#243 Marv Grissom

Marv Grissom looks like the state senator representing the western district of Nebraska, don't you think? Or maybe a parish priest. I can't decide. 

After a couple of minor league looks and a four year stint in the service during WWII Grissom finally debuted briefly as a 28 year old rookie with the New York Giants in 1946. He disappeared back to the minors soon after that and traveled through the Tigers organization before establishing himself with the White Sox in 1952. That year he started 24 games, won 12 of them and posted a respectable 3.74 ERA. But he was traded to the Red Sox prior to 1953. They waived him and he was claimed by the Giants in July of that year.

He spent that year and the next five as a bullpen stalwart for the Giants in New York and, in 1958, San Francisco. 1954 was his best season. He won 10 games and saved 19. He was an All Star that year and won a World Series ring by helping the Giants defeat the Indians.

Grissom won Game One of that Series, entering immediately after the famous Willie Mays catch of  Vic Wertz' shot to deep center. He finished out that game allowing a hit and three walks in 2.2 innings.

Grissom was traded to the Cardinals following the 1958 season and pitched briefly for them. He had injured his back in the spring and never got healthy. He retired in June of that year.

Following his career he served several clubs as a pitching coach. Over three stints he coached the Angels hurlers for 15 seasons. Marv's brother Lee pitched for four clubs in the 30s and 40s. Their nephew Jim Davis pitched for three clubs in the 50s. 

A nice interview of Marv Grissom appears on the web here and an obit here. This webpage makes the statement that Grissom was recommended to the Giants by Johnny Mize who played against him on service teams during their time in the Pacific. And Grissom has stated the same thing. Baseball Reference shows he was signed by the Giants in 1941. I don't know the significance of the fact that Grissom was a Giants farmhand before his service play. Or if it's just a coincidence. Or that it matters. 

Another pink border card. I don't know what the players felt about them when they got the freebies from Topps but I like them. There is a crease in the lower right corner that my scan hides pretty well. Marv is pictured in his Giants gear here.

#472 Gene Freese

Gene Freese played for six clubs in his 11 seasons in the majors. I'm guessing he was either real popular and coveted by GMs because of his versatility and solid if unspectacular hitting. Or, he kept disappointing GMs who though he looked like a real slugging infielder. I dunno. 

And for some reason I was under the impression he was related to the David Freese kid who plays for St. Louis. Nope, but he did have a brother who played big league ball briefly. 

While primarily a third baseman during his career Freese also played quite a bit at second and got in games at short and the outfield as well. 

He came up with the Pirates in 1959 and hit 14 homers while batting .253. He was in and out of the Pirates' plans for a few seasons before being dealt to the Cardinals in 1958. The 23 dingers he hit was his best homer season up to that point in his career but that didn't stop the Phils from dealing him to the White Sox. 

That was another one year stay and it was on to the Reds for 1961. 26 homers, 77 RBIs helped the Reds make it to the Series and earned Freese a couple more seasons in Cincy but he missed most of the '62 season after breaking an ankle and then it was back on the merry-go-round and visits to Pittsburgh (again), the White Sox (again) and finally the Astros in 1966. 

Then it was a couple of seasons in the minors before retiring. He managed a bit in the minors in the early 70s and even got a few cuts in for Shreveport in 1973. He managed Denny McLain that year, another guy hanging on to a dream for dear life (and a paycheck from what I understand).

After getting out of baseball for good Freese owned a nightclub in New Orleans. I bet doing that had at least a few interesting moments.

Gene Freese's brother George got a bit over 200 at bats during a few stints with a trio of big league clubs. He was primarily a minor league third baseman. He did play a season with his brother in Pittsburgh in 1955. George Freese is a member of the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. That honor was earned as a player for the Portland Beavers in the late 50s. Here are the brothers Freese as Pirates.

Topps went to a lot of trouble to airbrush Freese into a Phillies uniform. Didn't do a half bad job, either. I'm almost 100% sure that's the Polo Grounds. I saw a few Mets games there but I sure can't remember it well enough to recognize it in that shot. Little help?

#549 Howie Nunn

Howie Nunn appeared in 46 ballgames between 1958 and 1962 for the Cardinals and Reds. He had a 4-3 career record. He was a signee of the expansion New York Mets and spent time in their first spring training camp in 1962 before being returned to the Reds. (edit: Actually Nunn had his contract sold to the Mets by the Reds. He talks about it in his interview linked below. I stand corrected.)

