#320 Joe Adcock - Milwaukee Braves

Joseph Wilbur Adcock
Milwaukee Braves
First Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  210
Born:  October 30, 1927, Coushatta, LA
Signed:  Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1950-52; Milwaukee Braves 1953-62; Cleveland Indians 1963; Los Angeles Angels 1964; California Angels 1965-66

As a Manager:  Cleveland Indians 1967

Died:  May 3, 1999, Coushatta, LA (age 71)

Blocked at first base by slugger Ted Kluszewski (#25), the Reds tried moving Joe Adcock to left field for the first three seasons of his career.  Adcock was steady at the plate during those years, but wanting to play regularly at first base, he requested and was granted a trade to the Braves.  He'd play ten seasons in Milwaukee, helping the club to National League pennants in 1957 and 1958, and the World Series title in 1958.  Adcock's best season came in 1956 when he batted .291 while reaching career highs in home runs (38) and RBIs (103).  With Henry Aaron (#31) and Eddie Mathews (#107) in the line-up, Adcock was often overlooked, but in his decade with the Braves, he clubbed 239 home runs and drove in 760 runs, hitting at least 20 home runs in six seasons.  On July 31, 1954, he hit four home runs, off four different pitchers, in one game against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field.  Adcock was an All-Star in 1960.

Dealt to the Indians following the 1962 season, Adcock played four more years in the majors.  He'd have a late career resurgence with the early Angels teams, connecting for 18 home runs in his final season in 1966.  Adcock managed the Indians for one season in 1967, with the team finishing in eighth place with a 75-87 record.  In 1,959 games, Adcock batted .277 with 1,832 hits, 336 home runs and 1,122 RBIs.  He's still in the top 100 for many fielding categories for first basemen.  In 2022, Adcock was posthumously inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame.

Building the Set
Sometime in 1998, no record of purchase - Card #174
This is the fourth and final card in our set that appeared with no record of how or when we acquired it.  Adcock joins the quartet of Joe Astroth (#106), Robin Roberts (#180) and Max Surkont (#209) as the sadly undocumented additions to our collection.  Based on checklists from the time, it looks as if the card was added at some point in 1998, as checklists from 1998 show the card as being needed, while checklists from 1999 and later show the card crossed out.

I entered the work force in the fall of 1997, and 1998 would have been my first full year as a newly hired associate at the biggest accounting firm in the world, Arthur Andersen.  (Some would say the firm was too big to ever fail.)  I would have still been working in Philadelphia at that time, at least through the summer, and likely working anywhere from 50 to 80 hours a week, as was the expectation back then.  Still, it's a little frustrating to have no idea when or how we added this Adcock card to our set, especially as it's in such great shape.

The Card / Braves Team Set
This card marks Adcock's return to Topps sets, as he had appeared exclusively in Bowman sets since 1953.  He wore #9 with the Braves, so the action shot is definitely the slugger crossing home plate.  I was actually able to find the photo from Getty Images, and this is the original caption:  "Milwaukee's Joe Adcock, who got himself into the record books by hitting four homers in yesterday's game against the Dodgers, is shown scoring from second on Johnny Logan's (#136) pop single into left field in today's game at Ebbets Field. Adcock was carried off the field on a stretcher in the fourth inning after being hit in the head by a pitched ball thrown by Clem Labine (#295)."  A quick check of Baseball Reference shows this photo would have been from the Braves-Dodgers game on August 1, 1954.  Braves' pitcher Gene Conley (#17) would plunk Duke Snider (#150) in the fourth inning, and the Braves would have the last laugh, winning the game, 14-6.

The cartoons on the back summarize Adcock missing time in 1955 with a broken arm, and highlight his four home run game agains the Dodgers, along with the home run he hit into the bleachers at the Polo Grounds.  That Polo Grounds home run was his first with the Braves, on April 29, 1953.  Topps reprinted the card in its 2002 Topps Archives set.

