#533 Darrell Johnson

Darrell Johnson caught for seven different major league teams (if you count the Browns and Orioles as different clubs) over parts of six seasons. Only twice did he get into 40 or more games or get 100 at bats. But he apparently was gathering baseball acumen as he went since he ended up managing in the minors and majors rather successfully.

Johnson signed with the St. Louis Browns in 1949 and hit well as he made his way up the ranks of the St. Louis system. He made the Browns' roster in 1952 and after a slow start and demotion to the minors he came back and was in the starting line-up for a month or so but in July he was traded to the White Sox.

For the next four seasons Johnson was passed around through several organizations without returning to the majors. He came back in 1957 as a spare part on the Yankees' AL title team and remained there in New York for their 1958 championship. He didn't play in any post season games for the Yanks. But in 1961 he found himself in Cincinnati after stints with the Phils and Cardinals (where he was a player/coach) and he got to start in two games against the Yanks in the World Series. He did well, too, going two for four.

A very brief whirl with the Orioles in 1962 as player/coach was Johnson's last taste of a big league field... as a player. He jumped right into managing in the Orioles' chain in 1963 and piloted teams to titles in two out of four seasons. He worked for the Yankees for a couple of seasons. He moved over to coach for the Red Sox, served as pitching instructor and scout, and then managed in their chain before being named to manage in Boston in 1974. He took over that job as a replacement for Eddie Kasko and a year later he had the Sox in the World Series against the Reds in a Fall Classic for the ages.

But in July of '76 with his team three games under .500 Johnson was canned and replaced by Don Zimmer. The next season he became the first manager of the Seattle Mariners. He remained in that spot with a struggling expansion franchise until 1980 when he was replaced by Maury Wills.

Johnson's last managerial job came in July of 1982 when, in a nice little twist of baseball fate, he stepped in to finish out the season when Don Zimmer was canned as manager of the Texas Rangers. He went on to coach with the Mets and then was a part of their front office.

Johnson's story is really a fascinating one. His SABR bio is a good read and it includes background on his relationships with players and press. It also includes the story of how Johnson and Browns pitcher Cliff Fannin were a losing pitcher/catcher battery for a major and minor league team in the same day.

Darrell Johnson died in 2004. Of course that's Yankee Stadium behind Johnson on this off-center but otherwise very nice card. I'm going to miss these things.

The next 

 is the last

and then we are done.

#521 Gary Geiger

And we are back to some high number series cards with Gary Geiger. Black replaced green on the reverse of these high numbers. Elsewhere it has been stated that the switch was done as part of Topps' efforts to gear up for the printing of their 1959 football cards. Sounds logical to me.

Gary Geiger was a standout player for Gorham high school in rural Illinois and was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954. He began as a pitcher and, after a rough first year, was a twenty game winner in 1955. He was having some success as a reliever in '56 when the Cards decided that given their pitching depth and Geiger's bat, speed and continued control problems as a hurler that he would help them more as an outfielder. And so he was switched.

He struggled with his hitting at the AAA level in 1957 and the Cards ended up exposing him to the Rule 5 draft that winter. In an interesting twist it was Frank Lane who, as Cardinal's GM made the decision to risk losing Geiger....and it was the same Frank Lane who, having taken the same position with the Cleveland Indians, selected Geiger in that draft in his first act with his new club.

Geiger hit .231 as the fourth outfielder with the Indians in 1958, a year during which he had to remain on the big league roster or be returned to St. Louis. In winter ball later that year he injured his neck and came home to the states over Lane's objections. He was then traded to the Red Sox where he would play next to two Hall of Fame outfielders, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski over the course of his seven seasons in Fenway.

Geiger turned out to be injury prone and had trouble putting full seasons together. But he had speed and some power and was even able to hit over .300 in 1960 playing in nearly half the games. But much more was expected of him given the talent he flashed and in the end the Sox let him get drafted away by the Braves where he spent two seasons. Geiger finished his career with a couple of years in Houston after spending 1968 in the minors.

In 1996 Geiger died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of just 59. He had lived the last 20 years of his life battling alcoholism. His family says his issues were a result of his fear of flying. He used drink to calm his nerves and in the end the habit caught up with him.

Gieger's SABR bio is the 'go to' place for more insight on his interesting life and career. This obit from a local paper is a quicker but also interesting read. Lots of stories from his family and friends in that one.

