Showing posts with label Blue-Red. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blue-Red. Show all posts

Sunday, August 20, 2023

#259 Sam Jones - Chicago Cubs


Samuel Jones
Chicago Cubs
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  192
Born:  December 4, 1925, Stewartsville, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Buckeyes 1947-1948; Cleveland Indians 1951-1952; Chicago Cubs 1955-1956; St. Louis Cardinals 1957-1958; San Francisco Giants 1959-1961; Detroit Tigers 1962; St. Louis Cardinals 1963; Baltimore Orioles 1964
Died:  November 5, 1971, Morgantown, WV (age 45)

On the strength of one of the better curve balls of his era, Sam Jones pitched in 14 big league seasons, earning spots on two All-Star teams and winning 21 games in 1959.  Jones first pitched professionally in the Negro Leagues before briefly joining the Indians in 1951 and 1952.  On May 3, 1952, with catcher Quincy Trouppe behind the plate, Jones and Trouppe became the first African American battery in major league history.  Prior to the 1955 season, Jones was dealt to the Cubs in exchange for Ralph Kiner.  Jones would pitch a no-hitter on May 12, 1955 against the Pirates, again making history as the first African American to throw a no-hitter.  He'd lead the league with 198 strikeouts that season, a feat he'd repeat in 1956 (176) and 1958 (225).

Jones' career year came in 1959 with the Giants when he was 21-15 with a league leading 2.83 ERA with 16 complete games and four shutouts.  He'd finish in second place in the Cy Young voting that season behind Early Wynn (#187).  Jones last pitched in the majors in 1964, but he'd pitch three more seasons for the Pirates' top farm team in Columbus before retiring following the 1967 season.  In 322 games after his Negro League career, Jones was 102-101 with a 3.59 ERA with 76 complete games, 17 shutouts and 1,376 strikeouts over 1,643 1/3 innings pitched.

July 21, 2007
Building the Set
July 21, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #300
Our first son Doug was born in December 2006, and this happy event led directly to my Dad visiting us on a more regular basis.  Dad was living by himself at this point in Mays Landing, New Jersey and he didn't enjoy the 40 minute drive north to our house.  Among all the very positive memories I have of my Dad, one of my few negative memories is the fact he absolutely seemed to loathe driving and that loathing increased exponentially if there was traffic or if it were dark.  But he made the trips anyway, sometimes staying no more than an hour, because he was so incredibly anxious and excited to spend time with his grandson.

By the time his second grandson (Ben) was born in April 2010, my Dad's health had started to fail and whatever visits we had were pre-arranged or consisted of us visiting him.  Which is why these visits during Doug's infancy and first few years are so special to me.  My Dad would show up usually unannounced, ecstatic to see Doug, there would be some small talk and we'd complain about the Phillies, and then he'd leave.  But on his way out, he'd always say he'd see us again in a few days and I'd look forward to these visits.

This background is needed to better explain how this Jones card came into our set.  In 2007, My Dad's days mostly consisted of an occasional round of golf, calls and visits to his kids - my sister and me, watching cable news, an afternoon nap and scouring eBay.  Most (but not all) of his eBay purchases benefitted me in the form of 1956 Topps cards we needed for our set.  He'd show up at our house for a visit with Doug and nonchalantly hand me one of his recent purchases.  He brought this Jones card, by itself, on July 21, 2007.  From pictures at the time, this was a sunny day we spent in the shade of our back yard.

Throughout 2007, I suspect he had a backlog of purchased 1956 Topps cards piled up on his desk at his house, and he'd grab one or two to deliver to me as he was heading out the door to make the 40 minute drive to visit Doug.

The Card / Cubs Team Set
Jones was absent from all baseball card sets in 1954 and 1955, and this marks his return to Topps for the first time since 1953.  The back of the card covers all the highlights of his career to date, including his league-leading strikeout effort and his 1955 no-hitter.

1956 Season
Jones had an off year and while he lead the league in strikeouts, he also led the league in walks with 115.  He was 9-14 with a 3.91 ERA for the eighth place Cubs, with only Bob Rush (#214) making more starts than Jones.  On December 11th, Jones, Jim Davis (#102), Hobie Landrith (#314) and Eddie Miksis (#285) were traded to the Cardinals for Wally Lammers, Jackie Callum, Ray Katt and Tom Poholsky (#196).

