#194 Monte Irvin - Chicago Cubs

Monford Merrill Irvin
Chicago Cubs
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  February 25, 1919, Haleburg, AL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Giants as a free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Newark Eagles 1938-1943, 1945-1948; New York Giants 1949-1955; Chicago Cubs 1956
Hall of Fame Induction:  1973
Died:  January 11, 2016, Houston, TX (age 96)

Monte Irvin's Hall of Fame career saw him play for almost two decades as an All-Star shortstop and left fielder for the Newark Eagles and the New York Giants.  Irvin was a six-time All-Star in the Negro Leagues, winning batting titles in 1941 when he batted .395 and in 1946 when he batted .363.  He lost almost three years of playing time between 1943 and 1945 while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, earning the rank of Sergeant.  Playing in Mexico in 1942, Irvin won the league's Triple Crown and earned MVP honors in the 1945-46 Puerto Rico Winter League.  He led the Eagles over the Kansas City Monarchs in the 1946 Negro League World Series while batting .462 with three home runs.

Irvin signed with the Giants before the 1949 season and after a slow start he'd cement his reputation as one of the best hitters of his era.  He finished third in the MVP vote in 1951, after batting .312 and leading the league with 121 RBIs.  Irvin batted .458 in that year's World Series against the Yankees, but the Giants fell in six games.  While mentoring the young Willie Mays (#130), Irvin was an All-Star in 1952 but was limited to only 46 games after suffering a broken ankle in spring training.  As the Giants' regular left fielder in 1954, Irvin helped the club win their first World Championship title since 1933, sweeping the Indians in four games.  While his Negro League statistics are incomplete, his known statistics include 137 home runs and a lifetime batting average of .304.  Irvin was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973, and the Giants retired his #20 in 2010.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #325

I first shared this story with the Roberto Clemente (#33) 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.  Off-center but with four sharp corners, this Irvin card was one of the final 29, and was one of the three Hall of Famers in the bunch, along with Whitey Ford (#240) and Pee Wee Reese (#332).

The Card / Cubs Team Set
This is Irvin's final baseball card appearance as an active player, and Topps used the same photo as his 1955 card, replacing the Giants logo on his cap with a Cubs logo.  I found the action shot used for the card through a Getty Images search, and the outcome of the play is one I'm sure Irvin would have rather forgotten.  In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, Irvin dropped a fly ball hit by the Indians' Bobby Avila (#132) in the top of the ninth inning with the score tied 2-2.  Avila would be stranded at second base and the Giants would ultimately win in the 10th inning on Dusty Rhodes' (#50) home run off Indians' pitcher Bob Lemon (#255).  That's shortstop Al Dark (#148) in the original photo with Irvin, and both Dark and his shadow have been removed from the photo used for Irvin's card.

The final cartoon panel on the back references his demotion to the minors in 1955, when he appeared in 75 games for the Minneapolis Millers, batting .352.  Topps reprinted this card twice, first for its 2001 Topps Archives set and then again as part of the 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set, containing Irvin's autograph.

1956 Season

The Giants left the former All-Star unprotected in the rule 5 draft following the 1955 season, and Irvin was selected by the Cubs.  He was Chicago's opening day left fielder and he'd split time at the position all season long with Jim King (#74).  Irvin batted .271 in 111 total games, with 15 home runs and 50 RBIs.  The Cubs finished dead last in the National League with a 60-94 record.  Set loose by the Cubs following the season, Irvin would attempt one more season with the Los Angeles Angels in 1957, then the top affiliate of the Dodgers, but a back injury limited him to only four games and he retired as a player.

1951 Topps Red Backs #50

1952 Topps #26

1953 Topps #62

1954 Topps #3

1955 Topps #100

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #198
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1951-1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps The History of Topps #HOT-2

448 - Irvin non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/11/22.

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

Wikipedia

#193 Wilmer Mizell - St. Louis Cardinals

Wilmer David Mizell
St. Louis Cardinals
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Born:  August 13, 1930, Leakesville, MS
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1952-1953, 1956-1960; Pittsburgh Pirates 1960-1962; New York Mets 1962
Died:  February 21, 1999, Kerrville, TX (age 68)

Wilmer Mizell first played baseball as a youth in Vinegar Bend, Alabama, giving him his lifelong nickname.  With the Cardinals he won 10 games in 1952 and another 13 games in 1953 before missing two full seasons while serving in the military.  Mizell returned and picked up where he had left off, winning 14 games in 1956.  He was a reliable starter for the Cardinals throughout the 1950s, starting at least 20 games in each of his seven full seasons with the club.  In 1959, Mizell was named to both All-Star teams although he didn't appear in either game.  He was dealt to the Pirates in May 1960, and he'd spend his final two and half seasons with the Pirates and expansion Mets.  Mizell won a World Series ring in 1960 with Pittsburgh, although he didn't make it out of the first inning in his Game 3 start.  Mizell gave up three singles and a walk to the potent Yankees line-up to start the game, and was relieved with only one out by Clem Labine (#295).  The Pirates would lose Game 3, 10-0, but would ultimately prevail in seven games.