This card and the other 'light green' card (the previously posted #545 Tom Morgan) in the high number series have a distinct 'lime green' look about them. It's certainly a different shade of light green than that which is seen on the lower series cards. For a comparison here are the Geiger and Dale Long cards scanned side by side. The difference seems more pronounced when viewing the cards in person but it is plain enough to see in the scans.

#486 Sammy White

Sammy White made a big jump in 1952. He had been signed out of the PCL, spent three seasons in the Red Sox' system and had a four game taste of the majors when he was handed the starting catcher's job in Boston after having spent the previous season in Class A ball.

And White made the most of it. In 115 games he hit ten homers, drove in 49 runs and hit .281, just a few points below the best average of his career. To top it off he finished third in the Rookie of the Year balloting finishing just a tick behind Philadelphia's 15 game winning hurler Harry Byrd and fellow catcher Clint Courtney of the Browns.

For an encore White made the 1953 AL All Star squad. Too bad that Casey Stengel kept him on the bench as Yogi Berra caught the whole game. White never again made it back to the ASG. But he did have a productive career as the Sox full time catcher for eight seasons through 1959 and earning a reputation as a good defensive player. He led all AL catchers in assists from 1953 through 1956.

He hit for some power and even stole a base every now and then. Coming off the '59 campaign in which he hit a career high .284 the Sox, apparently deciding to 'sell high' at that point traded White to the Indians. White, with a new bowling alley venture to run, decided to retire rather than report to the Indians. He sat out the entire 1960 season and the deal was voided.

In June of 1961 the Braves talked White into playing and purchased his contract from the Red Sox. Milwaukee was looking to fill the spot opened by an injury to Del Crandall and he spent the rest of that year backing up rookie Joe Torre. As a side note the Braves paid White $35,000 for that half year of back-up duty which was the most money he had ever made in baseball.

Released after that season White hooked on with the Phils for 1962 and then retired for good to run his business. His SABR page has many details of Sammy White's colorful career including his attempt to field an off-season basketball squad of Sox players that led to a mini-holdout (he had been a basketball star at the University of Washington). And it mentions the conflicting advice he got from every side on how to improve his hitting by changing his stance. He heard from two extremes, Ted Williams and Sox owner Tom Yawkey!

The article out of a Eugene paper in 1953 discusses the young catcher and has glowing quotes fro notables such as Bill Dickey and Berra. Sammy White died in 1991 in Hawaii where he had been living after retiring from his business ventures.

#473 Mike Fornieles

Mike Fornieles (full name: Jose Miguel Fornieles Torres) is another in a long line of native Cubans that were signed by Senators scout Joe Cambria over the course of several decades as he worked for owner Clark Griffith. Fornieles came to the U.S. after signing in 1950 and began his career as a righthanded starter in Big Spring, Texas.

Having been through Big Spring it's hard to imagine being a 19-year-old from Cuba and finding yourself in the middle of west central Texas at the beginning of the 1950s. But a look at the 1951 Big Springs Broncs' roster would lead you to believe that Fornieles had plenty of countrymen around to keep him from getting lonely. And his 17-6 season would tend to back up that theory.

After another standout campaign in 1952 (with the Nats' Havana affiliate) Forneiles got a late season call-up and he debuted in Washington on September 2. In that first game he pitched and won a one hit shutout of the Philadelphia A's. He fanned four and worked around six walks for the victory. A week later he got another start and took a loss but pitched decently enough to get a couple more looks as a reliever. In his final appearance he went eight innings in relief of Julio Moreno and allowed only three hits as the Nats rallied to get him the win.

That winter he was traded to the White Sox for Chuck Stobbs as Washington tried to pick up some left handed pitching help. He spent the next four seasons as a spot starter and reliever for the Sox and Orioles who traded him to the Red Sox in 1957. He had six seasons in Boston and in 1960, by now a full time reliever, Fornieles won 10 games and led the AL in appearances and saves.

In '61 he made his only All Star squad and was called on in the first of two ASGs that year. He allowed a homer to George Altman, the first man he faced. After getting Willie Mays to fly out he was touched for a hit by Frank Robinson and was taken out of the game in favor of Hoyt Wilhelm.

He stayed with Boston until they dealt him to the Twins in 1963 after which he retired to become a car salesman in Florida. SABR has a detailed look at his career. He passed away at 66 in 1998.

That is, of course, the iconic Yankee Stadium serving as background in the pic. I appreciate those cards on which the frieze (a.k.a. 'facade') is shown.