1952 Topps #382
1957 Topps #287
1959 Topps #75
1961 Topps #555
1962 Topps #92

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #382
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1952-1953, 1956-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2008 Topps Heritage Then & Now High Numbers #TN10

46 - Jones non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/20/23.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Saturday, February 18, 2023

#239 Harry Simpson - Kansas City Athletics


Harry Leon Simpson
Kansas City Athletics
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  December 3, 1925, Atlanta, GA
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Stars 1946-1948; Cleveland Indians 1951-1953, 1955; Kansas City Athletics 1955-1957; New York Yankees 1957-1958; Kansas City Athletics 1958-1959; Chicago White Sox 1959; Pittsburgh Pirates 1959
Died:  April 3, 1979, Akron, OH (age 53)

Harry Simpson began his professional baseball career with the Philadelphia Stars in the Negro National League, playing three seasons between 1946 and 1948.  The Indians signed him before the 1949 season and he was one of the earliest black players in the American League when he made his debut in April 1951.  Simpson appeared in a career-high 146 games for the Indians in 1952 as their regular right fielder, batting .266 with 10 home runs and 65 RBIs.  He was sold to the Athletics in May 1955 and he'd enjoy the best stretch of his career between 1956 and 1958.  In 1956, Simpson would experience his best professional season, making his only All-Star Team on the strength of his first half with the Athletics.  He'd lead the league with 11 triples while batting .293 with 21 home runs and 105 RBIs - both career bests.  In June 1957, Simpson would depart Kansas City and move to New York in the deal that exiled Billy Martin (#181), Ralph Terry and a few other players from the Yankees following a nightclub brawl.  With the Yankees, Simpson couldn't recapture his success from 1956 and he was traded back to the Athletics exactly a year later in June 1958.

Simpson played for three different teams in 1959, his final year in the major leagues.  He'd continue to play in the White Sox minor league system, then in Mexico, through the 1964 season, retiring at the age of 38.  In nine seasons in the majors, Simpson appeared in 888 games, batting .266 with 101 doubles, 41 triples, 73 home runs and 381 RBIs.

Building the Set
September 25, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #267
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 $4 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 / Athletics Team Set
I'm immediately drawn to the action photo here, as it shows Simpson in his follow-through after connecting with the ball in a game that could be in Yankee Stadium with Yogi Berra (#110) making yet another cameo appearance.  A lot of the "action" shots in the 1956 Topps set are posed, or feature game action on the base paths where the outcome is hard to discern.  This is one of more dynamic action photos in the set with batter, catcher, umpire and a sea of fans in the background.  If that is in fact Berra, it would mark his ninth cameo, so far, in the set.  He's potentially on the cards of Bob Kennedy (#38), Sandy Amoros (#42), Roy Campanella (#101), Jim Piersall (#143), Clint Courtney (#159), Billy Pierce (#160), Sammy White (#168) and Carl Furillo (#190).  I'll need to put together a gallery of Berra cameo cards once I've reached the end of the set.

This marks Simpson's return to baseball cards, as he wasn't in any 1954 or 1955 mainstream sets.  He spent all of 1954 in the minor leagues and was omitted from both Bowman and Topps sets in 1955, despite  playing in 112 games for the Athletics.

1956 Season
As mentioned above, this was Simpson's career year.  He was the regular right fielder for the Athletics, on their way to a 102 loss season and guided by manager Lou Boudreau.  In the All-Star Game, Simpson pinch-hit for pitcher Pierce in the third inning, striking out against Pirates' pitcher Bob Friend (#221).