1956 Season

As mentioned above, this was Adcock's best season in the majors.  He played in 137 games, making 129 starts at first base, batting second in the line-up for most games.  He finished second in the league in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage with a .597 mark.  Adcock led all first baseman with a .995 fielding percentage, the first of four times in his career he'd lead the league in that category.

1951 Bowman #323

1952 Topps #347

1958 Topps #325

1962 Topps #265

1967 Topps #563

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #323
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1952, 1956-63, 1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2007 SP Legendary Cuts #42

133 - Adcock non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/8/25.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #319 Jack Crimian - Kansas City Athletics / #321 Jim Konstanty - New York Yankees

Order Collected: #145 Gil Hodges - Brooklyn Dodgers / #21 Joe Collins - New York Yankees

#312 Andy Pafko - Milwaukee Braves

Andrew Pakfo
Milwaukee Braves
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  February 25, 1921, Boyceville, WI
Acquired:  Purchased by the Chicago Cubs from the Green Bay Blue Sox (Wisconsin State) for $1,000, November 1941
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1943-51; Brooklyn Dodgers 1951-52; Milwaukee Braves 1953-59

Died:  October 8, 2013, Bridgman, MI (age 92)

Andy Pafko was a veteran of 17 big league seasons, enjoying four straight All-Star seasons with the Cubs between 1947 and 1950, and playing in four different World Series with the Cubs, Dodgers and Braves.  Pafko had his best years with the Cubs and saw his first World Series action with the club in 1945.  He batted .300 and averaged 23 home runs and 82 RBIs per season during his four seasons as an All-Star.  Pafko drove in at least 100 runs in 1945 and 1948.  Dealt to Brooklyn as part of a eight-player trade in June 1951, perhaps Pafko's most memorable moments with the Dodgers were being the left fielder when the Giants' Bobby Thomson (#257) hit his "Shot Heard 'Round the World," and for earning the spot as card #1 in the iconic 1952 Topps set.

After a year and a half with the Dodgers, Pafko was traded to his home-state Braves, where he'd play the remaining seven seasons of his big league career.  A fan favorite, he helped guide the Braves to the World Series in 1957 and 1958, with his club winning over the Yankees in seven games in 1957.  Pafko batted .285 for his career, with 1,796 hits, 213 home runs and 976 RBIs.  He served as a coach for the Braves between 1960 and 1962, and briefly managed in their minor league system.  Pafko was among the many inaugural members inducted into the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame in 2021.

January 27, 2007 - Celebrating the 63rd

Building the Set
February 7, 2007 in Voorhees, NJ - Card #294
This is one of six cards I purchased at the Echelon Mall Baseball Card show in February 2007, spending $70 total, including $7.50 on this Pafko card.  At the time, Doug was a few days away from turning two months old and we had just celebrated my Dad's 63rd birthday a few weeks earlier.

I think my wife Jenna had been out shopping on this day when she texted (or called) me to let me know there was a baseball card show being held at what used to be the Echelon Mall.  The former mall has since been converted as part of the Voorhees Town Center.

The Card / Braves Team Set
Pafko was absent from the 1955 Topps set, and this marks his return to the brand after a one year absence.  That's likely him sliding head first into home plate, as he wore #48 with the Braves and the number eight is clearly visible on the runner's back.  It looks as if the catcher is a Pirate, given the "P" on his hat and dark uniform coloring.  The cartoons on the back summarize his career highlights, including his proclivity for power, his successful 1948 season and his role helping the Dodgers win the pennant in 1952.

1956 Season

Now a veteran at 35 years old, Pafko settled into a back-up role for the Braves, appearing in 45 games and making only 21 outfield starts throughout the season.  He batted .258 with a pair of home runs and nine RBIs.

