#303 Jim Dyck - Baltimore Orioles

James Robert Dyck

Baltimore Orioles
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  200
Born:  February 3, 1922, Omaha, NE
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1941 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Browns 1951-53; Cleveland Indians 1954; Baltimore Orioles 1955-56; Cincinnati Redlegs 1956

Died:  January 11, 1999, Cheney, WA (age 76)

Jim Dyck played professionally for 20 years, missing three full years while serving in the military during World War II, and spending parts of six seasons in the majors.  Dyck was originally signed by the Yankees in 1941, and it took him joining the Browns' organization in late 1949 to finally get a shot at the big leagues a few years later.  Dyck, a 30-year-old rookie in 1952, spent his first full season in the majors, appearing in a career-high 122 games and setting career-best marks in nearly every offensive category.  He batted .269 with 15 home runs and 64 RBIs, as arguably the best offensive player for the seventh place Browns.  His numbers would slip in 1953, and he appeared in 112 games, batting .213.  Traded to the Indians in April 1954 for Bob Kennedy (#38), Dyck would appear in only two games for the eventual pennant winners, and he'd be sold back to the his former team, now the Orioles, in July 1955.

Dyck's final big league action came in 1956, playing in 49 games for the Orioles and Redlegs.  In 330 games, he batted .246 with 26 home runs and 114 RBIs.  He'd continue to play professionally through the 1961 season, last appearing in 29 games as a player-coach with the Vancouver Mounties in the Pacific Coast League.

January 28, 2006 - Celebrating Dad's 62nd birthday

Building the Set
December 3, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #276
This was a relatively late edition to our set and one of eight cards we purchased at the 93rd Philadelphia Sports Card Show held at the convention center in Ft. Washington.  My notes say we purchased this Dyck card for a little less than $5.  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 or the occasional mall baseball card show. 

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.  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.

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.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
This is Dyck's final mainstream baseball card appearance, and he had previously appeared in 1953 Topps set before being exclusive to Bowman in 1954 and without a baseball card appearance in 1955.  That could be Dyck sliding back into second base against the Yankees, as he wore #14 with the Orioles in 1955.  The cartoons on the back highlight his minor league accomplishments and his versatility in the field.  For his career, Dyck played 157 games at all three outfield positions, 147 games at third base and one game at first base.

This card is the final Orioles card in the set, making the Orioles team set the first to be completed.  A full gallery is linked above and all team sets are linked at this page.

1956 Season

Dyck began the year with the Orioles, and batted .217 (5 for 23) in 11 games, including a pair of pinch-hitting appearances.  Sold to Cincinnati on May 11th, Dyck played in 18 games for the Redlegs, batting .091 (1 for 11) with most of his appearances coming as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner.  In late July, Dyck was demoted to the Triple-A Seattle Rainiers, where he'd bat .185 over 54 games.

1953 Bowman Color #111

1953 Topps #177

1954 Bowman #85

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Bowman Color #111
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1953, 1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #177

20 - Dyck non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/9/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #302 Eddie Robinson - New York Yankees / #304 Frank Malzone - Boston Red Sox

Order Collected: #299 Charley Neal - Brooklyn Dodgers / #309 Don Blasingame - St. Louis Cardinals

#287 Bobby Adams - Baltimore Orioles

Robert Henry Adams

Baltimore Orioles
Second Base-Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  160
Born:  December 14, 1921, Tuolumne, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1939 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1946-1952; Cincinnati Redlegs 1953-1955; Chicago White Sox 1955; Baltimore Orioles 1956; Chicago Cubs 1957-1959

Died:  February 13, 1997, Gig Harbor, WA (age 75)

Bobby Adams spent a decade of his 14-year major league career with the Reds/Redlegs, enjoying his best seasons in the early 1950s with the club.  Adams assumed regular second baseman duties as a rookie with the Reds in 1946.  He'd back up Benny Zientara in 1947 and 1948, although he was the club's opening day second baseman for both those seasons.  Adams regained a starting job in 1951, moving over to third base, and his career year came in 1952 when he batted .283 while leading the National League with 637 at-bats.  He'd have another fine season in 1953, batting .275 and leading all National League third baseman in assists for the second year in a row.  Sold to the White Sox in July 1955, Adams would spend the rest of his career as a reserve infielder with the White Sox, Orioles and Cubs.