Mizell retired following the 1963 season with a career record of 90-88 and a 3.85 ERA in 268 games.  He was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives serving three terms as a Republican representing North Carolina's 5th congressional district between 1969 and 1975.

Building the Set

May 1997 - College graduation

July 19, 1997 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #154
My Dad and I added this card to our set at the Ocean City baseball card show held inside the Music Pier.  We purchased 11 cards that July day - Mizell and eight other commons, along with the Warren Giles (#2) card for $10 and the Ray Boone (#6) card for $5.

I graduated college in the spring of 1997, and that summer was a good one as I worked on the Sea Isle Promenade at a few t-shirt stores.  My days were spent jogging, barely working, reading and sitting on the beach.  Dinner would usually come from Phil's on 37th and Landis Avenue, and ice cream was consumed nightly.

Dad was still working in Millville at the time, and we probably met up in front of the Music Pier prior to his show.  The baseball card collecting landscape changed drastically in the ten year period between 1987 and 1997, with autographed cards making their way into packs and multiple parallel versions of the same card confusing us as "old school" collectors.  Still, I'd give anything to be back inside the Music Pier with my Dad searching for the next 1956 Topps card to add to our set.  I'm sure he was thrilled to find a dealer selling a bunch of '56s in good shape and at around $2 a card.  

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
We probably didn't notice it at the time, but this Mizell card has several creases running parallel down the left side of the card, almost as if a paper clip had been affixed to it at some point.  I also found it interesting the man best known as Vinegar Bend Mizell, who had a first name of Wilmer, signed his name David Mizell.  He's absent from the 1955 Topps set, but this card uses the same main photo as his 1954 Topps card.

The first cartoon panel on the back references his unusual nickname, as does his "home" in the biographical write-up.

1956 Season

Mizell returned to the majors after a two-year absence and went 14-14 in 33 starts with a 3.62 ERA.  He struck out 153 over 208 2/3 innings pitched and was arguably the ace of the fourth place Cardinals' staff.  Mizell threw 11 complete games, including three shutouts.  His best game of the year came on September 7th when he threw a complete game, two-hit shutout against the Reds.

1952 Topps #334

1953 Topps #128

1954 Topps #249

1957 Topps #113

1958 Topps #385

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #334
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1952-1954, 1956-1958
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #249

26 - Mizell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/7/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#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

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

Wikipedia

#191 Frank Lary - Detroit Tigers

Frank Strong Lary
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  April 10, 1930, Northport, AL
Signed:  Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1954-1964; New York Mets 1964; Milwaukee Braves 1964; New York Mets 1965; Chicago White Sox 1965
Died:  December 14, 2017, Northport, AL (age 87)

Frank Lary enjoyed a decade of success with the Tigers, winning 20 games twice and earning three All-Star Game berths in 1960 and 1961.  That latter season was probably his best as he went 23-9 with a 3.24 ERA while leading the league with 22 complete games.  He won a Gold Glove for his fielding efforts while finishing third in A.L. Cy Young voting and seventh in A.L. MVP voting.  Lary can claim three fantastic baseball nicknames with "Taters," "Mule" and the "Yankee Killer."  The Yankee Killer nickname bestowed upon him as he went 27-10 against the powerhouse Yankees between 1955 and 1961.  Lary led the league three times in innings pitched and three times in complete games, but his heavy workload with the Tigers led to shoulder problems later in his career.  Atop the Tigers' pitching rotation between 1957 and 1963, Lary and Jim Bunning did everything they could to pitch Detroit into the World Series, but they never made it.  The closest they came was 1961 when the Tigers finished eight games behind the Yankees, despite winning 101 games.  Lary was sold to the Mets in May 1964, beginning a year and a half on the move with the Mets, the Braves, back to the Mets and finally with the White Sox.

Lary appeared in 350 big league games and a had a 128-116 record to go along with a 3.49 ERA.  He struck out 1,099 over 2,162 1/3 innings pitched.  His 21 career shutouts are currently 232nd on the all-time leaders list.  Lary briefly served as a minor league roving pitching coach for the Mets before retiring from the game.

