1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 73

 Part 73? Wait, what?  It seems like we were on Part 45 a week or so ago.

We were.  But, on occasion, I get excited about a new addition and have to jump ahead. I believe I have done that once before, when I was able to pick up the signed Jimmie Foxx.  This isn't nearly as great a player, but it certainly a much rarer card.

Bobo Newsom may very well be one of the hardest 1961 Fleer cards to find autographed since he died on December 7, 1962, at the age of 55.  This left a window of more than one, but less than two, years when he could have signed.  By my reckoning there are only two other players that had a shorter signing window for 1961 Fleer: Ty Cobb, who died on July 17, 1961, and Mickey Cochrane who passed on June 28, 1962.  A friend of mine who collects autographed cards told me he thinks this Newsom is a $1,000 card. I don't know if he is right or not, but if he is, I got this card for less than a third of its value.

Back when I was collecting this set unsigned, I noted that there were only four players nicknamed Bobo who played in the majors and 3 of them were all active during the 1953 season (Newsom, Milliken, and Holloman.)

What can we learn about Bobo:

1. He is one of only two pitches to win over 200 games but end his career with a losing record (211-222) Given that he chalked up 51.3 WAR and a 107 ERA+ in his 20 season MLB career, he wasn't a bad pitcher but seemed to be stuck on bad teams.  The other player is Deadball Era hurler Jack Powell (245-255) though the modern era player Charlie Hough almost made it a threesome with a 216-216 career record.
2. Indeed, during his career he only appeared in two World Series.  In 1940, he put up a 2-1 record with a 1.38 ERA in the series Detroit lost to Cincinnati.  His second appearance in the fall classic was in 1947 with the NY Yankees in their win over the Brooklyn Dodgers. In that series, he delivered a 0-1 record with a 19.29 ERA in two appearances, including a start where he didn't survive the second inning.
3. He was a well-traveled player. Over the course of his 20-year career, he played for nine different teams. There was only 16 teams in the majors at that time. His longest tenure with one team was appearances in 8 different seasons with the Washington Nationals. But even that was accomplished in 5 different stints with the team. His longest continuous stint with a team was 3 full seasons with Detroit between 1939 and 1941.
4. He had a reputation for being quarrelsome which undoubtedly led to his frequent team changes as he would clash with management. Indeed, an argument with manager Leo Durocher during the 1943 season led to being traded by Branch Rickey back to the Nationals later in the season.
5. He has thee 20-win seasons during his career. The first was 1938 for the St Louis Browns when he went 20-16 with a 5.08 ERA.  It must have been a hitter's year because his high ERA was coupled with a 98 ERA+, which means he was just about league average. His second 20-win season was the following year, where he started of 3-1 for the Browns then, after being part of a 9 player trade, went 17-10 for the Detroit Tigers.  The final 20-win season was 1940 when he went 21-5 with a 2.83 ERA in a full season for the Tigers.  That ERA was good enough for a league leading 168 ERA+
6. After that excellent three-year stretch, he added his first 20 loss season for the Tigers in 1941.  A 19-loss season followed in 1942 and a second 20 loss season in 1945.  Again, this is generally misleading as his career statistics put him at just above league average.
7. Like most pitchers, he wasn't much of a hitter, with a .189 career batting average. He had one career home run hit on May 8, 1937, of Detroit pitcher Jake Wade.
8. He was a tough old cuss. On May 28, 1935, he suffered a broken kneecap on a third inning Earl Averill line drive. He still managed to pitch a complete game.
9. On opening day 1936, he suffered a broken jaw in the fourth inning when he forgot to duck out of the way of a throw by third baseman Ossie Bluege. He still managed to complete the game.  In attendance was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. When asked, Newsom responded “When the president comes to see Ol’ Bobo pitch he ain’t gonna let him down.”
10. His 20-year major league career wasn't even contiguous. His first MLB appearance was in 1929 and his final in 1953.  During that stretch he played in the minors during the 1931, 1933, and 1949-1951 seasons.
11. His SABR biography makes no mention of him being a heavy drinker, but his early death was attributed to Cirrhosis of the liver, which does have a number of additional causes
12. Bobo is actually the subject of a contemporary book Bobo Newsom: Baseball's Traveling Man.  It is available on Amazon for $35.  Only two left in stock.

What I am listening to: Die Midwestern by Arlo McKinley (check out the tattoo on his left forearm)