index bar at the top of this blog, and the first series review can be found here.

1956 Season

This was to be the last of Roberts' seven consecutive seasons of making the N.L. All-Star team.  He finished the year with a 19-18 record with a 4.45 ERA while leading the league with 22 complete games.  Roberts struck out 157 over 297 1/3 innings pitched, just missing the 300 innings pitched plateau for the first time since 1949.  He walked only 40 batters all season.  According to his SABR biography, the Phillies and Cardinals seriously discussed a swap of Roberts for Stan Musial, but the deal never happened.

Phillies Career
Roberts signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent before the 1948 season and he was sold to the Yankees on October 16, 1961.  In the decade-plus in between, he established himself as the best right-handed pitcher in franchise history.  He still ranks first in franchise history in games (529), complete games (272), and innings pitched (3,739 1/3), and is second only to Steve Carlton in games started (472), wins (234) and strikeouts (1,871).

Following his big league career, and after a partial season with the Reading Phillies in 1967 attempting a comeback, Roberts' later crossed paths with the Phillies when he served as a color commentary on Phillies broadcasts for games between 1974 and 1976.  Along with his induction into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1978, he was also named to their Centennial Team in 1983.  His statute sits outside the first base gate of Citizens Bank Park, and when he passed away in 2010 the Phillies wore a black #36 patch on their uniforms and hung a Roberts jersey in their dugout during each game.

1949 Bowman #46

1952 Topps #59

1955 Bowman #171

1959 Topps #352

1966 Topps #530

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12):  1952, 1956-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Panini Mosaic Vintage #V6

522 - Roberts non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/22/21.

Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #179 Harry Chiti - Chicago Cubs / #181 Billy Martin - New York Yankees

Order Collected: #113 Phil Rizzuto - New York Yankees / #217 Billy Klaus - Boston Red Sox

#155 Harvey Kuenn - Detroit Tigers

Harvey Edward Kuenn
Detroit Tigers
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  187
Born:  December 4, 1930, West Allis, WI
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, June 9, 1952
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1952-1959; Cleveland Indians 1960; San Francisco Giants 1961-1965; Chicago Cubs 1965-1966; Philadelphia Phillies 1966
As a Manager:  Milwaukee Brewers 1975, 1982-1983
Died:  February 28, 1988, Peoria, AZ (age 57)

One of the most prolific hitters in the American League throughout the 1950s, Harvey Kuenn was the A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1953 and was named to eight straight All-Star teams between 1953 and 1960.  He and Al Kaline (#20) led the Tigers offense during those years, but the club never finished higher than fourth place in the junior circuit.  A shortstop early in his career, Kuenn led the league in hits four times (1953, 1954, 1956 and 1959), doubles three times (1955, 1958 and 1959) and took the batting crown in 1959 with a .353 average.  He was swapped to the Indians in April 1960 for Rocky Colavito, a blockbuster deal involving two All-Stars.

1982 Donruss #578

After a season in Cleveland, Kuenn moved to the National League where he'd play six more seasons for the Giants, Cubs and Phillies.  He'd see his only postseason play with the Giants in the 1962 World Series.  Over his 14-year career, Kuenn hit .303 with 2,092 hits.

Kuenn became a coach for the Brewers in 1972 and he served as an interim manager for a game in 1975 following the firing of Del Crandall (#175).  He was named the team's permanent manager on June 2, 1982, replacing Buck Rodgers, and he led that Brewers team to their first and only World Series appearance to date.  Despite losing to the Cardinals in the World Series, Kuenn and his team, affectionately called "Harvey's Wallbangers," cemented themselves as fan favorites in Milwaukee.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #16
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-posted the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post last July.  There were a lot of these Original 44 cards bunched together, meaning the original owner must have opened a few Series Two packs.  Seven of the Original 44 came from Series One, with 11 coming from Series Two.  So far I've covered the cards of Mathews, Yogi Berra (#110), Jim Brady (#126), Eddie Yost (#128), Willie Mays (#130), the Cardinals team card (#134), Johnny Logan (#136) and Johnny Antonelli (#138).  Still to come from Series Two are the cards of Red Schoendienst (#165) and Sammy White (#168).