1952 Topps #193
1953 Topps #150
1957 Topps #225
1958 Topps #299
1960 Topps #180

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Bowman #223
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1952-1953, 1956-1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #150

34 - Simpson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/18/23.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Friday, December 16, 2022

#230 "Chico" Carrasquel - Cleveland Indians


Alfonso Carrasquel
Cleveland Indians
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  170
Born:  January 23, 1926, Caracas, Venezuela
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1950-1955; Cleveland Indians 1956-1958; Kansas City Athletics 1958; Baltimore Orioles 1959
Died:  May 26, 2005, Caracas, Venezuela (age 79)

Chico Carrasquel was the first of a long line of successful Venezuelan-born shortstops in the major leagues, paving the way for Luis Aparicio (#292), Davey Concepcion and Omar Vizquel, among many others.  He batted a career high .282 in his rookie season of 1950, finishing third in the Rookie of the Year voting.  Carrasquel was a four-time All-Star with the White Sox in the early 1950s, and in 1951 he was the first Latin American player to start an All-Star Game, beating out reigning MVP Phil Rizzuto in fan voting to earn the starting spot at shortstop.  His best year came in 1954 when he set career highs for home runs (12), RBIs (62), hits (158) and runs (106) while leading all shortstops in fielding percentage for the third time.  With Aparicio waiting in the wings for the White Sox, Carrasquel, along with Jim Busby (#330), was traded to the Indians on October 25, 1955 for Larry Doby (#250).

After four more seasons with the Indians, Athletics and Orioles, Carrasquel retired as a player, at least in the major leagues, following the 1959 season.  He had accumulated 1,199 hits while batting .258, and his career games at shortstop, double plays turned, assists and putouts all currently rank within the top 100 all-time.  Carrasquel returned to Venezuela where he continued to play through the 1967 season.  He'd later manage the Leones del Caracas to the 1982 Caribbean Series title.  Carrasquel would also spend time as a scout for the Royals and Mets, and providing Spanish language color commentary for White Sox broadcasts.  In 2003, he was inducted with the inaugural class of the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Building the Set
December 4, 1999 in Raleigh, NC - Card #191
This is one of four cards I acquired at the "Holiday Sports Classic" baseball card show held in Raleigh in late 1999.  I paid $10 for the Cubs team card (#11) and another $5 for three commons - this Carrasquel card, Norm Zauchin (#89) and Alvin Dark (#148).  Given the timing of this show right before the holidays, I would have attended by myself but I most likely called my Dad back in Millville, New Jersey to update him on my purchases later that day.

From the notes I took on the flyer shown here, I didn't have much of a budget for this show as I spent $15 for the four cards for our 1956 Topps set and a whopping $6.30 for five cards for my 1972 Topps set.  It's also interesting to look back at this flyer and remember how bonkers the Beanie Baby craze was in the late 1990s.

The Card / Indians Team Set
Topps swapped out a White Sox logo for an Indians logo on Carrasquel's hat, and he wore #17 with both teams.  He was absent from Topps sets between 1953 and 1955, making his return here after appearing exclusively on Bowman cards.  The cartoon panels on the back rightfully highlight his excellent defensive skills, and his quick ascent to the majors.

1956 Season
In his first season with the Indians, Carrasquel was the team's opening day shortstop and started 135 games overall at the position.  On April 26th, he had a career-high seven RBIs against the Athletics and on August 27th he had a two home run outing, his only multi-home run game in the majors.  The Indians double play combination of Carrasquel and Bobby Avila (#132) were solid in the field, but light-hitting at the plate with Carrasquel batting .243 and Avila batting .224.  But Carrasquel's .967 fielding percentage was second in the league behind Harvey Kuenn (#155).

1951 Bowman #60
1952 Topps #251
1953 Bowman Color #54
1957 Topps #67
1959 Topps #264

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #60
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1951-1952, 1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Legends #L5

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

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Friday, March 4, 2022

#192 "Smoky" Burgess - Cincinnati Redlegs


Forrest Harrill Burgess
Cincinnati Redlegs
Catcher


Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'8"  Weight:  185
Born:  February 6, 1927, Caroleen, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1949, 1951; Philadelphia Phillies 1952-1955; Cincinnati Reds 1955-1958; Pittsburgh Pirates 1959-1964; Chicago White Sox 1964-1967
Died:  September 15, 1991, Asheville, NC (age 64)