He batted .269 overall with 1,082 hits, 37 home runs and 303 RBIs.  Adams stayed with the Cubs after retiring as a player, and was a member of their College of Coaches between 1961 and 1965.  He'd manage the Triple-A Tacoma Cubs between 1966 and 1971, returning as a major league coach for the Cubs in 1973.

January 19, 2003 - NFC Championship Game at The Vet

Building the Set
January 18, 2003 in Plymouth Meeting, PA - Card #241
In January 2003, I added seven cards to our set, purchased at a baseball card show held inside the Plymouth Meeting Mall.  I paid $45 for the seven cards, which included this Adams card.  My Topps set building had stalled out somewhat in 2003 as I had switched over to become primarily a Phillies collector, and I was also spending my disposable income trying to put together the early Topps Heritage sets.  This was the first of only 18 cards we added to our set in 2003, but we did cross the threshold of needing less than 100 cards to complete the set late in the year.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
This is one of only two "2d base-3d base" position combinations in the set, along with Gil McDougald (#225), although Topps used "2nd-3rd base" for McDougald's card.  The action shot could feature Adams as a member of the White Sox looking to see where the ball went after it apparently got by him.  Adams wore #25 during his brief time with the White Sox, and that could be the number on the back of the fielder.  The head shot is the same used for Adams' 1955 Topps card, and Topps swapped out a Reds hat for an Orioles hat.

The cartoons on the back of the card highlight Adams' hustling play, his move to third base from second base and his move to the American League for the 1955 season.

1956 Season

Adams was traded by the White Sox to the Orioles on October 18, 1955 for outfielder Cal Abrams.  The Orioles' opening day third baseman, Adams struggled mightily at the plate over the season's first two months, and the club released him on May 28th.  The Orioles apparently realized they had made a  mistake, as they brought Adams back on June 4th, only for him to be released again on July 17th.  It looks as if he landed with the Orioles' Double-A team after that, as Adams appeared in 46 games for the San Antonio Missions, batting .310.  In his 41 games with the Orioles between April and July, Adams batted .225.

1948-49 Leaf #54

1952 Topps #249

1953 Bowman Color #108

1955 Topps #178

1959 Topps #249

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1948-49 Leaf #54
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1952-1956, 1958-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #123

32 - Adams non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/6/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #286 Bill Wight - Baltimore Orioles / #288 Bob Cerv - New York Yankees

Order Collected: #265 Sandy Consuegra - Chicago White Sox / #14 Ken Boyer - St. Louis Cardinals

#286 Bill Wight - Baltimore Orioles

William Robert Wight

Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  April 12, 1922, Rio Vista, CA
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1941 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1946-1947; Chicago White Sox 1948-1950; Boston Red Sox 1951-1952; Detroit Tigers 1952-1953; Cleveland Indians 1953, 1955; Baltimore Orioles 1955-1957; Cincinnati Redlegs 1958; St. Louis Cardinals 1958

Died:  May 17, 2007, Mount Shasta, CA (age 85)

Journeyman Bill Wight pitched in parts of 12 major league seasons with eight different clubs.  Originally signed by the Yankees, Wight's first real chance in the majors came after a February 1948 trade sent him to the White Sox.  He'd have the best seasons of his career in Chicago, winning a career-high 15 games in 1949 while also reaching a career high in innings pitched with 245.  Wight was a 10-game winner in 1950 for the White Sox but was on the move again following the season, dealt to the Red Sox.  He'd change teams frequently throughout the 1950s, serving as a swingman for the Red Sox, Tigers and Indians, before finding another steady home in Baltimore.  Wight enjoyed his last solid season in 1956 for the Orioles, going 9-12 with a 4.02 ERA in 35 games, including 26 starts.  He'd retire as a player following a brief comeback attempt in the Pacific Coast League with the Seattle Rainiers in 1959.