The Card / Tigers Team Set
When I think of Kuenn, I think of the stocky manager of the Brewers from the early 1980s and not a nimble shortstop from the mid-1950s.  Kuenn returned to Topps after a one year absence and having appeared on a card in the 1955 Bowman set.  The back of this card, and one of the last white-backed cards in our set, highlights his offensive skills and the big signing bonus he received from the Tigers in 1952.  Per his SABR biography, the amount of the "bonus" was $55,000 and it was actually his first three years' salary.

1956 Season

Kuenn was in the middle of the best stretch of his career in 1956 and he led the American League in hits for the third time.  His .332 average was third in the league behind Ted Williams (#5) and Mickey Mantle (#135) who hit .345 and .353 respectively.  Kuenn hit 12 home runs and had 88 RBIs, second on the team to only Kaline and his 128.  Kuenn started all but 15 of the Tigers' 155 games at shortstop and was most often paired with Milt Bolling (#315) as his second base double play partner.

Phillies Career
The Cubs sold Kuenn to the Phillies three games into the 1966 season on April 23rd.  He spent the rest of the season with the Phillies, his final season in the majors, serving as a right-handed pinch-hitter and occasional back-up in left for Tony Gonzalez or at first base for Bill White.  Kuenn appeared in 86 games for the Phillies, hitting .296 with 9 doubles and 15 RBIs.  He received an invitation to spring training in 1967, but he abruptly announced his retirement right before the start of camp to take a job with a television station in Milwaukee.  Kuenn's time with the Phillies produced no official baseball cards.

1954 Topps #25

1959 Topps #70

1962 Topps #480

1966 Topps #372

1984 Topps #321

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1954 Topps #25
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16):  1954, 1956-1966, 1973-1974, 1983-1984
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Panini Diamond Kings #3

173 - Kuenn non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/16/21.

Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #154 Dave Pope - Baltimore Orioles / #156 Wes Westrum - New York Giants

Order Collected: #138 Johnny Antonelli - New York Giants / #165 "Red" Schoendienst - St. Louis Cardinals

#152 Billy Hoeft - Detroit Tigers

William Frederick Hoeft
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  180
Born:  May 17, 1932, Oshkosh, WI
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1952-1959; Boston Red Sox 1959; Baltimore Orioles 1959-1962; San Francisco Giants 1963; Milwaukee Braves 1964; Chicago Cubs 1965-1966; San Francisco Giants 1966
Died:  March 16, 2010, Canadian Lakes, MI (age 77)

Long-time lefty pitcher Billy Hoeft spent 15 years in the majors and was an All-Star with the Tigers in 1955, a year in which he led the league with seven shutouts.  Hoeft spent eight seasons in Detroit and was a reliable starter for the team between 1952 and 1958.  His best season came in 1956 when he went 20-14 with a 4.06 ERA in 38 starts.  He bounced around a bit after being traded to the Red Sox in June 1959 for Jack Harshman (#29), but he was a fairly reliable pitcher at each of his stops over the next eight seasons.  Hoeft moved to the bullpen and appeared in a career-high 57 games for the Orioles in 1962.  He fell just short of the 100-win plateau for his career, going 97-101 over 505 games with a 3.94 ERA and 33 career saves.

Building the Set

College graduation, May 1997

July 19, 1997 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #153
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 - Hoeft 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 just $2 a card.

The Card / Tigers Team Set
This is the first time palm trees appear on a 1956 Topps card, as this picture was most likely taken at the Tigers then spring training home at Henley Field in Lakeland, Florida.  This is Hoeft's first appearance in a Topps set since 1953.  He's in the 1954 Bowman set but had no mainstream baseball card appearances in 1955, the season in which he made his sole All-Star team.  His successful prior season is highlighted within the cartoon panels on the back, as he led the Tigers pitching staff with 16 wins and a 2.99 ERA.

1956 Season

Hoeft would build on the big year he had in 1955 with a career year in 1956.  As mentioned above, he went 20-14 with righty Frank Lary (#191) the other 20-game winner on the Tigers staff at 21-13.  Hoeft pitched 18 complete games, including four shutouts and threw 248 innings.  His innings pitched set a career high mark, as did his 172 strikeouts.

1952 Topps #370

1957 Topps #60

1959 Topps #343

1961 Topps #256

1966 Topps #409

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #370
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1952-1953, 1956-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #165

39 - Hoeft non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/14/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #151 "Spook" Jacobs - Kansas City Athletics / #153 Frank Thomas - Pittsburgh Pirates

Order Collected: #54 Bob Keegan - Chicago White Sox / #193 Wilmer Mizell - St. Louis Cardinals