1949 Bowman #63

1951 Bowman #103

1952 Topps #1

1957 Topps #143

1959 Topps #27

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1948-49 Leaf #125
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1951-52, 1954, 1956-60
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2003 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #RO-AP

123 - Pafko non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/1/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #311 Hal Naragon - Cleveland Indians / #313 Gene Stephens - Boston Red Sox

Order Collected: #227 Russ Meyer - Chicago Cubs / 2nd / 4th Series Checklist

#294 Ernie Johnson - Milwaukee Braves

Ernest Thorwald Johnson
Milwaukee Braves
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  190
Born:  June 16, 1924, Brattleboro, VT
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent before 1942 season
Major League Teams:  Boston Braves 1950, 1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953-1958; Baltimore Orioles 1959

Died:  August 12, 2011, Cumming, GA (age 87)

Ernie Johnson pitched in nine major league seasons, mostly with the Braves, before enjoying a second career as a longtime broadcaster also with the Braves.  Johnson was used mostly in relief by Boston/Milwaukee, and he earned a regular spot in the team's bullpen in 1952.  His best season statistically came in 1954 when Johnson was 5-2 with a 2.81 ERA in 40 appearances, pitching in a career-high 99 1/3 innings.  Johnson was a member of the World Champion Braves team in 1957, pitching seven innings over three games against the Yankees.  He surrendered a go-ahead, seventh inning home run to Hank Bauer (#177) in Game 6,  forcing a Game 7.  Lew Burdette (#219) would shut out the Yankees in Game 7 to clinch the Series for the Braves.

Johnson's last action in the majors came in 1959 with the Orioles, and he was 40-23 lifetime with a 3.77 ERA in 273 games pitched.  He served as a broadcaster for the Braves between 1962 and 1999 and was inducted into the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame in 2001.  The Braves' broadcast booth at their current home at Truist Park bears Johnson's name.  His son, Ernie Johnson, Jr., is also a long-time broadcaster and is the current lead host of Inside the NBA.

Building the Set

May 20, 1989 in Sea Isle City, NJ - Card #72
For 45 years, my grandparents owned a house in Sea Isle City on 37th Street.  As a result of the Storm of 1962, which wiped out the block of houses in front of them, their house became beach front property until the construction of the Spinnaker Condominiums in 1972.  We were lucky enough to spend most of our summers in Sea Isle, and the five-minute walk to the beach was accomplished by climbing up a ramp in back of the Spinnaker, crossing over the concrete promenade and walking down a few steps to the sand.

For several years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was a complete dive of a snack shop called Joe's Sno-Cone located in the Spinnaker at the top of that ramp.  The menu at Joe's was limited to the usual beach fare - hot dogs, soft pretzels, bags of chips, candy and yes, snow cones.  During a visit to Joe's on the weekend before Memorial Day in 1989, I noticed the shop's owner (Joe presumably) had set up a small display of baseball cards for sale.  This Johnson card was available for $3 and another 1956 Topps card, Bobby Hofman (#28), was also available for $3.  I purchased both cards and most likely added a cherry snow cone to my order before heading next door to the arcade to drop several quarters into the Rolling Thunder game.

The Card / Braves Team Set
This is Johnson's first Topps card, as he was exclusive to Bowman in 1954 and 1955.  The back of the card reveals Johnson has a sidearm pitching motion, and contains a typical for the times representation of his success as a Braves pitcher in the final cartoon panel.

1956 Season

Johnson appeared in 36 games for the Braves, all in relief, and was 4-3 with a 3.71 ERA.  He led the second place Braves' club in relief appearances, and was second on the team, behind Dave Jolly, with five saves.