Wight owned a lifetime record of 77-99 with a 3.95 ERA in 347 games pitched.  He struck out 574 batters over 1,563 innings.  Wight enjoyed a second career as a scout for the Houston Colt .45s/Astros between 1962 and 1966, and for the Atlanta Braves between 1967 and 1994.  He was responsible for the Colt .45s signing Joe Morgan, and for the Braves signing Dusty Baker, Dale Murphy, Bob Horner and David Justice, among many others.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #39
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 in January.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and 16 from series three.   This is the fifth of ten cards to come from the final series four.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
Was the "action" shot taken at night, or did the photographer (or Topps) darken everything behind Wight?  Like quite a few cards in series four, this card marks Wight's return to Topps after a three-year absence as he had been exclusive to Bowman.  The cartoons on the back contain two things I've mentioned above, Wight's frequent moves and his 1949 season, and one new fun fact - Wight's hobby was drawing.

1956 Season

Wight was the opening day starter for the Orioles, and he'd make 26 starts throughout the season as one of the Orioles' three most reliable pitchers along with Ray Moore (#43) and Connie Johnson (#326).  He threw a six-hit shutout against the Athletics on July 12th.

1950 Bowman #38

1952 Topps #177

1953 Bowman Color #100

1957 Topps #340

1958 Topps #237

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1950 Bowman #38
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1952, 1956-1958
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2007 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BW

26 - Wight non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/6/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #285 Eddie Miksis - Chicago Cubs / #287 Bobby Adams - Baltimore Orioles

Order Collected: #277 Daryl Spencer - New York Giants / #293 Stu Miller - St. Louis Cardinals

#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

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #275 Jim Greengrass - Philadelphia Phillies / #277 Daryl Spencer - New York Giants

Order Collected: #271 Foster Castleman - New York Giants / #288 Bob Cerv - New York Yankees

#266 Don Ferrarese - Baltimore Orioles

Donald Hugh Ferrarese
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  170
Born:  June 19, 1929, Oakland, CA
Acquired:  Purchased by the Chicago White Sox from the Oakland Oaks (Pacific Coast League), December 6, 1954
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1955-1957; Cleveland Indians 1958-1959; Chicago White Sox 1960; Philadelphia Phillies 1961-1962; St. Louis Cardinals 1962

As a starting pitcher for the Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League, Don Ferrarese's 1954 season caught the attention of major league teams when he went 18-15 with a 3.74 ERA and 184 strikeouts over 250 innings pitched.  Those wins, strikeouts and innings pitched marks would be the highest of his professional career.  Debuting with the Orioles in 1955, Ferrarese would spend parts of the next eight seasons as a swingman for five different clubs.  His best seasons came with the Indians in 1958 (3-4, 3.71 ERA in 94 2/3 innings pitched) and with the Phillies in 1961 (5-12, 3.76 ERA, 89 strikeouts in 138 2/3 innings pitched).  He closed out his career with the Cardinals, appearing in 38 games, all in relief, in 1962. 

From the 1961 Phillies Yearbook - Second Edition

Ferrarese was 19-36 lifetime in 183 major league games, with a 4.00 ERA and 350 strikeouts over 506 2/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set
December 25, 2003 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #246
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 / Orioles Team Set
Ferrarese's rookie card can be found in the 1955 Topps set, and it uses the same main photo as this card.  A "2" can be seen on the back of his jersey in the action shot, but according to his Baseball Reference page, Ferrarese wore #46, #39 and #37 during his Orioles career.  The first two cartoons on the back of the card highlight his minor league career, and the final panel predicts Ferrarese will "help the Orioles move up to the first division in '56."  That didn't quite happen, as Paul Richards' club improved over its 1955 record, but still finished with a 69-85 record.

1956 Season

Ferrarese spent all of 1956 on the Orioles' pitching staff, his first professional season that didn't include a minor league stint.  In 36 games, including 14 starts, he was 4-10 with a 5.03 ERA in 102 innings pitched.  The Orioles finished in sixth place in the American League, and Ferrarese was one of several innings-eaters on their staff.  Seven different Orioles pitchers threw at least 100 innings that season.