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

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #324

I first shared this story with the Roberto Clemente (#33) 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.  Absolutely pristine with four sharp corners, this Lary card was one of the final 29.

The Card / Tigers Team Set
This is Lary's first Topps card, and his rookie card can be found in the 1955 Bowman set.  The action shot appears to be a play at third base, with Lary hugging the bag while seemingly kicking the third baseman in the crotch.  I thought the defender was a member of the Red Sox, but Sam Mele wore #7 in 1955 and didn't play any third base.  My next guess was this could be an Indians player, and sure enough Cleveland third baseman Al Rosen (#35) wore #7 between 1948 and 1956.  Lary made it on base twice against the Indians in 1955, on July 4th and again on September 17th with Rosen at third base in both those games.  In the July 4th game, Lary singled to left in the bottom of the 11th, but didn't advance.  In the September 17th game, Lary singled again, advanced to second on a Harvey Kuenn (#155) bunt and was thrown out trying to score on an Al Kaline (#20) single.  The scoring for the putout is 4-2-5, with Rosen applying the tag on Lary.  So there you have it - the action photo ended the top of the fifth inning on September 17, 1955 in a game the Tigers would ultimately win against the Indians, 3-1.

1956 Season

This was to be Lary's first 20-win season, as he went 21-13 with a 3.15 ERA for the fifth place Tigers as the ace of their pitching staff.  Kaline had a monster season for Detroit, but Lary was arguably the team's MVP as his 6.7 WAR was slightly higher than Kaline's 6.6.  Five of his 21 wins came against the Yankees, cementing his "Yankee Killer" nickname.

1955 Bowman #154

1957 Topps #168

1961 Topps #243

1962 Topps #474

1965 Topps #127

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #154
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1956-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-FL

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

Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#190 Carl Furillo - Brooklyn Dodgers

Carl Anthony Furillo
Brooklyn Dodgers
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  March 8, 1922, Stony Creek Mills, PA
Acquired:  Obtained by the Brooklyn Dodgers from Reading (Interstate) as part of a minor league working agreement before 1941 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1946-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1960
Died:  January 21, 1989, Stony Creek Mills, PA (age 66)

Spending his entire career within the Dodgers' organization, Carl Furillo cemented his place as one of the more popular members of the Dodgers dynasty of the 1950s.  Furillo, nicknamed "The Reading Rifle" and "Skoonj," after one of his favorite Italian dishes, scungilli, came up with the Dodgers in 1946.  He'd spend the next 13 seasons as the club's regular center or right fielder, playing in seven World Series with the club between 1947 and 1959.  Furillo drove in at least 90 runs in six different seasons, driving in 106 in both 1949 and 1950.  He was a two-time All-Star in 1952 and 1953, and Furillo won the National League batting title in 1953 with a .344 average.  His best season came in 1955 as the Dodgers would win their only World Series Championship while in Brooklyn.  Furillo batted .314 that season with a career-high 26 home runs and 95 RBIs.  He batted  .296 (8 for 27) in the 1955 World Series and had a .266 overall batting average in 40 World Series games.  Furillo would win a second World Series ring with the Dodgers in 1959, contributing a key two-run pinch-hit single in Game 3.

Furillo possessed an above-average throwing arm and he led all National League right fielders in assists three times.  His 115 career assists from right field are currently 41st all-time.  Upon his retirement, Furillo's games played in right field (1,408) were fifth all-time in the National League.  In 1,806 games, he collected 1,910 hits while batting .299 with 192 home runs and 1,058 RBIs.  Featured as one of the former Dodgers' players tracked down by author Roger Kahn in his book, The Boys of Summer, Furillo was found in 1972 while installing elevators at the World Trade Center.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #323

I first shared this story with the Roberto Clemente (#33) 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.  Off-center, but well-loved, This Furillo card was one of the final 29.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
Signed exclusively to Bowman, this is Furillo's first Topps card despite his ten seasons in the majors to this point.  He appears in each Bowman set issued between 1949 and 1955.  I was able to find the original photo used for Furillo's main head shot with a quick Getty Images search, and I found the source of the action shot as well.  The action shot seems to be from Game 2 of the 1953 World Series, played on October 1, 1953.  That's Yogi Berra (#110) making yet another cameo on another player's card in the 1956 Topps set, and Furillo is safe at the plate on a two-run, fourth inning double from Billy Cox.  Gil Hodges (#145) had scored before Furillo, and the Dodgers held a temporary 2-1 lead.  The Yankees would go on to win Game 2, 4-2, and they'd also win the Series in six games.