#433 Billy Harrell

This card of Cardinals' infielder Billy Harrell seems pretty mundane with the hatless subject staring out into the middle distance from what I'm guessing is the visitors' dugout in Yankee Stadium. But some of the most mundane cards reveal some of the coolest stories.

Billy Harrell has one such story. The Norristown, Pennsylvania native played basketball for Sienna College from 1949 through 1952. He was very good at it, too. So good that he was known as 'The Flash', received UPI All American honorable mention honors and he led Sienna to the National Catholic Invitational Tournament championship in 1950. Don't sell that short. The NCIT was considered a top tournament back in those days, right up there with the NIT (then the most prestigious postseason prize) and NCAA tournaments.

The tournament was still in it's infancy then and was scheduled to he held in Baltimore until it was learned that the area hotels would not allow the black players to stay at their establishments. Sienna, who had already received their invite as the #3 seed, offered to host and Harrell and his teammates ran the table (Harrell apparently was a hellacious rebounder) and took home the trophy.

As an interesting aside, City College of New York won both the NIT and NCAA tourneys that year (the only team to ever pull that off) but had both crowns were spoiled by a point shaving scandal that erupted within a year.

Harrell finished his Sienna career as the schools season rebounding record holder, a record that was only broken in 2011. His #10 was the first uniform number ever retired by the school.

Harrell moved on to pro sports after his Sienna days and played baseball for the Birmingham Barons of the Negro Leagues and hoops for the ABL's Saratoga Harlem Yankees. He had previously rejected offers from the Minneapolis Lakers and Harlem Globetrotters. Eventually he signed with the Cleveland Indians and spent six seasons in their system. He had call-ups in 1956 and 1957 and hit pretty well. He spent the entire season with Cleveland in 1958 and played some at shortstop getting almost 250 at bats. He hit only .218 and the Indians waived him that winter and he was claimed by St. Louis.

Although shown as a Cardinal Harrell never made the team and spent two full seasons at the AAA level. His bat (he hit ..293 in 1960) attracted the Red Sox and they took him in the minor league draft and used him a bit in 1961 but after that he was never able to rise past the AAA level and remained there until he retired in 1966. The cardback has a line indicating St. Louis sending him down before the season.

Billy Harrell is (unofficially) the only player to have played in three countries over a span of two days. With Rochester in 1960 he played past midnight in a doubleheader in Havana before catching the 'red eye' to Toronto for the International League All Star Game that evening. He then rejoined his teammates for a home game stateside the next day.

At last report Harrell is retired in Albany, NY, where he had been employed with the State Youth Division in placement and counseling. An article/interview that focused on him and the plight of other former players who fell outside the old baseball pension guidelines can be found here.

Here is a small pic of Harrell playing for Sienna.

#511 George Susce

Pitcher George Susce Jr. was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1951. And so begins the best story I uncovered while looking into this card. As soon as George Jr. signed that contract his father, George Susce Sr., former big league catcher, was fired as a coach by the Indians because of George Jr.'s choice of teams. I bet there is a lot more to that story in the way of juicy details but I can't find much outside of the fact that it happened. (The card's cartoon mentions his father as being a coach with Milwaukee.)

But fear not, there is a happy ending. George Sr. was coaching for the Kansas City Athletics the day George Jr. pitched the best game of his rookie '55 season. It was a one hit shutout of the A's and was the first time dad had watched son pitch in the big leagues.

Junior had begun his pro career with a rough season in the Red Sox' minor league system in '51. 1952 wasn't looking much more promising when he was called to serve in the Army during the Korean Wan. He missed most of that season and all the next. Army life seems to have had a positive effect because when he returned to pitch he went 14-6 with the AAA level Louisville club with a WHIP of 1.159 and a couple of shutouts.

He won a job with Boston for 1955 and stayed with the Sox for just over three seasons as a long reliever/spot starter. His 9 wins, 15 starts and 144 innings during his rookie season were career highs. Susce was waived by the Sox in May of 1958 and claimed by the Tigers. He finished the season with Detroit, again as a spot starter, but found himself farmed out in May of 1959 after a terrible start to the season. That move is noted on the back of the card. Susce never returned to the majors or to organized ball for that matter after that season.

This card is somewhat unusual in that the Topps photographer took the shot with the Yankee Stadium first base side in the background. Most players on visiting teams had their pictures taken with the third base/left field area behind them. They were usually out in front of the visitors dugout on the third base side.

A few tidbits related to the Susce and family:

George Jr. was listed as exactly that on his 1956 Topps card but not on his subsequent three Topps cards.

He had a brother Paul who pitched for Auburn from 1953 through 1956 and made Al-SEC his senior season. His 0.99 ERA in his second season remains a school record. He played a year of minor league ball in 1957 and went on to coach high school baseball in Florida and Virginia. He later worked for Worth Sporting Goods.

Here is Paul Susce at a spring training camp wearing some wild shorts:

I found a picture of George Sr. and Junior. Looks like it might be from the day that I mentioned when George Sr. saw his son's gem. At least we can see it was from a KC-Boston encounter and it was labeled as being from 1955.

George Sr. had a long career as coach/manager/consultant for several organizations and it appears he missed coaching on his son's club in 1955 by just a season.

Here is Susce Sr.'s card from the 1955 Rodeo Meats set:

Here is dad again but wearing his St. Louis Browns' duds in a gorgeous recolored pic I found on Uni-Watch.

Lots of unverifiable Susce info in this blog post and particularly in the comments.

#371 Dick Brodowski

Only 30 cards remain in the 1959 Topps set after this one of Dick Bordowski is posted. There is one superstar's card, a couple of All Star cards and a bunch of the high number series cards remaining. If I can keep to my regular every-other-day posting habits I should complete the cards before Opening Day, which would be 55 years after the set was first issued.

New Jersey born right-hander Dick Bordowski signed with the Red Sox straight out of high school in 1951 and made an immediate splash in their minor league system with a 21-5 season at the 'D' level. He pitched well the next season at AAA and was rewarded with a June call-up to the Sox. He had one good, one OK and one bad outing right off the bat but when called upon to start late in the month he rewarded the Sox with a pair of complete game wins. He had a roller coaster season after that and ended up with a 5-5 record and an ERA of 4.40 with 12 starts over 20 appearances.

He was in the service for the next two years and interestingly he didn't pitch much even though he was a member of the Army's baseball team. Instead he played second base. He had originally been signed as a duel position player (inf/p) and over his career he was a good hitter. Bordowski was back with the Sox for the '55 season and was generally ineffective. He was traded to Washington in 1956 and the Indians in 1958. Over those four years after his Boston days he was up and down between the majors and minors every season.

After one poor outing in 1960 he was out of the game as a player. After baseball Bordowski worked as a salesman, an insurance agent and in security. The Baseball Historian blog has a neat interview with him. He's sharp, funny and has some interesting Ted Williams stories. The interview is here and it's worth a look.

#311 Norm Zauchin

Big Norm Zauchin, the pride of Royal Oak, Michigan once had a dream of starring for his hometown Detroit Falcons of the brief lived Basketball Association of America. But when that league folded he set his sights on his 'other' sport, baseball, and the Detroit Tigers. In 1948 he was promised a contract by well known Tiger scout Wish Egan. But Zauchin ended up waiting fruitlessly for Egan to follow-up and decided to strike a deal with the Boston Red Sox instead.

He climbed steadily up though the Sox chain as a power hitting first baseman and got a taste of the majors in 1951 before spending two years in the military. He returned to baseball in '54 with another year of seasoning and made the Sox in 1955. He took over the first base job a few weeks into the season and went on to hit 27 homers and drive in 93 runs. He managed to bat only .239 and led the A.L. in strike outs but overall he was impressive enough to garner Rookie of the Year votes, finishing third behind winner Herb Score and his teammate Billy Klaus.

Like Klaus, he has credited another service returnee, the great Ted Williams, with showing him how to be more selective and become a better hitter. On May 27 of the 1955 season Zauchin had his best game as a major leaguer going 4 for 5 with three dingers and a double and driving in 10 runs in a 16-0 bashing of the Senators. Despite all that Zauchin lost ground career-wise in the next few seasons.

He averaged about 100 plate appearances the next two seasons, suffered some injuries and was traded to the Senators before the '58 season. He had a hot start with the Nats but when his bat cooled off and he missed time with an injury his commitment to the club was questioned my manager Cookie Lavagetto. By the following May, probably by the time this card was issued, he had been sold to the Orioles' organization and he was soon out of the game.

Following his baseball days Zauchin was a pro bowler for awhile and managed a bowling center in Birmingham which had become his home during his minor league days. He died in 1999. His SABR bio is, as always, a good place to find his full story. He is a member of the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame alongside the likes of Willie Mays, Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson and Pie Traynor.

His card shows him in his Senators home duds in Griffith Stadium.

#299 Billy Klaus

Billy Klaus didn't look like such an angry tough-guy hard ass on all of his baseball cards, just the hat-less ones. But I will grant you that on this one he appears to be a guy I'd avoid trifling with.Maybe he just hated being asked to remove his cap.

Klaus originally signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1946 at age 17 and spent a year at their class D affiliate before it was discovered that his signing was illegal (before his high school eligibility was up?) and the contract was voided. He then signed with the Cubs and spent three very productive minor league seasons moving up their ladder.

In 1950 he was drafted by the Dallas club in the Texas League and played for Charlie Grimm. When Grimm moved on to the Braves organization the next year he had them sign Klaus and over the next three seasons he played at their AAA level club getting quick looks at the big leagues on a couple of occasions.

The Braves traded Klaus to the Giants for the '54 season but it wasn't until he was traded again a year later, this time to the Red Sox, that he truly found a baseball home. He won the regular shortstop job in June and his addition to the lineup is one reason the Sox surged over the second half of the season. That's according to Ted Williams and a nice Sport Illustrated story summarizes the Boston turn-around that year.

Klaus finished behind Herb Score in the Rookie of the Year voting (and ahead of fellow Red Sox infielder Norm Zauchin whose card will be shown here next) by hitting .283 and driving in 60 runs. That's pretty impressive for a guy who wasn't even a regular for the first 2 months of the season. He also got some MVP votes that year.

Klaus remained the Sox' starter at short for two more seasons although his numbers steadily declined. His continued fielding issues and back problems he incurred in 1957 led to him finding himself out of a steady job in 1958. He mostly pinch hit in Boston that year and wasn't very good at it and the Sox shipped him to the Orioles that winter.

He played in over 100 games for the Birds in 1959 and briefly played well enough to relegate Brooks Robinson to the minors but was used sparingly in 1960, hit just over .200 and was drafted away by the expansion Senators. One year there, one year plus a bit in Philadelphia and then Klaus took his glove and bat to Japan for what remained of 1963. He wasn't happy with the experience and returned to his home in Florida, opened a paint store, watched his younger brother Bobby play baseball and eventually got back into uniform as a minor league manager.

He managed (and played a bit, too) for the Senators and A's organizations and retired to his paint company for good in 1970. Klaus died in 2007. His story is best told in his SABR bio.

Billy Klaus doesn't always look like a German tank commander (that my original opening line for this entry). And for proof take a look at some of his other cards including my other Billy Klaus, the 1960 Topps:

And his '58.

#199 Leo Kiely

 Jersey Boy Leo Kiely had a 26-27 career mark with 29 saves over seven big league seasons, mostly in Boston. But those rather pedestrian numbers belie some interesting aspects of his baseball days. For example Kiely was the very first player with major league experience to play in the Japanese major leagues.

According to his interesting SABR bio he pitched in Japan on days off from his duties as an active serviceman in the employ of Uncle Sam. And his 100,000 yen salary was just slightly less than that of the Emperor.

Kiely was in the service despite the after effects of a near fatal accident he suffered as a 5-year-old when he was run over by a truck and fractured both knees among other serious injuries. As a result he had one shorter leg for which he wore special shoes and subsequently was classified as 3-C by his draft board and placed into military service in a non-combat role. SABR goes into detain about Kiely's rough-and-tumble early life.

Kiely's career began when he was drafted by Boston in 1948. He was playing ball in a CYO league as he had never attended high school. Hard to conceive of that happening today. He had impressive minor league numbers and debuted in Boston in mid-1951. He went 7-7 in 19 games, mostly starts. He went into the service after that and that's when he pitched Army ball as well as in the Japanese League.

Returning to the Sox he was given a spot starter's role in 1954 and he went 5-8. He pitched out of the Red Sox' bullpen for another year and a half before he went back to AAA through 1957, He won a PCL high 21 games that year.

That earned him a return to the bigs and he had two seasons in the Sox' bullpen and finished his career with the A's in 1960 following a pair of trades that sent him to the Indians and then Kansas City in the off season. He pitched well for the A's but a sore shoulder ended his season and eventually his career.

Returning to New Jersey Kiely worked several jobs and died from throat cancer in 1984 at the age of 54.