Phillies Career
On April 1, 1961, the White Sox sold Ferrarese to the Phillies.  As mentioned above, this was one of his best big league seasons, despite the 5-12 record.  Behind Art Mahaffey, Ferrarese was the best performing pitcher on the team's staff, as Gene Mauch's Phillies lost a near franchise-record 107 games.  Only the 1928 Phillies and three teams from the 1940s lost more than that.  The bullpen was used frequently during the season, with Frank Sullivan (#71), Ferrarese and Dallas Green seeing the most action.  Ferrarese began the 1962 season in the Phillies bullpen, but after five appearances was dealt to the Cardinals for pitcher Bobby Locke on April 28th.  In 47 games with the Phillies, including 14 starts, he was 5-13 with a 3.96 ERA.

He appeared in the 1961 Topps set as a member of the Phillies.  His 1962 Topps card shows him wearing a Phillies jersey, but with his new team designation, the Cardinals.

1955 Topps #185

1957 Topps #146

1959 Topps #247

1961 Topps #558

1962 Topps #547

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #185
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1955-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #547

19 - Ferrarese non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/14/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Phillies Room

The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #265 Sandy Consuegra - Chicago White Sox / #267 Bob Nieman - Chicago White Sox

Order Collected: #232 "Toby" Atwell - Pittsburgh Pirates / #278 Chet Nichols - Milwaukee Braves

#231 Bob Hale - Baltimore Orioles

Robert Houston Hale
Baltimore Orioles
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  195
Born:  November 7, 1933, Sarasota, FL
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1955-1959; Cleveland Indians 1960-1961; New York Yankees 1961

Died:  September 8, 2012, Park Ridge, IL (age 78)

Most of Bob Hale's seven seasons in the majors were spent as a pinch-hitter, with 278 pinch-hitting appearances over 376 career games.  Hale's best seasons came in the minor leagues, and he drove in at least 100 runs in 1953 and 1954 while playing for the Browns' and then Orioles' top farm teams.  He earned a promotion to the Orioles in 1955 after hitting .355 in half of a season with the York White Roses of the Piedmont League.  Hale batted .357 over the second half of the 1955 season following his July debut with Baltimore, driving in a career-high 29 runs.  He'd return to Baltimore in 1956, making 41 starts at first base and pinch-hitting in 44 games.  Between 1957 and 1961, Hale would make only nine starts total in the field, and in 1960 he was used exclusively as a pinch-hitter in 70 games by the Indians.

His last big league action came in 1961 with the pennant winning Yankees, and while he was on the team's World Series roster, he didn't appear in any games.  He was on the bench as the Yankees defeated the Reds in five games.  Hale's final game in the majors had come on October 1, 1961, the game in which Roger Maris hit his 61st home run of the season.  Hale batted .273 with 171 hits, a pair of home runs and 89 RBIs.  As a pinch-hitter, he was a career .247 (62 for 251) batter.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #28
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 Early Wynn (#187) post, back in January.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this Hale card is the tenth of 16 from series three.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
This is Hale's rookie card, and he'd appear in four more Topps flagship sets up until 1961.  The cartoons on the back highlight his joining the Orioles and his success in the minor leagues in 1954.  The final panel notes his ability to also play the outfield, but in his entire big league career he either played first base or pinch hit, with nary an outfield appearance.

1956 Season

Hale appeared in 85 games for the sixth place Orioles, batting .237 overall and making 41 starts at first base.  He was third on the team's depth chart at the position behind Bob Boyd and regular catcher Gus Triandos (#80).  Somehow he found himself appearing in 23 games for the Montreal Royals, then the top International League affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers.  With the Royals, Hale batted .304 with 11 RBIs.

1957 Topps #406

1959 Topps #507

1960 Topps #309

1961 Topps #532

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #231
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1956-1957, 1959-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2010 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-BHA

21 - Hale non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/27/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #230 "Chico" Carrasquel - Cleveland Indians / #232 "Toby" Atwell - Pittsburgh Pirates

Order Collected: #222 Dave Philley - Baltimore Orioles / #238 Walt Dropo - Chicago White Sox