1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 43

 It has been nearly five months since my last post in this series.  I am going to try to pick it back up again, but I've said that before.  As it is hobby life has been quiet and will continue to be so for a while.  Adult life has a way of causing that.  There haven't been any great personal struggles or tragic events. Just adult stuff  You all deal with the same from time to time, so no need to bore you with details.

Additionally, we have scheduled a fall trip back to Ohio.  The first weekend we will be going to Halloweekends at Cedar Point for the first time since 2020. And the second weekend we will be attending the Annual Glass Gathering at the Museum of American Glass in West Virginia. I think I have mentioned that my wife collects midcentury barware, with a few smaller side collections of swung vases and midcentury ashtrays (oddly neither of us are, nor have been, smokers.)  Over the course of this year, she has really gotten involved with the barware collecting community and it has been fun to watch her collecting really take off.  I don't even mind that it has made me more intentional about how I collect.  With all that on my plate, I don't expect to do much card collecting until the new year.  

Anyways, let's get back to it. I haven't added any new signed 1961 Fleer cards in a while. I am still sitting at 72 cards (out of 96 possible) for 1961. Of the 29 cards between here and there, we will be seeing 21 Hall of Fame members. There will be familiar names, but really only one that is considered among the best of the best. I have added one additional 1960 card, but more about that in the future. 

So, next up is Travis Jackson.  

What caught my attention:

1. He had a 15-year MLB career, all with the NY Giants. He was discovered as a 14-year-old by dead ball era player, and then minor league manager, Kid Elberfeld.   Elberfeld gave him his first pro gig several years later with the Little Rock Travelers of the Southern Association.
2. After two years at Little Rock, he made his major league debut at the end of the 1922 season, appearing in 3 games and going hitless in 8 plate appearances.
3. The following season he stuck with the big club and became the first teenager to ever appear in the World Series.  He appeared in only one game, Game 2, pinch hitting for pitcher Jack Bentley against Yankee HOFer Herb Pennock. Jackson flew out to left field to end the game that saw the Bombers beat the Giants 4-2.
4. In 1924, he took over the starting shortstop position from Hall of Famer Dave Bancroft.
5. After concluding his MLB playing career, Jackson managed the Jersey City Giants for a year and a half (1937-1938) and was a coach for the New York Giants in 1939-1940. After which he retired due to contracting tuberculosis, which he fought for 5 years.
6. In 1946, he returned to baseball and managed the Jackson Senators in 1946 and coached for the Giants again in 1947 and 1948 under manager Mel Ott. When Ott was replaced by Leo Durocher, Jackson was let go and then embarked on a 13 year run as a minor league manager in the Boston/Milwaukee Braves organization. This included leading the 1954 and 1955 Lawton Braves to Sooner State League championships. He retired again, this time permanently, in 1961.
7. His admission to the Hall was championed by former teammate and Veterans Committee member, Bill Terry.  While Terry never succeeded in getting Jackson enshrined during his tenure, his advocacy was ultimately successful, as Jackson was elected by the Vet's Committee in 1982.
8. His enshrinement paved the way for other middle infielders who, while not putting up flashy offensive numbers, contributed significantly on the defensive side of the game. Edward Stack, president of the Hall of Fame, would lead to more serious consideration for players like Pee Wee Reese and Phil Rizzuto.  Both were elected by the Veterans Committee in subsequent years.
9. In something I always look at with these old timers, Travis was alive and able to attend his induction ceremony. (I'll never forgive MLB for denying Ron Santo that honor)

What I am listening to: Heavy Load by Cody Jinks