#303 Marty Keough

Marty Keough was California kid who signed as an outfielder with the Red Sox in 1952. He hit well enough as a prospect to move up the ladder and he got a couple of looks by the Sox before he made the club in 1958 as a bench player. He got into almost 70 games and although he didn't hit much he was back in 1959 having won over the team with his speed and much improved fielding. He improved his hitting and got into nearly a hundred games with Boston that year. But the Red Sox had more outfielders than they could use and early in 1960 he was traded to the Indians. 

He finished that season with a .248 average and was selected by the Senators in that winter's expansion draft. 1961 in Washington proved to be Keough's busiest season as he had over 430 plate appearances and hit 9 homers to go with a .249 average.

He was traded once again that winter, this time to the Reds where he spent four uneven seasons, sometimes in a platoon role and sometimes, like in 1965, with no role at all. The Reds sold him to the Braves on the eve of the 1966 season but within six weeks or so he was traded yet again, this time to the Cubs. 

He was done with playing in the majors after that but he did spend another year in the minors before putting in a year of baseball in Japan. He has stayed in the games as a minor league manager and scout for several organizations since he ended his playing days.

Keough is part of a baseball family that includes two brothers, a son and grandson all of whom played at least at the minor league level. His brother Joe played in the majors for six years with the A's, Royals and White Sox. Brother Tom was briefly in the minors and also played college baseball and football for Cal including All American honors and a Rose Bowl appearance.

While working as a scout Marty Keough recommended his son Matt as a third base prospect. Matt Keough was drafted by the A's as a pitcher and went on to have a nine year career with several clubs, mostly the A's and was a member of the 1978 AL All Star squad. Finally Matt's son Shane was a prospect in the Athletics organization for four seasons beginning in 2007.

Marty Keough's story is best told on his SABR bio page. His card shows him in what appears to be a smirk, obviously pleased with whatever was happening out near the mound as he posed near the third base dugout at Yankee Stadium.

Worth noting is that this entry easily broke a personal record for "Most Open Tabs While Researching". That happens when you look up a guy with four other ball playing family members.

#91 Herb Moford

Kentucky righty Herb Moford spent enough time in the minors that his '59 Topps cardback doesn't have room for a cartoon. That sort of thing is usually reserved for longtime stars like Warren Spahn and Stan Musial.

Moford signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1947 and worked his way through the Cards' system for eight seasons pitching for nine different clubs before he made the big league roster in 1955. He pitched in 14 games through mid-June. All his appearances came in relief until he got a start in the Polo Grounds, got cuffed around by the Giants, and was farmed out once again.

In 1957 the Cards dealt Moford to the Tigers and he spent the second half f the '58 season as a swing man for Detroit, going 4-9 in 11 starts.His 361 ERA during that stretch was easily the best of his spotty career. Traded to the Red Sox that winter Moford made a couple of April starts for the Sox and was his very hard.

The Orioles acquired him and after a couple of minor league seasons he was purchased my the Mets for whom he made his last big league appearances in 1962. He was one of four pitchers who appeared in the first ever game in that franchise's history. He retired to tobacco farming and ranching soon thereafter and even dabbled in politics as the campaign manager for wacky Jim Bunning's run for the governorship of Kentucky.

It seems he was a decent sort of guy and maybe he should have run for governor instead of Bunning. This is Moford's only card and he's airbrushed into a Red Sox hat. Under that garish 'B' is likely a Tigers' 'D' since he'd been traded in December this early series card was probably out by March.

#534 Faye Throneberry

Faye Throneberry, brother of Marv Throneberry whose card was featured earlier, had a very similar career to his younger brother. They had similar career lengths and not so dissimilar numbers when they were finished. And each finished his career with an expansion club.

Faye signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1950 and put together respectable stats in the minors before debuting with the BoSox in 1952. Ted Williams' U.S. Marine stint opened some playing opportunities in the Red Sox' outfield that season. He had over 300 at bats and hit .258 in nearly 100 games. Uncle Sam came calling in December and Faye served two seasons in the military. When he returned to Boston he was used sparingly for a couple of seasons before being traded to the Senators in late April of 1957. With the Nats he experienced his best season when, in 1959, he hit .251 but had career highs with 10 homers and 42 RBI in 117 games.

He had about half as many at bats in 1960 and that December he was acquired by the fledgling Los Angeles Angels after the draft ended. He served mostly as a pinch-hitter for the Halos before he was farmed out in July and after another year plus a few games in the minors he retired.

After his playing days Faye Throneberry became  successful professional bird dog trainer in Tennessee. Details, of course, are provided in his SABR bio.

