Fleer Autograph Project - 1960 Part 21 and 1961 Part 53

It has been a challenging few weeks 'round here.  Our OKC Thunder got eliminated in the NBA Western Conference Finals and we had to have my paint horse mare, Stormy, euthanized.  We have been fighting squamous cell carcinoma with her for at least three, and possibly four, years.  Earlier this year it became obvious it was accelerating but we continued to treat her as long as she had a good quality of life.  Without getting into the details, it became clear that it was time and so it goes. I'm not trying to be morbid. It is more just a case of getting it out and off my heart.

Moving along. Next up in this series is another Hall of Fame member, George Sisler.

So, what did I find interesting about Mr. Sisler

1. There is a running joke in Ohio that no matter where you go in the world, you will run into someone else from Ohio.  Despite growing up in New York and living now in Oklahoma, the center of gravity of my life is in Ohio.  I only mention this because George Sisler was born in Manchester, Ohio in 1893.
2. Manchester didn't have a high school and as a teen he moved in with his brother in Akron to attend school where he played football and pitched on both the school team and local semi-pro teams.
3. After graduating, he enrolled at the University of Michigan, originally planning to study law but ending up in an engineering program.  It was in Ann Arbor that his life changed when he came to the attention of the new Wolverine baseball coach, Branch Rickey.
4. In the summer after his freshman year, he pitched in the Akron industrial league for Babcock & Wilcox. That summer he managed to toss a no-hitter when Cy Young made an appearance as the games umpire.
5. Sisler's play at Michigan caught the attention of scouts and it became known that he signed a contract with the Akron Champs of the Ohio & Pennsylvania League prior to his senior year in high school.  On the heels of two All-American seasons at Michigan, the contract was bought by the Pittsburgh Pirates and he was ordered to report.
6. Branch Rickey, then with the St Louis Browns had the contract invalidated by the National Commission because the contract signed by the then 17-year-old Sisler did not contain his father's signature.
7. As he was a free agent, he signed with Rickey's Browns and was immediately put to use as a pitcher. In 1915, his first season, he took the mound in 15 games including five as a starter and ended with a 4-4 record, a 2.83 ERA and a league average ERA+ of 101.
8. During that same season he began making appearances at first base and in the outfield in order to take fuller advantage of his hitting abilities.  Indeed, through the balance of his career, he only made 9 more pitching appearances for a total of 41 innings and a 1-2 record.
9. Starting in 1916, he was the hapless Browns regular first baseman and most productive player. He hit over .400 in both 1920 and 1922. The latter season he his .420 and was the AL's MVP.
10. A serious sinus infection that led to severe headaches and double vision meant that he sat out the entirety of the 1923 season.
11. Returning in 1924 as a player-manager, he was never the same player again.  Prior to his illness he racked up 48.2 WAR in 8 seasons. and only 7.4 WAR in the 8 subsequent seasons.
12. He still was a .300 hitter over that time, including three seasons with over 200 hits.
13. Removed as manager after the 1926 season, he played one more year with the Browns before closing out the last two years of his major league career with the Washington Nationals and Boston Braves.  He did play in the minors in 1931 and 1932 with the Rochester Red Wings and Shreveport/Tyler Sports before hanging up is playing career.
14. In 1942, he joined the Rickey led Brooklyn Dodgers as a scout and helped prepare Jackie Robinson to play first base.
15. He followed Rickey to the Pirates in 1951 and helped both Bill Mazeroski and Roberto Clemente improve their game.
16. Despite moving back to St Louis in 1957, he continued with the Pirates as a roving hitting instructor. In this capacity, he instructed players like Don Clendonen and Willie Stargell.
17. He died in 1973 at the age of 80, two days after his birthday.
18. He had two sons, Dick and Dave, who also had major league careers.

Next up: The Heater from Van Meter.

What I am listening to: only wanna dance by almost monday

Fleer Autograph Project - 1960 Part 20 and 1961 Part 52

It is coming up on a month since my last post. I should probably do a little dusting around here.  Recently, I partnered up with two other people to bid on two different lots of signed 1960 and 1961 Fleer baseball cards.  My focus over the last several years has been 1961.  Alas, we won the lot that was comprised solely of 1960 cards.  At some point, once I get to the realistic end of the 1961 set quest, I will turn to 1960.  So I was only a little disappointed that I made no progress on 1961.  

What was interesting is that I needed 5 of the cards on the lot we won. One of the other partners needed the exact same cards. I ended up taking two of my needs and let him have the other three.  Both of the cards I got were of players for which I already have their 1961 card in my collection. So, the next two posts will be combined.

And away we go:

Here is Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett.

1. Gabby Hartnett was born as Charles Leo Hartnett in the waning hours of the 19th century on December 20, 1900. He was the oldest of 14 (!) children.
2. Like many of that era, he played semi-pro ball on both town and industrial teams. It was as a member of the American Steel & Wire where he came to the attention of professional baseball.
3. In a possibly apocryphal story a scout for John McGraw's NY Giants passed on Hartnett because his hand sere too small for major league baseball.
4. What isn't disputable is that, based on his performance for that industrial team, he signed his first professional contract with theWorcester Boosters of the Class A Eastern League. And that led to his contract with the Cubs.
5. He initally backed up Bob O'Farrell, who will be featured in a future edition of this series. It was in this role that he earned his nickname. As a shy 21 year old he barely spoke thus earning the ironic sobriquet Gabby.
6. Nickname was "Old Tomato Face"'
7. His first major league hit was a single of Dolf Luque on April 13, 1922. His final hit came 19 years later and was a single off of Gene Lambert on September 24, 1941.
8. He was the National League's MVP in 1941.Modern sabermetrics credit him with 4.9 WAR that season. Looking at the voting results, there were 12 other players with higher WAR led by Arky Vaughan who clocked up 9.8 WAR with the 4th place Pirates.
9. Was the Cubs catcher in the 1932 World Series and was behind the plate for Babe Ruth's controversial called shot.  Hartnett was quoted in his biography saying “I don’t want to take anything from the Babe, because he’s the reason we made good money, but he didn’t call the shot. He held up the index finger of his left hand … and said, ‘It only takes one to hit.’
10. Hit one of the greatest walk-off home runs on September 28, 1938 when he took a curve ball from Pirates pitcher Mace Johnson. It was a key victory in the Cubs path to the pennant that year. It was (is) known 
11. Hartnett played in 4 World Series but, befitting someone who played 19 years with the Cubs, was never was on a winning team.
12. He was the Cubs player-manager from 1938 through 1940. Fired after the 1940 season, he signed on as player-coach for the Giants that had chose to not sign him 20 years earlier.
13. Despite being a son of New England, he lived his entire post-baseball life in the Chicago area. He opened Gabby Hartnett’s Recreation Center which included bowling lanes, a barbershop, a soda fountain, a cocktail lounge, and a sporting-goods store.
14. Died on his 72nd birthday after several years of failing health.

What I am listening to: Enter Sandman by Metallica (N.B. This was recorded last year at Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech. The crowd's reaction to the start of the song was so strong it actually registered as an earthquake at Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory about a mile away. I mention this only because I was actually at that concert. It was one of the best concerts I have ever attended.)

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 50

It's been a minute since I posted. So, without any extraneous commentary, let see who our next subject is in my continuing series about my signed 1961 Fleer set: 

Hall of Fame member Waite Hoyt.

Let's learn a little about "Schoolboy" Hoyt:

1. Born in Brooklyn in 1899, poor grades initially kept him out of scholastic baseball but not the amateur newspaper leagues where he gained a reputation as a hard thrower. Eventually getting his grades in order, where he continued to burnish that reputation.
2. While his first professional tryout was with the hometown Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League and he tossed batting practice the National League Robins, his first professional contract came in 1915 with the NY Giants. At the tender age of 15, he was the youngest player ever to sign a pro contract.
3. He started his pro career with the Lebanon team in the Penn State League, which folded before the season completed.
4. He made his major league debut on July 24, 1918 when he pitched the 9th inning against St Louis, striking out two of the three batters he faced, and popping out for the first out in the bottom half of the inning.  Sometime subsequent, John McGraw demoted him to Newark of the International League.  Hoyt refused to report and chose instead to play semi-pro ball in an industrial league in Baltimore. Despite the Giants machinations, Waite had no intent of returning to the minors and, eventually signed with the Boston Red Sox, with who (whom?) he pitched for the next two seasons.
5. He debuted with the BoSox on July 31, 1919 pitching a 12-inning complete game victory against Detroit, giving up 10 hits but only one run and holding Ty Cobb to a triple in 5 at bats.
6. Pitching ineffectually over the next two season, he was traded to the Yankees after the 1920 season, rejoining Boston teammate Babe Ruth. It was with the Yankees that Hoyt enjoyed the most success of a 21-year career that saw him suit up for 7 different major league teams.
7. When asked about his success, Hoyt quipped "The secret was to get a job with the Yankees and joyride along on their home runs.”
8. There is actually a lot of truth to that. Other than 1927, Hoyt never led the Yankees staff in wins and was generally a steady, if not spectacular pitcher.
9. He was pretty good in the post season, putting up a 6-4 record with a 1.83 ERA across 6 World Series with the Yankees and one with the Philadelphia Athletics.
10. As a 21-year-old, in the 1921 World Series between the Yankees and his former team the John McGraw led Giants, Waite threw 3 complete game (earned run) shutouts. His record was 2-1 in a series that the Bombers lost three games to five.
11. During his time with the Yankees, Hoyt was a prolific drinker and ladies' man whose proclivities were likely overshadowed by his larger-than-life teammate, Babe Ruth
12. In the off-season, he had experiences in both vaudeville and his fathers-in-law's mortuary business. This earned him the nickname as the "The Merry Mortician."
    
13. After the death of Miller Huggins, Hoyt clashed with new manager Bob Shawkey and was traded to Detroit. For the remainder of his career, he bounced around to 5 teams occasionally flashing brilliance but mainly putting in workmanlike performance. Through this time, he lost discipline resulting in weight gain, alcohol abuse, and divorce.
14. He ended his career back home in Brooklyn with the Dodgers in parts of the 1937 and 1938 seasons.
15. With a background in vaudeville, he launched a post playing days career in radio. First with a pregame show for the Yankees and, in 1942, as the play-by-play announcer for the Cincinnati Reds.
16. While is drinking continued early in his announcing career. However, in 1945, after a bender he checked into a rehab program and became a vocal advocate of Alcoholics Anonymous.
17. He retired from broadcasting in 1964, was elected to Cooperstown in 1969, and remained living in Cincy until his death in 1985.

What I am listening to: The Thrill is Gone (Live) by BB King and Gary Moore

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 49

 I am back!   I was back in Ohio for a while to help my mother out while my sister was on vacation and I'm going back in a few weeks to help her move into an assisted living apartment.  I am finally seeing daylight ahead as I work past some of the issues that plagued me year to date.  I still have to make some repairs to my farm truck and put up some hay for winter, so I don't expect to actually go to a card show until October, but it is nice to be able to put a marker on the calendar.

                                              

Next up in this series is Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell.  Hubbell, who died in 1988, was a prolific signer and his signed cards are one of the more affordable ones in 1961 Fleer.  My version is not the most attractive and probably could stand to be upgraded, but it isn't a priority.  So, what do we know about Carl:

• He was born in Carthage, MO but grew up in Meeker, OK (about a 45-minute drive from my home) on a pecan farm. Although he passed away in Arizona, he returned to Meeker for his final resting place.
• Coming out of high school he started work at oil company and playing in the Oklahoma State League for the Cushing Refiners.  The league was considered Class D but doesn't appear to have been part of affiliated ball as there is no record of it at Baseball Reference. 
•  B-R shows Hubbell's minor league career starting in 1924 with 2 appearances each with the Class C Bartlesville/Ardmore Bearcats and the Class A Oklahoma City Indians.
• After a 17-13 season with OKC in 1925 his contract was purchased by the Detroit Tigers.
• His career almost derailed during the 1926 training camp when Detroit manager Ty Cobb told to stop throwing a reverse curve screwball for fear of a serious arm injury.  Carl was generally ineffective after giving up his signature pitch.  Despite creditable year with Decatur in 1927, he was sold to the Texas Leagues Beaumont Exporters.  
• The Beaumont manager allowed Hubbell to start throwing the screwball again and after putting up a 12-9, 2.97 record in 21 starts for the Exporters his contract was purchased midseason by John McGraw and he reported to the NY Giants.  He finished out the season with a 10-6, 2.83 record.
• This started a 16-year major league career, all with the Giants. While he was a great pitcher under McGraw, Hubbell blossomed underneath Bill Terry (subject of entry 31 in this series) who took over the Giants during the 1932 season.
• Hubbell ripped off 5 consecutive 20-win seasons from 1933 to 1937, which saw him winning the NL MVP in both 1933 (23-12, 1.66) and 1936 (26-6, 2.31)
• The 1933 season saw the Giants defeat the Washington Nationals in the World Series. In the series, Hubbell pitched two complete game victories in which he gave up no earned runs.
• In 1934, Hubbell surely gave one of the all-time great pitching performances in first inning of the All-Star Game by striking out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jimmie Foxx on 11 pitches.
• Subsequent World Series appearances in 1936 and 1937 saw Carl throw an additional 4 complete games, though the Giants lost in both years to their crosstown rival Yankees.
• Starting in 1938 the strain of the screwball on Hubbell's arm began to take its toll and while still a workmanlike starter, he was only slightly better than a .500 pitcher.
• Following his playing career, Hubbell was the Giants farm director from 1944 through 1977 and a scout for an additional 11 years until his death as a result of a car accident.

Coming up: a series of 7 more Hall of Fame members.

What I am listening to: Glory Box by Portishead

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 48

Has it really been two months since I posted?  Yes, it has. Does it seem like I always start a post that way? Yes, it does.   I haven't done anything hobby-wise in over three months and probably won't for at least as long going forward.  Do you ever have one of those years where it seems like you have one problem after another?  That has been 2025 for me. A lot has gone wrong in 2025. Nothing existential, but expensive. But all y'all have your own lives and struggles and aren't here to listen to me whine. So, let's get on with it.

This is the 48th signed 1961 Fleer card in my collection. I have a total of 72 and of the 24 I haven't yet posted, 18 are in the Hall of Fame, including today's subject, Redlegs great Ernie Lombardi.  

So, what random, interesting things did I learn about him:

1. Lombardi had a 17-year career - 10 with Cincinnati, 5 with the NY Giants, and 1 each with the Brooklyn Robins and Boston Braves
2. Between 1928 and 1930, he hit .370 while playing for the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League.
3. He caught Johnny VanderMeer's back-to-back no-hitters, which we covered briefly in Part 39 of this series.
4. In 1938, he was the NL MVP. That season, he hit .342 with 19 homeruns and 95 RBIs. Modern statistics give his MVP season a total 4.8 WAR, far less than Bill Lee, Arky Vaughn and Mel Ott, all of who had greater than 8.0 WAR. 
5. Considered one of the slowest ballplayers, he also led the league by grounding into 30 double plays that year, an NL league record that stood for 70 years until 2008 when it was broken by Miguel Tejada.
6. Inducted into the Cincinnati Reds HOF in 1958, he was consistently overlooked by Cooperstown.  Indeed, he vowed to not attend the ceremony if ever elected. His eventual induction, championed by Birdie Tibbets, came in 1986, 9 years after his death.
7. He did not believe in signing autographs. It wasn’t until a youngster asked if he was illiterate that Lombardi, to dispute the point, signed the scrap of paper.
8. There is a picture of Lombardi holding seven baseballs in one hand. 
9. Lombardi struggled to find his place after his career ended and even attempted suicide in 1953.
10.  In 2004 a full-size bronze statue of Ernie was dedicated outside Great American Ballpark, joining those of Frank Robinson, Joe Nuxhall, and Ted Kluszewski at the entrance to the ballpark.

What I am listening to:  John Moreland

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 47

How are you doing?  All things considered <looks around> I am doing fine. I am making an effort to post more. I figure if I can post one of these every two weeks, I'll be up to date a year from now.  It's plan. We are heading into a slong stretch of Hall of Fame players.  Of the 25 remaining subjects in this series, 20 are enshrined in Cooperstown.

Next up is a Hall of Famer, Hal Newhouser. He isn't a common name when talking about the great pitchers of the past, but he had a 6 year stretch between 1944 and 1949 when he was dominant.  

So, let's learn a little more about him:

1. He was born in 1921 to immigrant parents. His father was from Czechoslovakia and his mother from Austria.
2. As a child in The Depression, he helped his family survive by any means available to him, including gathering up discarded coal scraps at the coal yard to heat the family's home.
3. Elected to the Hall in 1992 by the Veteran's Committee after years of being overlooked, his main joy was the fact that his mother was alive to see it.
4. His induction was delayed due to his (undeserved) reputation as a Wartime Pitcher, ignoring that he continued to be an ace for 4 seasons after the war.
5. He had a (deserved) reputation for anger issues.
6. To be sure, his best years were 1944 (29-9, 2.22 ERA, 7.7 WAR) and 1945 (25-9, 1.81 ERA, 11.3 WAR) when he won back-to-back AL MVP awards.
7. However, a 26-9, 1.94 ERA, 9.7 WAR season followed in 1946, which warranted a 2nd place in MVP voting behind Ted Williams.
8. He was something of a pioneer. After a frustrating 1957 season (17-17, 2.87 ERA, 5.8 WAR) he spent time analysing his pitching by comparing film taken of his pitching in 1947 with his performances in prior seasons.
9. After his playing career, he was a Detroit area scout for several organizations.  His most notable signings were Milt Pappas and 1964 Cy Young winner Dean Chance.
10. His scouting career came to an end when he quit after his then employer, the Houston Astros, chose to ignore his advice to draft Derek Jeter as the first pick in the 1992 amateur draft. They chose instead to draft Phil Nevin.

What I am listening to:  The Joke by Brandi Carlile

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 46

 It appears I am back to my intermittent posting. I have been busy at work and home and, honestly, gawking in grim astonishment at the world around us.  But cards should be an escape from reality, so I will put that aside.

Here is another example of a player in the 1961 Fleer Greats set that really isn't necessarily what you would consider all all-time great, though his career was a bit different than the other players I tagged previously with that scarlet letter. The others were players that had long, but workmanlike, careers.  Alexander had a short career of only 5 years but was quite the phenom for most of that time. A career (!) .331 hitter, he topped .325 in every year in the majors with the exception of his final injury plagued year, where he put up a creditable .281 over 339 plate appearances.

So, let's learn a bit more about Dale:

1. The son of a tobacco farmer, he took up the same work outside his baseball career. However, he was never a user of tobacco.
2. A college graduate, he played baseball for both Milligan College and Tusculum College. He was inducted posthumously in the Tusculum Hall of Fame in 1985. He was joined by his grandson, Steve. in 2001. Steve played baseball there and was the 1990 and 1991 team MVP.
3. He put in 5 years in the minors, starting at his hometown Class D Greeneville Burley Cubs in 1924 and topping out in 1927 and 1928 with the AA Maple Leafs.
4. His 1928 season in Toronto saw him hitting .380 with 236 hits, including 49 doubles, 11 triples, and 31 homeruns.  That was good for 144 RBIs.
5. In 1929, in his first season with Detroit, he hit .343, with 215 hits, including 43 doubles, 15 triples, and 25 homeruns.  That led to 137 RBIs.
6. In 1931, he seemed to lose all power though he still batted .325.  1932 started off poorly and was put on waivers by Detroit.  On June 13, he was traded to Boston where he caught fire.  In 101 games down the stretch for the Red Sox, he hit .372 with a .454 OBP and captured the AL batting title beating out none other than Jimmie Foxx.
7. A injury on Memorial Day in 1933 led the Boston trainer to use diathermy, a new technique to use deep heat to speed healing. Unfortunately, the trainer left the device on too long and burned Alexander's leg.
8. After 1933, he only appeared in the minors, but was successful over the course of 5 full and 4 partial seasons including time as a player-manager, finally hanging up his spikes after the 1942 season.
9. After that final 1942 season he returned to farming and occasional scouting.
10. He never really received recognition from Boston as their first batting champ, but not one to look back, he never was embittered by his MLB career ending injury or his subsequent shoddy treatment by the team.
11. He passed away in 1979 after 9 years of fitting prostate cancer.
    
    

What I am listening to: If the Sun Never Rises Again by Johnny Blue Skies (Sturgill Simpson)

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)

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 45

It had taken five years, but I have finally managed to achieve something: I caught COVID.  

Lordy, did I feel like crap.  Christmas day started off normal enough, but as the day wore on, I got more and more tired. By early evening, I was having chills and was achy all over. The next two days were a blur. I tried working from home, but both days I only made it to lunch before I crapped out; Friday I went to bed at 6 PM and basically stayed there for the next 12 hours. I was feeling better on Saturday, better still each subsequent day, and I hope to return to the office Thursday (1/2)

Anyways, in my attempt to not overdo it, I am going to knock another one of these posts out.  

Hughie Critz was considered one of the best defensive second basemen of his era.  A light hitter, his facility with the glove saw him mentioned in the same breath with his more offensively adept contemporaries like Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins, and Frankie Frisch.  What else do we know about Hughie?

1. He was the son of a university president. His father was at various times president of the universities know known as Arkansas Tech and Mississippi State.  Despite being a ballplayer himself, the elder Critz was not happy when his son went out for baseball during his junior year  Mississippi State (nee Mississippi A&M)
2. After graduating college, he started working as a cotton broker in Greenwood, MS but a agricultural depression that crashed cotton prices put paid to that choice. He became a pro ball player when his semi-pro team joined the Class D Mississippi State League.
3. After the 1921 season, his contract was sold to the Memphis Chickasaws of the Class A Southern Association.  Following that season, he was promoted to the Double A Minneapolis Millers where he put in one full, and one partial season before being called up to Cincinnati in May of 1924. He was inserted immediately as the everday second baseman for the Redlegs and hit .322 over the course of the season. This represented his career high water mark for batting average.
4. He went 2 for 4 in his debut game; hitting two singles off of the great Chicago pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander.
5. He had a reputation as a smart player, though in self-effacing style he once said “Such stars as Johnny Evers and Eddie Collins had set the fashion and brains and second base sort of went together, So I decided to appear smart, too. I shifted to the right for this batter, to the left for that one, guessed wrong half the time but got away with it.”
6. In 1929 after a hard slide by Riggs Stephenson took out Hughie, injuring his knee, an on-field fight ensued between the Cubs and the Reds.  Making the incident noteworthy, the teams continued the brawl post-game while waiting for their respective trains.
7. Critz was long coveted by NY Giants manager John McGraw, who finally managed to trade for him in 1930.  This allowed him to make his sole post season appearance with the Giants in their 1933 World Series victory.
8. Critz was very superstitious. One such superstition was the need to move his rival second baseman's glove when he took the field at the start of an inning.  Frankie Frisch would deliberately take his glove with him to the bench and Fritz would have to chase him down to touch the glove in order to satisfy his compulsion.
9. In retirement, he owned a 1,000 acre plantation and a Ford-Lincoln dealership in Greenwood.
10. While not a familiar name today, Hughie was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and was chosen by Cinci fans as the second baseman on the Reds’ all-time team in 1969, nearly 40 years after he was traded away.

I suppose I should do a 2024 retrospective and goal setting for the 2025 collecting season.  Perhaps this weekend.  In the mean time...

What I am listening to: Sing by Travis

Fleer Autograph Project - Parts 19 and 44

 I suppose the title is a bit confusing if you have been following my long term, but infrequent series on the players featured in my signed 1960 and 1961 Fleer collection.  To the extent that your interest rises to that level, allow me to clear it up.  This post will feature my 18th signed 1960 Fleer card and my 44th signed 1961 Fleer card since they are both the same player: Hall of Famer Sam Rice

What is interesting about Sam Rice:

1. Over the course of a 20 season major league career, he tallied up 2,987 hits.
2. He actually broke in as a pitcher. He appeared in 9 games over his first two seasons compiling a 1-1 record with a 2.52 ERA. In his first ML season, he only appeared as a pitcher, but hit .375.
3. He didn't appear in professional baseball until the age of 22 in 1912. Prior to that, he did play semi-pro ball in Watseka, IL where he worked on his family farm.  At the time of his pro debut, Sam had already been married for 4 years and had two children.
4. Unfortunately, his wife, both children, mother and two sisters were killed by a tornado. The storm was part of a multi-day tornado outbreak which was significant enough to merit it's own Wikipedia page.
5. Following the 1912 season, he ended up in the Navy and stationed on the battleship USS New Hampshire. He and his shipmates were part of a landing force that took the port city of Veracruz  after tensions between the US and Mexico escalated.
6. In 1914, after his furlough from the Navy, he resumed is baseball career with the Petersburg Goobers of the Virginia League. The following year, the Goobers struggled financially (as well as on the field) and the owner of the team gave Rice's contract to the major league Washington Nationals in repayment for a loan.
7. In 1916, after several successful appearances as a pinch hitter, he became a full time outfielder.
8. Rice didn't have much power, stroking only 34 home runs over the course of his career. He did have speed and had 351 stolen bases over his 20 years and hit over 30 doubles in 10 of those seasons.
9. During spring training in 1918, he was drafted into the military and deployed to France.  However, WW1 ended before he saw any combat and he found himself back at Spring Training in 1919.
10. He and teammate Joe Judge held the record for longevity as teammates after 18 seasons together with Washington.  The record has been broken twice in recent decades, first by George Brett and Frank White, then by Alan Trammel and Lou Whitaker.
11. In Game 3 of the 1925 World Series, Rice made a catch on a long drive by Pirates catcher Earl Smith that saw him fall over the outfield wall and not return to sight until after a short delay.  Controversy ensued whether he really successfully caught the ball. It waw ruled he did and, well into his retirement when asked if he truly caught that ball he always responded, "the umpires said I did."
12. He continued to play well through is age 42 season, after which his decline was notable.  After the 1933 season he was released and signed with Cleveland to play for his former teammate and Nationals manager Walter Johnson.  He struggled as the season wore on and finally retired in September.
13. In retirement, he had a chicken farm for a while, bred racing pigeons, and invested in real estate.
14. Sam Rice was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 1963 and was a regular at the induction ceremonies through 1974, after which he passed away.
15. In 1965, at the request of a HOF historian he wrote a letter documenting the definitive story of that controversial catch in the '25 World Series with the stipulation that it not be opened until after his death.  Once the letter was subsequently found and opened, it was revealed that Sam had made the catch and never lost possession of the ball. The delay in returning to the field was due to being dazed by the fall on the opposite side of the outfield wall.  However, the controversy was never resolved as there were witnesses who continued to claim the opposite.

What I am listening to: Something We Regret by Willow Avalon

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

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 42

I've really struggled to get this one out. Since my last post in this series, I've added two more signed 1961 Fleer cards, bringing my total to 72. I started this quest in January of 2017. The first card was Burleigh Grimes and, at the time, I commented "If I had to guess, I would think it would be fairly difficult to get more than 50-60 such cards for this set."  It is a bit mind-boggling that I have exceeded that level and I have been blessed to acquire a number of cards I would have considered out of reach 7 years ago.

 But, let's move on to the next signed 1961 Fleer card: #119 Joe Kuhel.  I think my inertia in working on this post is the fact that I had no idea who the subject was prior to starting the research for this post.  He was just a common card when I was building the set originally.  At the time, I was more focused on card numbers than names and biographies. Shame on me.

Let's learn a bit more about Joe Kuhel:

1. On June 11, 1939 in the first game of a home twin bill between his Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red cox, Kuhel went 3 for 4 off Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Grove including a walk-off 2 run home run in the bottom of the ninth. 
2. He was adopted.
3. After a single year in high school, he started an apprenticeship as a leather cutter. He continued as such until his fine sandlot play got him some playing time with the Class B Flint Vehicles of the Michigan-Ontario League at the end of the 1924 season.
4. From there his career was a steady, but slow, upward trajectory to his major league debut on July 31, 1930.
5. His minor league career included 3 years with the Kansas City Blues where he hit, respectively, .325, .327, and .372.  He was purchased by the Washington Senators and ended up replacing Joe Judge as the permanent first baseman in May of  '31 when the elder Judge went down with appendicitis. 
6. After his playing days, he worked for 20 years as a sales manager for the Roper Sales Corporation in Kansas City.  I've not had much luck looking for that company.  Mostly I just get western wear store selling roper boots.
7. He was a member of the American Society of Amateur Magicians

What I am listening to: Hold On by The Alabama Shakes

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 40

Before we get started, can we just acknowledge the utter lack of visual appeal in this card?  The crude signature combined with the extreme diamond cut of the card makes it one of the less attractive cards in this project.  Yowza.

I've mentioned before that the 1960 and 1961 Fleer sets engage in a bit of mis-advertising.  They are called Baseball Greats, but there are a fair number of subject players that, while noteworthy, are not necessarily great.  Riggs Stephenson here is a good example. A solid hitter, his defensive deficiencies along with a history of injuries meant that he was only was a starting player for 4 seasons in a 14 year career.  Interestingly, he received MVP votes in 3 of those 4 seasons. This included coming in 5th place in the 1932 race behind winner Chuck Klein, but ahead of such notables as Mel Ott and Pie Traynor.

Some interesting facts about Stephenson

1. His major league career ended in 1934, but he continued to play in the minor leagues through 1939.  This included a 1936 stint as player-manager for the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association.  That year, he was the offensive leader of the team, hitting .355 while leading the team to the league championship.
2. He was a three sport standout at the University of Alabama, earning 3 varsity letters each in football and baseball, and 1 in basketball. His football coach at 'Bama described Riggs as “better football player than Jim Thorpe."
3. While at Alabama one of his baseball teammates was future Hall of Famer Joe Sewell.
4. He appeared in both the 1929 and 1932  World Series for the Chicago Cubs.  The Cubbies lost both series through no fault of Stephenson who hit .316 and .444 respectively in the two series.
5. After his baseball career ended, he returned home to Alabama to farm and run various successful business ventures.

What I am listening to:: Muscle Shoals Nitty Gritty by Herbie Mann

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 39

I created the skeleton of this post on September 24th and it has been staring at me ever since. I want to get this knocked off before the holidays start to ramp up.  As it is, I have not added any more signed Fleer cards to my collection since Jimmie Foxx. Not surprising, of course, as I knew I was looking at reduced activity after splashing out for the Foxx.  I've picked up a few things here and there, but nothing noteworthy.

So, here is the 39th card in my signed 1961 Fleer project:

Johnny Vander Meer was a fireballer known for wildness rather than racking up strikeouts.  In fact, over the course of a 13-year major league career, he averaged 4.8 walks against 5.5 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.  His win-loss record was similarly balanced at 119-121.  Vander Meer's main claim to notoriety is he is the only person in the history of major league baseball to throw back-to-back no-hitters, a feat he accomplished in June of 1938.   The first no-hitter, pitched on the 11th, was against the anemic hitting Boston Bees.  In his next outing, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, saw him strike out 7 while issuing no less than 8 free passes to first base.

A few other interesting facts:

1. His major league career was effectively over after 1950, with him pitching only 3 ineffective innings for Cleveland in 1951.  He did however continue pitching in the minor leagues through 1955.
2. From 1953 through 1962, he managed in the Cincinnati minor league system.  During his stint as a manager, he led such notable players as Pete Rose, Jim Wynn, and Lee May.
3. After leaving baseball behind, he worked for the Schlitz Brewing Company for 15 years.
4. He was buried with a baseball in his left hand. 

What I am listening to:  Perfect Strangers by Deep Purple

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 38

Now back to your (ir)regularly scheduled programming:  the real Part 38 in this series.

A little over a week ago, Night Owl had a post that referenced cards that featured Comissioner Bowie Kuhn and mentioned how rare it is that any card features MLB commissioners. And guess what card was next up in this post series?

Warren Giles!  Night Owl mentioned a Beckett article that he just finished about commissioner cards.  Alas, I don't read Beckett and when I do read I apparently have comprehension issues as you will see in the comment from NO below.  I've already got books that have been on the nightstand for over year untouched and I always feel a twinge of guilt when I climb into bed and see them sitting there waiting for me.  So, I have no idea whether he mentioned 1960 and 1961 Fleer in that article. Hopefully, he will confirm or deny in the comments {stares in cardboard appreciation.}

Strictly speaking, Giles was never commissioner. Rather he was the NL President from 1951 through 1969. His tenure mostly overlapped with Ford Frick occupying the MLB Commissioners office. Frick will appear in Part 53 of this series, assuming I get there before I shuffle of this mortal coil. In case you are wondering, the AL Commissioner during this time, former HOF player and manager Joe Cronin, does not appear in the set in any form.  Anyways, let's learn a little bit more about Warren.

The last two years of my life have been dominated by career issues and have involved two separate job searches.  One interview question I hate is "Where do you see yourself in five years?"   If you were to parachute into any time during my 35-year post college work life and ask me that question, then drop back in 5 years later, you would find that not only was I not where my 5-year plan said I would be, I was nowhere close.  That is a tortured, and all too long, set-up for how Warren Giles kicked off his baseball career.

After serving as an army officer in France during the First World War, Giles returned to his home in Moline, IL to work as a tradesman with his father, a general contractor. He was involved in running a local football team which led to being invited to a meeting regarding how to save the locally owned minor league team, the Moline Plowboys.  In a classic case of no good deed goes unpunished, speaking out at the meeting led Giles to be appointed to the unpaid position as President of the team.