The cartoon panels on back highlight his stellar 1955 season, as well as his eight hits in the 1955 World Series.  His strong throwing arm is featured in the final cartoon panel.  Topps has reprinted this card a few times, first in the 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set and again in the 2001 Topps Archives set.

1956 Season

As a member of the newly crowned World Champions, Furillo enjoyed another solid season in 1956.  He appeared in 149 games overall, making 138 starts in right field and sharing the outfield most often with Sandy Amoros (#42) in left and Duke Snider (#150) in center.  The Dodgers again reached the World Series, but fell in seven games to the Yankees.  Furillo batted .289 for the season with 21 home runs and 83 RBIs, finishing 21st in the league's MVP voting.

1949 Bowman #70

1953 Bowman Color #78

1955 Bowman #169

1957 Topps #45

1960 Topps #408

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #70
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1956-1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #16

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

#189 Ned Garver - Detroit Tigers

Ned Franklin Garver
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  180
Born:  December 25, 1925, Ney, OH
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Browns 1948-1952; Detroit Tigers 1952-1956; Kansas City Athletics 1957-1960; Los Angeles Angels 1961
Died:  February 26, 2017, Bryan, OH (age 91)

Ned Garver relied on his craftiness as a pitcher to play in 14 big league seasons, mostly with the Browns, Tigers and Athletics.  Garver was one of the few bright spots for the Browns teams of the early 1950s, and although he lost 17 games in 1949 and 18 games in 1950, his other pitching statistics were otherwise decent and he crossed the 200 inning plateau in both seasons.  In 1951, he led the American League with 24 complete games and was a 20-game winner, becoming only the second player in the 20th Century to win 20 games for a team that lost at least 100 games.  (Irv Young did it for the Boston Beaneaters in 1905.)  Garver started the All-Star Game in 1951, facing off against the Phillies' Robin Roberts (#180), lasting three innings and allowing a run on one hit.

In August 1952, he was part of an eight-player trade that sent him to the Tigers, the team he had rooted for growing up in Ohio.  After recovering from a back injury, Garver returned as an innings-eater and was one of the top pitchers for the re-building Tigers in 1954 and 1955.  Traded to the Athletics following the 1956 season, Garver would cross the 200-innings pitched mark two more times.  In total, he threw at least 200 innings or more in seven seasons, while pitching 198 innings in two additional seasons.  While never pitching for a first division team, Garver enjoyed a relatively successful career and he's one of the more underrated pitchers from his era.  In 402 games, including 330 starts, Garver was 129-157 with a 3.73 ERA and 881 strikeouts over 2,477 1/3 innings pitched.  He threw 153 career complete games, including 18 shutouts.

December 24, 2007 - Dad and Doug

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #322

I first shared this story with the Roberto Clemente (#33) 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 Garver card was one of the final 29.

The Card / Tigers Team Set
I've always appreciated the talent some baseball fans have of being able to immediately identify a stadium from yesteryear by a billboard sign or a small section of outfield fence or a glimpse of some bleachers.  I've never had that skill, and other than being able to tell immediately if a picture was taken at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, the locations of old baseball card photos remains a mystery to me.  That being said, I can at least recognize Garver's "action" shot was taken in Yankee Stadium, given the famous facade present in the background.  The Tigers visited Yankee Stadium four times in 1955, in May, June, August and September.  I'd guess this picture is from either the May or June trips.

The head shot is different from the photo used for Garver's 1954 Topps card, and he was exclusively with Bowman in 1955.  The cartoons on the back highlight his personal accomplishments, all while pitching for a few fairly bad teams.

1956 Season

This season was to be the turning point in Garver's career.  He pitched a complete game against the Indians in Cleveland on April 20th, and while throwing batting practice the following week in Kansas City, Garver felt something pop in his pitching arm.  The injury, which some sources attribute to a pinched vertebra, limited him to just five more games for the rest of the season.  Garver finished with an 0-2 record and a 4.08 ERA in 17 2/3 innings pitched.  On December 5th, Garver, Wayne Belardi, Gene Host, Virgil Trucks (#117) and cash were traded to the Athletics for Jack Crimian (#319), Jim Finigan (#22), Bill Harrington and Eddie Robinson (#302).

1949 Bowman #15

1952 Topps #212

1954 Topps #44

1959 Topps #245

1961 Topps #331

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #15
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1951-1954, 1956-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2011 Topps Lineage Autographs #RA-NG

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

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia