#254 George Crowe - Milwaukee Braves

George Daniel Crowe
Milwaukee Braves
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  210
Born:  March 22, 1921, Whiteland, IN
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent, April 28, 1949
Major League Teams:  New York Black Yankees 1947-1948; Philadelphia Stars 1948; Boston Braves 1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953, 1955; Cincinnati Reds 1956-1958; St. Louis Cardinals 1959-1961

Died:  January 18, 2011, Rancho Cordova, CA (age 89)

George Crowe began his professional baseball career with the New York Black Yankees in the Negro Leagues, with his high batting average attracting the attention of the Boston Braves.  He was an All-Star with the Black Yankees in 1948, while also playing basketball professionally in the NBL and later the ABL.  He joined the Braves in 1952, playing sparingly for the club first in Boston and then as they moved west to Milwaukee.  At the outset of the 1956 season, Crowe was dealt to the Redlegs, beginning the best stretch of his career.  Cincinnati's regular first baseman in 1957, Crowe batted .271 with 31 home runs and 92 RBIs - both marks career highs.  Crowe was an All-Star in 1958, although he wouldn't appear in the All-Star Game.  He'd spend his final three years in the majors with the Cardinals, playing mainly as a left-handed bat off the bench.  After being released in early 1961 and retiring as a player, Crowe reported to the Cardinals' Triple-A team as a player/coach.

By all accounts a hard working and well-respected athlete, Crowe should be remembered as one of the earliest and more important pioneers of integrated baseball.  His Negro League statistics are likely incomplete, but the official record shows him hitting .325 in 46 games.  He collected 467 hits in 702 major league games, batting .270 with 81 home runs and 299 RBIs.

Building the Set
September 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #305
My records show my Dad gave me this card in late September 2007, and I'd receive six more cards over the following week as actual birthday presents.  I'm not sure why my Dad pulled this Crowe card out of the pile of cards I'd receive a few days later, other than maybe he was visiting us that Friday and wanted to have something to give me.  A few days later, as my family got together to celebrate my birthday, he gave me five "star" cards - Roger Craig (#63), Bill Bruton (#185), Bob Feller (#200), Don Newcombe (#235) and Don Larsen (#332).

The Card / Braves Team Set
This card marks Crowe's first mainstream baseball card since he appeared in the 1953 Topps set, and by the time collectors were pulling this card out of packs of the 1956 Topps Series Three release, Crowe was long-gone from Milwaukee (see below).  Scanning this card for this post, I noticed for the first time one of the card's former owners had written "56" on the back at the top left of the cartoon panel.  Topps is a few years' off with Crowe's birth year, as he was actually born in 1921.

The cartoons on the back highlight his basketball prowess, and the success Crowe had found in the minor leagues.

1956 Season

On April 9th, about a week before opening day, Crowe was dealt to Cincinnati for a player to be named later and Bob Hazle.  The Braves had Frank Torre (#172) ready to go at first base, and the Redlegs needed a replacement for injured slugger Ted Kluszewski (#25).  Crowe started at first base until Kluszewski came back, and he'd start only 25 games all season at first with Kluszewski starting 130.  Crowe made 46 appearances as a pinch-hitter, batting .256 (11 for 43) with three home runs in the role.  Overall, Crowe batted .250 with 10 home runs and 23 RBIs, and his best season was on the horizon.

1952 Topps #360

1953 Topps #3

1957 Topps #73

1958 Topps #12

1961 Topps #52

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #360
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1952-1953, 1956-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #3

26 - Crowe non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/11/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #253 Irv Noren - New York Yankees / #255 Bob Lemon - Cleveland Indians

Order Collected: #315 Milt Bolling - Boston Red Sox / #249 Johnny Klippstein - Cincinnati Redlegs

#250 Larry Doby - Chicago White Sox

Lawrence Eugene Doby
Chicago White Sox
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  December 13, 1923, Camden, SC
Signed:  Signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians, July 2, 1947
Major League Teams:  Newark Eagles 1942-1944, 1946-1947; Cleveland Indians 1947-1955; Chicago White Sox 1956-1957; Cleveland Indians 1958; Detroit Tigers 1959; Chicago White Sox 1959

As a Manager:  Chicago White Sox 1978
Hall of Fame Induction:  1998

Died:  June 18, 2003, Montclair, NJ (age 79)

Larry Doby was the first African-American player in the American League and the first Black player to go directly from the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues.  A star with the Newark Eagles, he and teammate Monte Irvin (#194) helped that club with the Negro League World Series in 1946.  Upon joining the Indians in 1947, Doby spent eight and half seasons as the team's everyday centerfielder, helping Cleveland reach and win the World Series in 1948.  He was named to seven straight All-Star teams between 1949 and 1955, leading the league in RBIs with 126 in 1954, and in home runs twice in 1952 and 1954.  He was the league's MVP runner-up in 1954 behind Yogi Berra (#110), as his Indians once again reached the World Series.  Doby would finish out his career with the White Sox, a return trip to the Indians and the Tigers, making a brief comeback in 1962 with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan.

He retired with a .283 average in 1,533 games played, with 1,515 hits, 253 home runs and 970 RBIs.  Doby served as a coach with the Expos (1971-1973, 1976), Indians (1974) and White Sox (1977-1978), briefly taking over as manager of the White Sox when Bob Lemon (#255) was fired in June 1978.  He'd later work in the front office of the NBA's New Jersey Nets.  Doby had his #14 retired by the Indians in 1994, and the Veteran's Committee voted him into the Hall of Fame in 1998.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #31
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 Doby card is the 13th of 16 from series three.  Doby is one of eight Hall of Famers (or future Hall of Famers) from that Original 44 haul, along with Ed Mathews (#107), Berra, Willie Mays (#130), Red Schoendienst (#165), Early Wynn (#187) and Lemon.

The Card / White Sox Team Set
I'm a little stunned to find out, after owning this card for close to 40 years, that it's not an Indians card but a White Sox card.  Topps apparently updated the action photo of Doby to show him in a White Sox uniform, but they didn't update his hat in the portrait, which is the same photo used for his 1954 Topps card.  I've looked at this card hundreds of times and never registered the Chicago White Sox team designation on the front.  Crazy.

The back of the card highlights his trade to Chicago, his big years with Cleveland in 1952 and 1954, and his hitting for the cycle on June 4, 1952 against the Red Sox.

1956 Season

On October 25, 1955, the Indians traded Doby to the White Sox for Jim Busby (#330) and Chico Carrasquel (#230).  (Topps was able to update the hats on the Busby and Carrasquel cards to feature the Indians logo.)  Chicago acquired Doby in the hope of adding a power bat to their line-up, and Doby would hit 24 home runs and drive in 102 runs for the year.  Despite the combined offense of Doby in center field and Minnie Minoso (#125) in left, the White Sox still finished in third place, 12 games behind the Yankees.

1949 Bowman #233

1952 Topps #243

1954 Topps #70

1959 Topps #455

1974 Topps #531

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #233
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1952, 1954, 1956-1959, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Archives #276

371 - Doby non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/12/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

National Baseball Hall of Fame

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #249 Johnny Klippstein - Cincinnati Redlegs / #251 New York Yankees Team Card

Order Collected: #247 Bill Sarni - St. Louis Cardinals / #251 New York Yankees Team Card

#248 Bob Porterfield - Boston Red Sox

Erwin Cooledge Porterfield
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  August 10, 1923, Newport, VA

Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:   New York Yankees 1948-1951; Washington Senators 1951-1955; Boston Red Sox 1956--1958; Pittsburgh Pirates 1958-1959; Chicago Cubs 1959; Pittsburgh Pirates 1959

Died:  April 28, 1980, Charlotte, NC (age 56)

A veteran of a dozen big league seasons, Bob Porterfield spent his best years as a starting pitcher for the Senators in the early 1950s.  Originally drafted by the Yankees, he saw limited playing time with the club between 1948 and early 1951, making a few spot starts in between frequent trips back to the Yankees'  farm teams in Newark or Kansas City.  Porterfield would get a chance for regular pitching appearances when the Senators acquired him with Tom Ferrick and Fred Sanford in June 1951 in exchange for Bob Kuzava.  Inserted into the Senators' starting pitching rotation, Porterfield would make 138 starts over the next five seasons.  His career best year came in 1953 when he was 22-10 with a 3.35 ERA, while leading the league with 24 complete games and nine shutouts.  Porterfield finished seventh in that year's MVP voting and was named The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year.  He was named to the American League All-Stars in 1954, and while his numbers slipped, he still led the league with 21 complete games.

Porterfield was never the same following the 1954 season, which could be a result of his heavy workload while with the Senators.  Struggling with control, he had a few seasons in which his walks exceeded his strikeouts.  He was included in a nine-player trade with the Red Sox in November 1955, and he'd pitch for four more seasons with the Red Sox, Pirates (two stints), and Cubs, primarily as a reliever.  He found some late career success in 1958 with the Pirates, saving five games.  Porterfield had an 87-97 lifetime record with a 3.79 ERA in 318 games pitched, and he was posthumously inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

December 24, 2007 - Dad and Doug

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #330

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 Porterfield card was one of the final 29.

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
Porterfield appeared exclusively with Bowman in 1954 and 1955, and this marks his return to Topps.  Maybe Topps had time to get new photos of the pitcher in a Red Sox uniform, but he's more likely wearing Senators gear here and the Topps' artists went to work to switch him over to the Red Sox.  The cartoons on the back highlight his acquisition from the Senators, his career year of 1953 and also mentions the injuries that hampered him during 1954 and 1955.

Porterfield's full name is on display on the back, and per his SABR biography, "Erwin's father began calling him 'Bob' when he was 6, for reasons unknown."

1956 Season

Porterfield had a forgettable 1956 season with his new club, going 3-12 with a 5.14 ERA in 25 games, including 18 starts.  He missed time with a sprained ankle and a circulatory problem that caused several fingers in his pitching hand to go numb.  In 126 innings pitched, Porterfield walked 64 and struck out 53.

1949 Bowman #3

1950 Bowman #216

1953 Topps #108

1957 Topps #118

1959 Topps #181

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #3
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1952-1953, 1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #108

39 - Porterfield non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/30/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #247 Bill Sarni - St. Louis Cardinals / #249 Johnny Klippstein - Cincinnati Redlegs

Order Collected: #240 "Whitey" Ford - New York Yankees / #257 Bobby Thomson - Milwaukee Braves

#246 Tom Gorman - Kansas City Athletics

Thomas Aloysius Gorman
Kansas City Athletics
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  190
Born:  January 4, 1925, New York, NY
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1952-1954; Kansas City Athletics 1955-1959

Died:  December 26, 1992, Valley Stream, NY (age 67)

Tom Gorman pitched in parts of eight seasons in the major leagues, winning World Series rings with the Yankees in 1952 and 1953.  As a middle reliever and occasional closer for those Yankees teams, he appeared in two World Series games against the Dodgers, recording the final outs in the ninth inning in Game 3 of the 1952 World Series (the Yankees would lose 5-3), and pitching three innings of relief in a 7-3 loss to the Dodgers in Game 4 of the 1953 World Series.  He was sold to the Athletics, along with Ewell Blackwell and Dick Kryhoski on March 30, 1955, with the Yankees receiving $50,000 for all three players.

Gorman assumed closer duties for the Athletics in 1955, and was one of the team's best pitchers with a 7-6 record to go along with a 3.55 ERA and a team-leading 18 saves over 57 appearances.  He'd finish second that season behind the Indians Ray Narleski (#133) for the league leader in saves as Narleski notched 19.  Gorman continued as a steady and frequently used reliever for the Athletics through the 1958 season, and he appeared in only 17 games in 1959 with his last big league game coming on June 23, 1959.  He'd attempt a brief comeback in 1960, but his pitching days would soon end.  In 289 games, Gorman was 36-36 with a 3.77 ERA over 689 1/3 innings pitched with 44 career saves.

Building the Set

February 9, 2002 in Cooperstown, NY - Card #234
This is one of only four cards I purchased in 2002, which was one of the tougher years for me personally.  I made a solo unscheduled and unplanned trip to Cooperstown in early 2002 in an attempt to clear my mind one weekend.  It was an escape.  Thinking back on that time now 21 years later, I realize Cooperstown was a logical choice for me to make my escape as I could leave my present worries behind and live in the past for a few days.  I spent a lot of time walking around the Hall of Fame, taking my time and actually relaxing.

I didn't have a lot of money for this trip, but I visited Baseball Nostalgia that Saturday afternoon and purchased four cards for our 1956 Topps set, including this Gorman card.  The other three cards purchased were Jim Davis (#102), Don Kaiser (#124) and Joe Frazier (#141) and the four cards together cost me $18.50.  That's a fairly low price to pay for some much needed baseball card therapy.

I took my family to Cooperstown for the first time in November 2021, and I was happy to see Baseball Nostalgia was still open.  Unbeknownst to us at the time, the shop would close permanently (in January 2022) soon after our visit.  Had I known closure was imminent, I would have made a better effort to make one last purchase.