Griffith Stadium provides the backdrop for this card on a day the Senators hosted the Yankees.

#384 Dave Sisler

Son of Hall of Famer George Sisler, righty pitcher Dave Sisler attended Princeton University and was signed by the Red Sox in 1953. He spent a productive year with the Sox' Class A club and then spent two years in the military before returning to a big league career.

Sisler's three seasons with Boston are remarkable in their consistency. He was within one game of .500 each season and had an ERA in the high 4's each season. The only variation comes from the fact that he was evolving from a spot starter/reliever into a regular rotation option. A trade to the Tigers in May of 1959 put an end to Sisler's days as a starter and he finished out his career in the bullpen for Detroit, the expansion 1961 Senators (he had eleven saves) and the Reds in 1962.

In addition to his father, Dave Sisler had two other family members involved in the game. His brother Dick Sisler spent eight seasons as a 1B/OF in the NL from 1946 through 1953 (he was an All Star in 1950) and brother George Sisler Jr. was a minor league player who went on to become president of the International League and the very successful GM of the Columbus Clippers.

Dave went on to receive a postgraduate education at Washington U of St. Louis and became vice chairman of A.G. Edwards (now Wells Fargo). And come to think of it he looks more like a finance executive than a ball player. He died in 2011.

The write-up on the back of this card is remarkable in it's lacklusterlessness*.  

*=I made that word up.

#72 Bill Renna

William "Big Bill" Renna was a 3-sport collegiate standout at Menlo College and Santa Clara in California when he was signed by the Yankees in 1949. He displayed plenty of power and a hit near or better than .300 in his four year stretch in the Yankee chain. In one game in 1952 playing for the Yanks' AAA club in Kansas city he was part of a 10 home run (six in one inning!), 53 total bases assault. Renna hit two of those homers in a game that set American Association records that stand today.

Renna played in New York in 1953 but, while he hit .314, he failed to show much of his expected power. He was dealt to the Athletics who held on to him until June of 1956 when the bosses in New York decided he might be useful and had the Athletics send him back. During his 2+ seasons with the A's he hit 26 homers but batted just .214. He spent the remainder of the 1956 season with the Yankee farm club and he again showed the bat he had earlier in the minors.

The Red Sox acquired him for the 1957 season and after another season in the minors he played sparingly in Boston through May of 1959. Renna worked in the concrete business after he retired. He tells much of his own story in an interview on the This Great Game site.

I found a couple of variations of this picture of Bill Renna in a couple of places. I like it a lot.

#416 Haywood Sullivan

Note: This post will be rather short and sweet as I am currently on the road between Houston an Lincoln, Nebraska on family business and putting it together on the fly. 

Whoever wrote Haywood Sullivan's Baseball Reference Bullpen page bio was not a fan of his:

Haywood Sullivan played in the majors from 1955-63, primarily as a catcher. While he spent four years with the Boston Red Sox and only three with the Kansas City Athletics, he had 718 of his lifetime 851 at-bats with the Athletics. He also managed the Athletics for most of the 1965 season.

Sullivan was General Manager and part owner (with Jean Yawkey) of the Boston Red Sox 1978-83. Sullivan had been assistant GM of the Red Sox from 1966 to 1977. He essentially inherited a contending team in the late 70's including the 99 win 1978 Red Sox.

In his time as GM he traded popular players Rick Burleson, Butch Hobson and Fred Lynn and lost Carlton Fisk to free agency when he failed to offer Fisk a contract before a deadline. He then brought in over the hill stars like Joe Rudi and Tony Perez who along with 43 year old Carl Yastrzemski were well equipped to compete with the 1983 Phillies for oldest team honors. He also drafted and brought to the majors, his son, catcher Marc Sullivan.

On the plus side for Sullivan he did acquire batting champion Carney Lansford who he then traded to Oakland for home run champion Tony Armas. Following the 1983 season, in which the Red Sox were 78-84, Sullivan was replaced by Lou Gorman as GM of the club after a dispute with fellow owner Buddy Leroux.

Not much I can add to that other than the fact that he was a start football quarterback at the University of Florida in addition to playing baseball there. He was a draftee of the Washington Senators expansion franchise in December of 1960 off the Sox roster. The Nats traded him to the Athletics a few weeks later.

Despite his issues in the Sox' front office and as part-owner, he is a member of their Hall of Fame.