Ater turning around the Moline club, his career as a baseball executive took off with 4 subsequent stops before assuming his post as NL President:

1922 - 1924 -St Joseph (MO) Saints
1925 -1927 - Syracuse (NY) Stars
1928 - 1936 - Rochester (NY) Red Wings
1938 - 1951 Cincinnati (OH) Red Legs

During his tenure as NL President, he was considered an effective representative of ownership and, thus, not necessarily friendly to a nascent labor movement in organized baseball. However, he had a decent working relationship with the umpires, likely due to his time as a basketball and football referee early in his career. Indeed, the NL umpires unionized during Gile's tenure. He also presided over a period of team moves, including both the Giants and Dodgers moving west, while the Braves vacated Milwaukee for warmer climes.

I could go on, but you would better served reading his SABR biography. I will share one interesting anecdote about Giles, who's s advocacy for ownership was tainted with accusations of undue deference specifically to the Dodger's Walter O'Malley. In 1963, Giles promulgated a directive strictly enforce the balk rule that said a pitcher must stop his windup for one full second while pitching from the stretch.  Why does this show favoritism towards O'Malley?  Well, the rule worked to the advantage of a baserunning oriented team and theprevious season, the Dodgers young phenom Maury Wills won the MVP while stealing 104 bases, the most since Billy Hamilton swiped 111 in 1891.

What I am listening to: Worn Out American Dream by BettySoo

1961 Fleer Autograph Project Part 38 70

It arrived and I am beyond excited.

Because I am a big jerk, I am going to put my white whale after a jump break. In the mean time, here is a picture of a white whale.

Let's run down the 1961 Fleer set a bit, if for no other reason than to prolong the reveal.  Though there is nothing stopping you from skipping ahead.  

The 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats set was actually issued in 1961 and 1962,  The first series, consisting of cards 1 through 88, was issued in 1961 and, to state the obvious, the second series of cards 89 through 154 in the latter year.  While cards 1 and 89 were checklists they did feature players on the front and I have seen autographed versions of each card, however I don't have either.  All of the subject players were retired, though Ted Williams had just retired at the end of the 1960 season.  Many of the players had died before the set was issued, but there were 99 players that were alive on January 1, 1961.  Three died during the year: Schoolboy Rowe on January 8, Dazzy Vance on February 16, and Ty Cobb on July 17. It is safe to say that it is improbable that there are signed versions of the first two and I consider it unlikely there is a Cobb. I've certainly never seen one. So, we're down to a total of 96 cards that could theoretically exist in signed form.  

In my previous post, I defined white whales as the cards that were of truly great players who died shortly after the set was issued.  I said there was four, but when I relook at it, there are only three:

Rogers Hornsby (d. 1963)
Paul Waner (d. 1965)
Jimmie Foxx (d.1967)

So, now you know the options.  Let's cut to the chase.

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 37

I am really excited.  I just won an auction for what will be my 70th signed 1961 Fleer card.  And it is one of four cards that I would consider the white whales of the project: cards of all-time great players who lived only for a short time after the set was issued.  I will probably skip over Parts 38 through 69 and post that card next.  At the rate I am posting these, it would probably be 2030 before I got to #70 otherwise. Oh, I'll loop back and start again at 38. There are some good ones in there, but #70 just can't wait its turn.

Wait a minute, you might be thinking. Isn't this set called Baseball Greats?  Why do you only consider 4 cards to be white whales? I'm glad you asked. You see, much like the Greats of the Game sets that Fleer issued between 2001 and 2006, only some of the subject players were truly great.  All were notable, to be sure. But, notable is not the same as great.  Let me give you an example: Ray Mueller

Ray Mueller was a baseball lifer.  Starting in 1932 with the Harrisburg Senators of the New York -Penn League, it spanned over 40 years ending in 1973 as a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies. His career included turns as a minor league player-manager and major league coach and scout.  He was a teammate of Babe Ruth for the 1935 Boston Braves and coached Willie Mays with the 1956 NY Giants.  Notable, but his time in the majors was mainly as a backup catcher.  He only played more than 100 games in a major league season twice, as the starting backstop for the Cincinnati Redlegs.

Anyways, here are few interesting tidbits abour Mueller.

1. In 1944 he was an All-Star and received two first-place votes for NL MVP. 
2. On July 21, he hit a walk-off grand slam in the 11th inning of a 5-1 win over the Cardinals. On his trip around the diamond, he passed his cousin Don Gutteridge, who was manning third base for St. Louis.
3. During Mueller’s time with Boston, he was friends with Donald Davidson, who stood just 4’0”. Mueller helped him become the team bat boy, which he parlayed into a role with the team’s publicity department. When the franchise moved to Milwaukee in 1953, Davidson became the public relations director. Davidson is credited with giving Henry Aaron the nickname “Hammerin’ Hank.”  Davidson was another baseball lifer, though never as a player.

That's all for now. Keep your eyes out for that next post.  I'm so stinking excited.

What I am listening to: Smooth Sailin' by Leon Bridges

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 36

I keep saying I need to get more active here and I never do. I just received my 65th signed 1961 Fleer card and I am working with a friend on a deal to add three more to that total.  At a minimum, I need to be posting faster than I am acquiring them. Surely, I can manage that? The answer is yes because I expect this project will grind to a virtual halt as I am getting down to the very rare or very expensive cards yet to go. Okay, next up in the signed 1961 Fleer project is Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau.