1954 Bowman #144

1955 Bowman #157

1957 Topps #333

1958 Topps #78

1959 Topps #279

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1954 Bowman #144
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1956-1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #228

29 - Johnson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/7/24.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #293 Stu Miller - St. Louis Cardinals / #295 Clem Labine - Brooklyn Dodgers

Order Collected: #28 Bobby Hofman - New York Giants / #127 Willie Jones - Philadelphia Phillies

#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

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #277 Daryl Spencer - New York Giants / #279 Johnny Groth - Kansas City Athletics

Order Collected: #266 Don Ferrarese - Brooklyn Dodgers / #281 Art Houtteman - Cleveland Indians

#272 Danny O'Connell - Milwaukee Braves

With this post, I'm officially entering the ninth year for this blog, which is almost the half-way point to the length of time it took my Dad and me to collect the whole set. If I keep up the current pace of a weekly post, every Friday, I should have this blog completed by early 2025. Real life and other projects tend to get in the way from time to time, but I'm enjoying the journey of going back through each of these cards and I appreciate you following along. Happy New Year!

 
Daniel Francis O'Connell
Milwaukee Braves
Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  168
Born:  January 21, 1929, Paterson, NJ
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1950, 1953; Milwaukee Braves 1954-1957; New York Giants 1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1959; Washington Senators 1961-1962

Died:  October 2, 1969, Clifton, NJ (age 40)

Originally signed by the Dodgers, Danny O'Connell played for four seasons in Brooklyn's minor league system before being dealt to the Pirates in October 1949.  He had a successful rookie campaign in 1950, batting .292 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs, and finishing third in the league's Rookie of the Year voting.  O'Connell would miss two full seasons while serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and when he returned he had one of his best years in the majors.  He batted .294 with a career-high 55 RBIs in 1953 for the Pirates, earning year-end MVP votes.  O'Connell was the everyday second baseman for the Braves between 1954 and 1956, and he'd finish in the top five in fielding percentage among National League second baseman five years in a row between 1954 and 1958.

On June 15, 1957, O'Connell, Ray Crone (#76) and Bobby Thomson (#257) were dealt to the New York Giants in exchange for Red Schoendienst (#165).  While Thomson would make his own history a few years later with the Giants, O'Connell is in the team's record books for scoring the first run by a major league team playing on the West Coast.  In the third inning of the inaugural game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants at Seals Stadium on April 15, 1958, O'Connell drew a walk off Dodgers' pitcher Don Drysdale and scored the first run of the game on a Jim Davenport sacrifice fly.  He'd play two seasons with the expansion Senators before retiring, leading the team in hits with 128 in 1961 and leading the league in sacrifice bunts that season with 15.  O'Connell batted .260 for his career with 1,049 hits.

Building the Set
October 3, 1999 in Raleigh, NC - Card #187

We bought this card on October 3rd at the Raleigh Sports Card Show, and it ended up being part of a birthday present to me from my Dad.  I was still living in Raleigh in late 1999, and my parents made the trip south to visit me for my birthday.  We bought 8 cards that day (that I knew about) paying $5 for six of the cards, and only $2 for the Grady Hatton (#26) and this O'Connell card.  Unbeknownst to me, my Dad also purchased the Sandy Koufax card (#79) but he squirreled that one away until Christmas morning 1999.

From the back of a checklist from this time period, my notes show we were simultaneously collecting the 1972 Topps set in 1999.

The Card / Braves Team Set
This marks O'Connell's first Topps appearance since 1953.  He wore #4 during his time with the Braves, so that might be him sliding into third base in the action photo . . . or is the runner sliding back to first base?  I'm going with that being O'Connell sliding into third base safely as Dodgers' third baseman Don Hoak (#335) takes the throw.  Hoak wore #43 with Brooklyn during the 1954 and 1955 seasons.  The cartoons on the back highlight O'Connell's infield versatility, his success while with the Pirates and his clutch hitting against the Giants in 1955.

1956 Season

In his last full season with the Braves, O'Connell was again the team's regular second baseman with Johnny Logan (#136) as his double play partner at shortstop.  O'Connell played in 139 games, batting .239 out of the Braves' lead-off spot for most of the season.