#55 Tom Brewer

Eight seasons, 91 wins, an All Star Game appearance and his face on a Sports Illustrated cover. Righthander Tom Brewer did pretty well for himself in his big league career. The Red Sox signed him out of Elon University in 1951 and assigned him to their Class D club in High Point, North Carolina where he proceeded to win 19 of 22 decisions.

He spent the next two years in the military (where, according to his mother, he became know as 'Tom' rather than 'Austin' as he was called in his hometown) and when he returned he grabbed a spot in the Sox' rotation and kept it through 1960. He won in double digits every one of those seasons as a starter and had his best year in 1956 when he went 19-9 with an ERA of 3.50 with four shutouts and 15 complete games. That was his All Star year, too. Yes, he gave up three runs in two innings to the National League but he did strike out Duke Snider.

Brewer's numbers fell off in 1961 and he pitched in only two games after June 5 of that year, possible due to an injury.

Tom Brewer facts and stuff: He earned some nice words in the Sports Illustrated issue that included his face (that's him on the bottom row, second from the right). This link will take you to the issue and you can scroll over a few pages for the All Star Game preview article.

Brewer is currently a volunteer pitching coach at his old high school in Cheraw, NC and has had the baseball field there named in his honor.

Another routine Yankee Stadium shot with Brewer gazing towards the Yankees' dugout on the first base side. He went 1-4 in the previous two seasons in the Bronx. Maybe he psyched himself out with that stare.

#298 Tex Clevenger

Don't know how, when or why Truman Clevenger got the nickname 'Tex' but he kind of looks like a cowboy, I guess. I can't find anything on the 'net to clear it up either (update below).

Tex was a Boston Red Sox signee out of Cal State-Fresno in 1953 and debuted with the Sox in 1954. He went 2-4 in eight starts (23 games total) and spent the next two seasons as a starter in their chain. Traded to the Senators for 1956 he established himself in their bullpen in 1957. He made 50+ appearances for the Nats in each of the next four seasons, leading the league in games in '58.

He was taken by the Angels in the expansion draft and pitched briefly for them in 1961 before being traded to the Yankees that May. He had the great fortune therefore, to go from a fledgling franchise to one of the powerhouse teams of all time. He pitched in exactly 21 games for the Yanks in both '61 and '62. Both of those teams won the World Series although Clevenger didn't appear in either. But he has two rings!.

After more time in the minors Clevenger retired to work in the insurance business and as a farmer and eventually to buy a Ford dealership in Pottersville, CA. He sold the business and retired for good in 2010.

Clevenger poses in front of the visitors' dugout in what looks to be Griffith Stadium with someone warming up just down the line behind him. Makes for a neat card.

Sunday Update... I just found a chapter in this book on Google in which Clevenger himself says he was nicknamed by Red Sox teammate Johnny Pesky who felt Clevenger resembled an old teammate, Tex Hughson. Clevenger goes on to say that players from Texas would ask him what part of the Lone Star State he was from and he drew weird looks when he told them he'd never even been to Texas.

#236 Ted Bowsfield

Ted Bowsfield is another guy who has a lot more interesting story than you'd think at first glance, mostly because he comes across as such a neat guy and one who truly enjoyed and appreciated his time in the big leagues.

He attracted scouts when he mowed down a visiting team of Cuban All Stars in an exhibition game at the age of 17. The native of British Columbia, Canada was signed by the Red Sox in 1954 and worked his way up through the organisation, debuting in relief in a game on July 20, 1958. That game was significant because the opposing pitcher, the Tigers' Jim Bunning threw a no-hitter at the Sox in Fenway. He went on to post a 4-2 record that rookie season with three of those wins coming against the Yankees. All that caused Casey Stengel to refer to Bowsfield as "the feller who throws them ground balls!".

Despite that early success he spent most of 1959 in the minors and was traded to the Indians during the 1960 season. He was drafted, returned and re-drafted (don't ask) by the Los Angeles Angels following that season and spent '61-'62 with the expansion club. He went 20-16 with the newest AL club including a career high 11 in 1961.

He was traded to Kansas City and pitched for the A's for two seasons before retiring after some minor league work in '65. His career record was 37-39 while pitching for a series of pretty weak clubs. He went on to hold front office jobs with a couple of big league teams.

Tom Owens has a nice interview with Bowsfield on his Baseball by the Letters blog. And Bowsfield is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and his page there has more details. And a Canadian baseball-centric blog post by Kevin Glew is a good read as well.

Hey, Bowsfield posed at Yankee Stadium for Topps. I'd like to think it was before one of the games he won over them.