The Card / Athletics Team Set
This is Gorman's first mainstream baseball card to feature him with the Athletics, as he was omitted from both the 1955 Bowman and Topps sets.  This is also his first Topps flagship set appearance.  The middle cartoon panel on the back diplomatically explains Gorman had been buried in the Yankees' farm system for nine seasons and he was finally getting his chance to pitch with the Athletics.  The third panel seems to be inaccurate, as Baseball Reference shows Gorman only combined on one shutout, saving a 2-0 game over the Orioles on June 24, 1955, and securing the win for Arnie Portocarrero (#53).  The Athletics pitching staff threw nine shutouts in 1955, with Gorman only appearing in the June 24th game.

1956 Season

Gorman was 9-10 with a 3.83 ERA for the Athletics, making a career-high 13 starts and relieving in 39 games.  He pitched 171 1/3 innings and converted only four saves, as Bobby Shantz (#261) closed the majority of the team's games and earned nine saves.  Only starting pitcher Art Ditmar (#258) pitched in more innings for the 102-loss Athletics than Gorman, with Ditmar throwing 254 1/3.

Phillies Connection

Gorman wrapped up his professional pitching career with 34 games for the Indianapolis Indians in 1960, then the top farm team for the Phillies.  He's not to be confused with another Tom Gorman, a lefty pitcher, who pitched primarily for the Mets in the mid-1980s.  The lefty Gorman appeared in eight games for the 1986 Phillies, going 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA.

1952 Bowman Black & White #61

1954 Bowman #17

1957 Topps #87

1958 Topps #235

1959 Topps #449

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Bowman Black & White #61
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #449

15 - Gorman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/16/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #245 Billy Goodman - Boston Red Sox / #247 Bill Sarni - St. Louis Cardinals

Order Collected: #141 Joe Frazier - St. Louis Cardinals / #153 Frank Thomas - Pittsburgh Pirates

#217 Billy Klaus - Boston Red Sox

William Joseph Klaus
Boston Red Sox
Shortstop

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  160
Born:  December 9, 1928, Spring Grove, IL

Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:  Boston Braves 1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953; Boston Red Sox 1955-1958; Baltimore Orioles 1959-1960; Washington Senators 1961; Philadelphia Phillies 1962-1963

Died:  December 3, 2006, Sarasota, FL (age 77)

After a few false starts with the Braves organization, Billy Klaus was given the chance to be an everyday player with the Red Sox in 1955 and he'd finish as runner-up to Herb Score (#140) in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.  Klaus had three solid seasons with the Red Sox between 1955 and 1957, playing as their every day shortstop or third baseman.  He batted .283 with a career high 60 RBIs in 1955, and clubbed a career high 10 home runs in 1957.  Klaus spent 11 seasons overall in the majors, serving as a valuable back-up infielder or pinch-hitter towards the end of his career.

He batted .249 in 821 major league games, collecting 626 hits, 40 home runs and 250 RBIs.  After being released by the Phillies in May 1963, Klaus played out the balance of the season in Japan, batting .257 in 62 games for the Chunichi Dragons.  He managed in the Senators minor league system between 1966 and 1968, compiling a record of 139-259.  Finally, his younger brother Bobby Klaus also played in the majors with the Reds (1964) and Mets (1964-1965).

June 1988 - Dad mowing the lawn on 12th Street

Building the Set
February 27, 1988 in Bridgeton, NJ (Hummel's) - Card #54
My notes indicate we bought this card at Hummel's in Bridgeton, New Jersey in February 1988 along with the Jack Meyer (#269) card.  This was a Saturday, and I'm guessing my Dad and I needed to get out of the house so we made the quick drive to Bridgeton to purchase some baseball cards.  I'm also assuming I was anxious to get my hands on more new packs of 1988 Topps, and we knew Hummel's most likely had a box or two for sale.  My set collecting records show we had completed the 1974 Topps set earlier in the month, we were about half-way through with the 1976 Topps set and we'd start to collect the 1973 Topps set that June.  It was a very good year.

My memories of Hummel's are hazy at best, but I seem to recall it was a large building with a sprawling liquor store on the first floor and a baseball card shop on the second floor.  With baseball card stores booming in the mid to late 1980s, we'd often take a ride to one of the four or five local card shops we were lucky enough to have near us.