1951 Bowman #93

1953 Topps #107

1957 Topps #271

1959 Topps #87

1962 Topps #411

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #93
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1953, 1956-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #107

46 - O'Connell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/17/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #271 Foster Castleman - New York Giants / #273 Walker Cooper - St. Louis Cardinals

Order Collected: #140 Herb Score - Cleveland Indians / #11 Chicago Cubs Team Card

#257 Bobby Thomson - Milwaukee Braves

Robert Brown Thomson
Milwaukee Braves
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  180
Born:  October 25, 1923, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Signed:  Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1942 season
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1946-1953; Milwaukee Braves 1954-1957; New York Giants 1957; Chicago Cubs 1958-1959; Boston Red Sox 1960; Baltimore Orioles 1960

Died:  August 16, 2010, Savannah, GA (age 86)

Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" to win the 1951 National League pennant for his Giants team overshadowed the outfielder's three All-Star Game selections and his eight seasons hitting at least 20 home runs.  Thomson played in parts of 15 seasons in the majors, having his best years with the Giants in the late 1940s and early 1950s.  He was an All-Star in 1948, 1949 and 1952, batting a career high .309 in 1949 while also reaching his career best in RBIs with 109.  In 1951, the Giants and Dodgers finished the regular season in a tie, requiring a best of three series to determine who went to the World Series.  Thomson's famous home run came in the third game of the tied series off Dodgers' pitcher Ralph Branca, with two men on base.  The Giants would win the game 5-4, but drop the World Series to the Yankees in six games.  Thomson led the league with 14 triples in 1952 and he'd cross the 100-RBI plateau for the fourth and final time in 1953.

The popular Thomson was traded by the Giants (for the first time) to the Braves in February 1954 as part of a six-player deal.  He'd spend a few decent seasons in Milwaukee before briefly coming back to the Giants in 1957.  Thomson wouldn't move west with the Giants to San Francisco as the team traded him to the Cubs before the start of the 1958 season.  He'd play three more seasons with the Cubs, Red Sox and Orioles before retiring following a few at-bats with the Orioles in 1960.  Thomson appeared in 1,779 games, batting .270 with 264 home runs and 1,026 RBIs.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #331

I last shared this full story with the Whitey Ford (#240) 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 Thomson card was one of the final 29.  Normally, this would have been considered a marquee card to add, but some of the other cards included within that final 29 haul were Roberto Clemente (#33), Whitey Ford (#240), Pee Wee Reese (#260) and a spotless Checklist card for the 1st and 3rd Series.

The Card / Braves Team Set
Thomson had been absent from Topps sets since 1952.  The action shot is from 1955, as he had worn #34 with the club for his first two season in Milwaukee, switching to #25 in 1956.  I'm guessing that's Giants' catcher Wes Westrum (#156) behind the plate as Westrum wore #9 in 1955 and caught in 11 games against Thomson's Braves that season.  Topps has to be almost obligated to highlight Thomson's famous home run in a cartoon panel on the back of the card.  The broken ankle referenced in the last cartoon panel happened on March 13, 1954 in a spring training game against the Yankees.  Thomson was limited to 43 games that season.

1956 Season

This was Thomson's last full year with the Braves, and he was their regular left fielder, appearing in 142 games overall.  The Braves nearly won the pennant, finishing a game behind the Dodgers, with Thomson unable to provide any late season miracles as he had five years earlier.  With Bill Bruton (#185) in center and Henry Aaron (#31) in right, the Braves fielded a solid outfield.  Thomson batted .235 with 20 home runs and 74 RBIs.  His home run total was fourth on the team behind Joe Adcock (#320), Eddie Mathews (#107) and Aaron.

1949 Bowman #18

1951 Bowman #126

1952 Topps #313

1960 Topps #153

2001 Topps #379

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1948 Bowman #47
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1952, 1956-1960, 2001
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #5

265 - Thomson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/23/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #256 Tom Hurd - Boston Red Sox / #258 Art Ditmar - Kansas City Athletics

Order Collected: #248 Bob Porterfield - Boston Red Sox / #260 "Pee Wee" Reese - Brooklyn Dodgers