Smoky Burgess played for 18 seasons in the majors as a catcher and later as one of the game's top pinch-hitters.  A nine-time All-Star, Burgess was a fine defensive catcher, leading the league in fielding percentage at the position in 1953, 1960 and 1961.  He enjoyed productive seasons early in his career with the Phillies, making his first All-Star team in 1954 and hitting a lofty .368 for the season.  That mark would have given him the National League batting title, but he didn't have enough at-bats to qualify.  Burgess is perhaps best remembered for his time in Pittsburgh and as the primary backstop for the Pirates team that won the World Series in 1960.  He batted .333 in that World Series and the season before, on May 26, 1959, Burgess was behind the plate when Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix (#77) took a perfect game into the 13th inning.  Later in his career as a prolific pinch-hitter, Burgess set the record for most pinch-hits in the game's history with 145.  His mark was ultimately broken in 1979 by Manny Mota and Lenny Harris holds the record today with 212.

Burgess played in 1,691 games, batting .295 while accumulating 1,318 hits, 230 doubles, 126 home runs and 673 RBIs.  He was a long-time scout and minor league batting instructor for the Braves following his playing days.  Burgess was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1975.

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

January 28, 2006 - Celebrating Dad's 62nd birthday
Building the Set
December 3, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #273
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. 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 / Redlegs Team Set
Burgess returned to Topps in 1956 after a two-year absence and only appearing on Bowman cards.  As I've done with several other cards, I've tried to find the date of the action photo featured.  My best guess is that Burgess is sliding into second base and that's Pirates' infielder Dick Cole, who wore #12 between 1951 and 1956.  There are four games in 1955 in which Burgess reached based against the Pirates with Cole playing either second base or shortstop.  Based on the Baseball Reference game finder tools, I think this play happened on June 4, 1955 at Forbes Field with Cole at second base.  Burgess doubled to lead off the fifth, and I imagine this photo shows the aftermath of his safe slide into the base.  The back of the card refers to him as "Smokey" three different times, misspelling his "Smoky" nickname.  (I've been guilty of this many times in the past too.)

1956 Season
This was Burgess' second full season with the Reds, and while he was the club's opening day catcher, he settled into a back-up role to Ed Bailey.  Bailey started 102 games to Burgess' 53.  In 90 games total, Burgess batted .275 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs.  On September 29th, the penultimate game of the season, the Reds needed one more home run to tie the then single-season record for home runs by one team.  Manager Birdie Tebbetts called on Burgess to pinch-hit in the eighth inning with the instruction, "Home run or nothing."  Burgess obliged, hitting a home run off the Cubs' Sam Jones (#259).  The Reds finished the season with a record 221 home runs, since broken many times since then.

Phillies Career
The Phillies acquired Burgess from the Reds with Howie Fox and Connie Ryan on December 10, 1951 for Andy Seminick (#296), Niles Jordan, Eddie Pellagrini and Dick Sisler.  The trade marked the beginning of the end of the Whiz Kids era with Seminick and Sisler heading to Cincinnati.  Burgess was the team's opening day catcher in 1952 and 1953, but was steadily losing playing time to Stan Lopata (#183) in what had started as a platoon.  With Lopata ultimately replacing Burgess as the regular behind the plate, Burgess was sent back to the Reds on April 30, 1955, with Seminick ironically coming back to the Phillies.  Stan Palys and Steve Ridzik went to the Reds with Burgess, with Glen Gorbous (#174) and Jim Greengrass (#275) coming to Philly with Seminick.

Burgess was an All-Star for the Phillies in 1954 and in three-plus seasons with the club he batted .316 over 327 games with 15 home runs and 139 RBIs.

1951 Bowman #317
1952 Topps #357
1957 Topps #228
1960 Topps #393
1967 Topps #506

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #317
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1952-1953, 1956-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2007 SP Legendary Cuts #97

111 - Burgess non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/4/22.

 Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Friday, January 1, 2021

#130 Willie Mays - New York Giants


Willie Howard Mays
New York Giants
Outfield


Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  170
Born:  May 6, 1931, Westfield, AL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent, June 20, 1950
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1951-1952, 1954-1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1972; New York Mets 1972-1973
Hall of Fame Induction:  1979

1959 Topps #464
In many ways, these posts covering the cards of well-known Hall of Famers are much harder to compose than the posts for the cards of short-time, little known players.  What could I possibly write here about Willie Mays, the "Say Hey Kid," that hasn't already been written or that properly pays tribute to one of the greatest baseball players of all time?