You can read an interesting two part interview/bio with Howie here and here. At the bottom of the second part of that series are some comments from Nunn's cousin and great niece/nephew. Nothing earth shattering there but it served to remind me that these baseball cards feature guys who are/were someone's father, brother, son, cousin, etc. He's the the first of two featured player to have pitched for the Houston Buffs. If I could interview him I'd ask how it was to pitch outdoors in Houston's summer heat.

I'd also ask about his 1960 season spent with the Havana Sugar Kings, until July that is, when the Castro regime nationalized all business and baseball up and moved the franchise to Jersey City. One day you're playing in colorful, storied (and tumultuous) Havana and the next day you're in Jersey City, New Jersey. There were a boatload (pun intended) of past and future big leagues on that 1960 Havana/Jersey City squad with Nunn including Mike Cuellar, Cookie Rojas, Luis Arroyo, Leo Cardenas and Brooks Lawrence.

This high numbered card is in decent shape. It's not off centered like so many of mine are. And the corners aren't bad either. The best part is the back that features a cartoon pointing out a fact very common back then. Nunn spent his off seasons as a basketball coach. Players such as this didn't make the kind of money that's made these days and many had to supplement with second incomes. I bet to a kid it was cool to have a coach who was also a big league player.

 Howie Nunn died just weeks ago, in February of this year. 

#223 St. Louis Cardinals

The 1959 Cardinals were a 7th place entry in the N.L. that year. Stan Musial hit only .255 with 44 RBIs. Ken Boyer led them with 28 dingers and drove in 94. Larry Jackson and Lindy McDaniel each won 14 for the Redbirds. 

Looks like the kid who had this checklist back in the day was able to complete the 4th Series. He gave it the big blue crayon check-mark. My detective instincts tell me Billy Hoeft was the last card he needed since it wasn't filled in. I can see the kid with this checklist on the kitchen table opening packs his Dad brought home after work at the little store right near the bus stop. As soon as the kid saw the Hoeft card... swoosh, done with this series!!!

I doubt he cared that it's off-center any more then than I do now.

#363 Curt Flood

Editorial note: I'm back after a hiatus that was the result of blog burnout, fantasy football season and scanner problems. I plan to resume posting cards from my 1959 Topps collection on a regular basis but the daily postings are a thing of the past. Putting up a post every day became a problem at times. I will do my best to post several cards each week. The write-ups will vary from detailed to cursory depending on the card and my available time.  -Bob

This off-center, scuffed and blemished copy of Curt Flood's '59 card doesn't do his career justice. Mention his name to a baseball fan my age and most will think of his pioneering stance that challenged and forever changed baseball's established way of doing business. You can read about that aspect of Flood's legacy here at the Baseball Reliquary site in a short but well done article.

After coming up with the Reds in 1956 Flood spent 12 full seasons as an outstanding player for the St. Louis Cardinals ending with a trade to the Phillies in 1970 that sparked his crusade to overturn the reserve clause. Except for a brief tenure with the Senators in 1971 the sport was done with him.

Along the way Flood won 7 Gold Gloves as the Cardinals' centerfielder, made three All Star squads and accumulated MVP votes from '63 thru '68. A career .293 hitter, Flood won World Series rings with the Cards in '64 and '67, coming close again in 1968.

Flood died of throat cancer in 1997.

#530 Wally Moon

Wally Moon seemed to be avoiding me. I lost two or three auctions for his card and twice (twice!!) purchased it only to have the seller refund my money because it wasn't in stock after all. Finally nabbed this pretty nice specimen a week or two ago. It features nice corners, clean, bright front and back, yet another airbrushed cap logo and Wally's easily recognizable uni brow. It's a high number to boot.

The back of this one was full of stuff that I never knew... the fact that Wally was an Aggie ...err, excuse me...IS an Aggie. I'm told there is no such thing as a former Ag. Got himself a Masters degree no less. I also didn't know he played for the Houston Buffs, the cards top minor affiliate at the time.

The writeup mentions that the Dodgers were hoping that a change of scenery would 'act as a tonic' to his batting average. Seemed to work as Moon jumped back to a .302 average, his best since his Rookie of the Year season of 1954. The deal that sent Moon to the Dodgers brought Gino Cimoli to the Cardinals. Cimoli only lasted a year in St. Louis while Moon finished 4th in NL MVP voting for 1959 and had several more good years on the west coast before he retired after earning another ring with the '65 Dodgers.

Moon homered off the previously featured Dick Donovan in the sixth and final game of the '59 World Series. I didn't plan that. Those two cards just happened to be close at hand.