Boudreau was certainly one of the better players in the 1940s.  But what made him special is that for 8 of those years he was also the manager of the Cleveland Indians.  He became a player manager in 1942 at the tender age of 24 and continued through the 1950 season, when he was released by the Indians and signed as a free agent by the Boston Red Sox. He is listed as a player-manager for the Bosox in 1952, but only appeared in 4 mid season games as a pinch hitter, so it is something of a questionable designation,

That said, I was curious how he stacked up against other player-managers.  Through the course of MLB history (note: Negro League baseball wasn't accounted for in the list, although there were undoubtedly numerous examples) there have been 222 player managers. Most, (170)   were in the deadball era, with another 32 in the time between the world wars.  There were only 20 player managers in the post war era and most of them only appeared as such in a single season.  Only Phil Cavarretta and Pete Rose acted as player managers for more than two seasons in the post-war era. So, it is probably fair to say that Lou was the last of a dying breed

His roles as a star player and team manager peaked in 1948 when he was the runaway winner of the AL MVP and led his Indians team to the 1948 World Series where they prevailed in 6 games over the Boston Braves.

Other fun facts about Lou Boudreau:

• He isn't so much credited with inventing the infield shift as he was of bringing it to more popular attention.  He did this on July 14, 1946 against Ted Williams during the second game of a doubleheader.  Williams laughed when Cleveland deployed the shift, but then promptly grounded out to none other than Lou Boudreau.
• Despite not ever being confused as a speed demon (one of his nicknames was "Old Shufflefoot," he was an excellent fielding shortstop.
• In 1990, the Cleveland Indians established The Lou Boudreau Award, which is given every year to the organization's Minor League Player of the Year.
• Boudreau is only one of three Illinois Fighting Illini athletes to have their number retired; the other two athletes being Illinois Fighting Illini football players Red Grange and Dick Butkus.
• He was Denny McClain's father-in-law.

What I am listening to:  El Dorado by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 35

 I really need to get my rear in gear here. Previously, I had mentioned that I had a bit of a curve thrown at me by life late last year. That situation is now coming to close.  As a celebration, I have bought another signed 1961 Fleer card to my collection. That one will be, once I receive it, the 63rd such card. So, I really need to get this party going. Hopefully, I can actually make regular entries in this series as there is a long way between 35 and 63.

Fred "Firpo" Marberry is often considered the first relief specialist.  To be sure, there were relief pitchers before Marberry's time, but it was never really a specialty.  Indeed in the 1910's, the decade before Firpo started his professional career, over 62% of the games ended in complete games.  Over the space of his major league career that level decreased but was still substantially around half of all games.

I would have researched this further, but I really didn't want to pay for more detailed access to Baseball Reference, so I tried another approach.  Using the free part of B-R, I looked at the progressive career leaders for games finished and looked to see which of the various leaders had more than half of their career appearances in relief.  Only one name stuck out: Doc Crandall.  Over a 10 year career, Crandall made 302 appearances, 168 of which were in relief.  In contrast, Marberry made 365 relief appearances in the 551 games he appeared in.

Here are some random facts about Marberry (mostly stolen) from his SABR biography:

1. A big man, Marberry stormed around, throwing and kicking dirt, glaring angrily at the batter. He and catcher Muddy Ruel would put on an act during warm ups intended to psych out opposing batteers.He was Al Hrabosky a couple decades before Al Hrabosky was even born.
2. Marberry acquired the nickname Firpo because of his size and facial resemblance to Argentine boxer Luis Firpo. 
3. At the time, games at Griffith Stadium typically started at 4:00. In the faster-paced games of the time, this meant that “Marberry Time,” as it was soon called, would arrive at about 5:30 or 6:00, with the shadows rolling across the diamond. For a fastball pitcher like Marberry, this was an ideal environment.
4. He had a short stint as an American League umpire in 1935, but found the job too lonely.
5. Even after his major league career was over at the age of 37 in 1936, he continued pitching in the minors, mostly the Texas League, for 5 more seasons.
6. He owned a 600-acre farm near Marberry ‘s boyhood home in Mexia and, at various times, he operated a wholesale gas distributorship and ran a recreation center in Waco.

What I am listening to: Honeysuckle Blue by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

1961 Fleer Autograph Project - Part 34

It has been a bit over a year since I last posted about my autographed 1960 and 1961 Fleer project.  In that post, I shared that I won a lot of 47 signed 1961s, of which I needed 18.  The other 29 were shipped off to an auction house and I netted back about half of my original lot cost. I've added a few more over the last year and, as of today, I am sitting at 61 signed cards from this set. So, we have some catching up to do.

Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez (1972 Veterans Committee) pitched in 368 games across all or part of 14 seasons. All but one of those games were with the NY Yankees between 1930 and 1942.  The sole game where he didn't where the pinstripes was an ineffective 4 2/3 inning start for the Washington Senators in the first game of a twin bill on May 30, 1943.  His finest season was probably 1934, when he went 26-5 with a 2.33 ERA and finished 3rd in the MVP voting behind only Mickey Cochrane and fellow hurler Charlie Gehringer. Oddly enough, he finished ahead of teammate Lou Gehrig, who was 5th in voting despite hitting for the Triple Crown (the only time he ever did so.)

His best game may have come on May 24, 1932 against the Philadelphia Athletics. Lefty pitched a complete game while allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk against 13 strikeouts. One of the hits was a ground ball single by Jimmie Foxx, who was hitting .441 at the time and was well on his way to the first of his three MVP seasons.

Gomez was known as one of the funniest men in baseball, though much of his humor was self-deprecating. An example was when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon in 1969, and he and NASA scientists were puzzled by an unidentified white object. Upon hearing of it, Lefty said, “I knew immediately what it was. It was a home run ball hit off me in 1937 by Jimmie Foxx.”

What I am listening to:  Down by the Water by The Decemberists