The first line of Mays' Hall of Fame plaque sums up his career fairly well:  "One of baseball's most colorful and exciting stars, excelled in all phases of the game."  Mays was the 1951 Rookie of the Year, the National League's MVP in 1954 and 1965, a 24-time All-Star (a record), a 12-time Gold Glove winner, and the batting champ in 1954, the same season he led the Giants to their first World Series title since 1933.  His Baseball Reference WAR of 156.2 is third all-time for position players behind his godson Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth.  Upon his retirement, he ranked third all-time in home runs (660), runs (2,062) and total bases (6,066).  Mays' #24 was retired by the Giants in 1972, and the World Series MVP trophy was renamed for him in 2017.

He played the game with joyful abandon, and I would have loved to have seen him play live.  This is the perfect card to kick off my 2021 series of posts of cards from the 1956 Topps set, my sixth active year with this blog, and what I hope is a healthy, happy and joyful year for anyone reading this.

Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #12
One of the Original 44, I recently re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post.  Given how many times I handled those 44 cards throughout the 1980s, it's amazing this card is still in the great shape it's in.

At some point in August 1987 before we purchased the first four cards to compliment the Original 44, I set about chronicling all the baseball cards in my growing collection that I considered to be "Oldies," or cards released between 1950 and 1969.  The list here (front and back) shows the result of this enjoyable summer exercise with this Mays card as the most expensive card in my collection at the time with a book price of $75.  This was followed in price by the 1966 Topps Mickey Mantle card, which will one day serve as the cornerstone of a 1966 Topps set I plan on completing, the 1956 Topps Yankees team card (#251) and the 1967 Topps Steve Carlton card.

This Mays card was (and still is) considered to be one of my most valuable treasures, and I couldn't believe then such a card had found its way into my collection.

The Card / Giants Team Set
Maybe this has been researched somewhere more thoroughly, but I can only assume the catcher in the photo is a Phillies catcher, and I'll further assume the play took place in early 1955.  Given the "Giants" across Mays' jersey, this would have been during a home game and the first instance of Mays scoring in what could have been a close play at the plate against the Phillies came in game two of a double header on April 17, 1955.  In the fourth inning, Mays scored on a Monte Irvin (#194) sacrifice fly with Phillies catcher Smoky Burgess (#192) behind the plate.  The large head shot photo of Mays was also used on his 1954 and 1955 Topps cards.  

The cartoon panels on the back of the card neatly summarize Mays' offensive and defensive prowess.  This card was reprinted in 1997 in three different sets - 1997 Topps Willie Mays Reprints, Reprints Finest and Reprints Finest Refractors.

1956 Season
Mays appeared in 152 games for the Giants, starting all but four of their games in center field.  The two players to receive starts in center for the Giants in 1956 other than Mays were Jackie Brandt with 3 games and Whitey Lockman (#205) with 1 game.  Mays nearly won the team's triple crown, leading with 36 home runs and 84 RBIs, but his .296 average fell a few points short of Brandt's .299.  Mays' 40 stolen bases led the league and started a streak in which he'd lead the league four seasons in a row.  On May 6th, his 25th birthday, he stole four bases against the Cardinals.  To go along with his power and his defense, Mays added speed on the base paths to his tool box, bringing back the stolen base as an offensive weapon for the first time since the days of Ty Cobb. 

Mays went 1 for 3 in the All-Star Game, hitting a home run off Whitey Ford (#240) in the fourth inning.

1951 Bowman #305
1954 Topps #90
1961 Topps #579
1965 Topps #250
1973 Topps #305

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #305
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25):  1952-1975, 1986
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Archives #297

So far within the 1956 Topps set, only Hank Aaron (#31) has appeared in more Topps flagship sets than Mays, with 28.  Roberto Clemente (#33) and Chuck Tanner (#69) have both appeared in 23.

2,088 - Mays non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/29/20.

 Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Posted by at 3 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)