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
Klaus' rookie card can be found in the 1955 Bowman set, and this is his first Topps card.  In the action photo, I'm assuming that's Klaus forcing the runner out at second and looking to turn a double play with a throw to first.  He wore #35 while with Boston, and that appears to be a #5 peaking through on the fielder's back.  On closer inspection, is that the baseball between the "Bill" and "Klaus" of the facsimile autograph?  Did Klaus spike the runner with the ball?

The middle cartoon panel on the back highlight his fantastic season in 1947 while playing for the Centralia Cubs of the Illinois State League.  The first cartoon panel says Klaus was second among Boston regulars in batting average in 1955, and that's not actually accurate.  Klaus batted .283 while regular second baseman Billy Goodman (#245) batted .294 and left fielder Ted Williams (#5) topped them all with a .356 average.

1956 Season

Klaus moved over to third base to start the 1956 season as rookie Don Buddin was given the starting shortstop job.  In 135 games, Klaus batted .271 with seven home runs and 59 RBIs, one short of his career-high from the year before.

Phillies Career
The Phillies purchased Klaus on April 5, 1962 from the Senators, reuniting Klaus with manager Gene Mauch who had been his teammate briefly with the Red Sox.  He served as a back-up infielder for Mauch's team, making it into 102 games and starting 54 games at either second base, third base or shortstop.  Klaus batted just .206 with four home runs and 20 RBIs and was released by the Phillies following the season.  But Mauch most have realized they needed Klaus' skillset prior to start of the 1963 season, as he was re-signed on April 1, 1963.  The reunion lasted only 11 more games, with Klaus batting .105, before he was released on May 24, 1963, and made his way to Japan.

1955 Bowman #150

1957 Topps #292

1959 Topps #299

1962 Topps #571

1963 Topps #551

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #150
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1956-1963
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1979 TCMA 50's #251

28 - Klaus non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/12/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #216 Jerry Schoonmaker - Washington Nationals / #218 Joe Nuxhall - Cincinnati Redlegs

Order Collected: #180 Robin Roberts - Philadelphia Phillies / #269 Jack Meyer - Philadelphia Phillies

#207 Jim Small - Detroit Tigers

James Arthur Patrick Small
Detroit Tigers
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  March 8, 1937, Portland, OR
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent, June 11, 1955
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1955-1957; Kansas City Athletics 1958

As a bonus baby signing by the Tigers, Jim Small was required to stay on the team's active roster for the 1955 and 1956 seasons.  He appeared in 12 games in 1955 and another 58 games in 1956, making only 19 starts over those two seasons, and seeing most of his playing time as a pinch-runner, pinch-hitter or late-inning defensive replacement.  Small batted .319 in 1956 with ten RBIs and was 7 for 14 as a pinch-hitter.  He appeared in 36 games for the Tigers in 1957 and was then dealt to the Athletics following the season in a massive 13-player trade.  Small's last action in the  majors came with the Athletics in 1958, as he appeared in a pair of games as a September call-up.  He'd continue to play in the Athletics' minor league system through the 1962 season, and he retired after batting .317 with 13 home runs and 82 RBIs for the Albuquerque Dukes in the Texas League.

Small appeared in 108 big league games, batting .270 with 38 hits and ten RBIs.

Building the Set
September 25, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #264
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 $5 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.

1957 Topps #33

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 / Tigers Team Set
This is Small's rookie card, and his only other mainstream baseball card can be found in the 1957 Topps set.  I don't believe Small appears as either the runner or the infielder in the action shot shown here as Small never played the infield in the majors, nor did he wear #10.  He wore #20 during his time with the Tigers.  The fielder actually appears to be wearing a Tigers hat, and if that's a White Sox player it could be catcher Sherm Lollar (#243) who wore #10 for the White Sox beginning in 1953.  The back of the card highlights the success Small had at Bellarmine College Preparatory High School in San Jose, California.  Also highlighted is his speed and ironically enough, Small never stole a base in the majors despite having 38 career appearances as a pinch-runner.  He was caught stealing twice in 1957.

1956 Season

As mentioned above, this was the season Small saw the most action in the majors, appearing in 58 games overall while making 11 starts in center field, six starts in right field and two starts in left field.  At just 19 years old, he was by far the youngest on the team.  The grizzled veteran Virgil Trucks (#117) was the oldest at 39.

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #207
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1956-1957
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2006 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JM

5 - Small non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/14/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #206 Erv Palica - Baltimore Orioles / #208 Elston Howard - New York Yankees

Order Collected: #196 Tom Poholsky - St. Louis Cardinals / #221 Bob Friend - Pittsburgh Pirates