#482 Russ Meyer

Ol' Russ Meyer looks benign in this, his last Topps card. But in his heyday he had a reputation for being more than just slightly 'off the wall'. He had issues with anger and an inability to keep himself out of trouble. Not legal trouble but, well, 'baseball trouble'. I mean his nickname was the 'Mad Monk'... and he got it as a schoolboy so that should tell you a little about him.

Pitching in his hometown of Peru, Illinois Meyer attracted scouts and he signed with his 'close to home' club, the White Sox, in 1942. After a season in the minors he was called to military duty and ended up on a service baseball team. He collapsed on the mound during one outing and was diagnosed with a burst appendix. Complications kept him in the hospital for months and got him a medical discharge.

Returning to civilian ball Meyer signed with the Cubs (apparently the White Sox had not listed his absence correctly) and moved up through their chain as a starter/reliever and got a quick big league look in 1946. That was enough to earn him a spot on the club in 1947 and he spent two years in the North Side winning 10 games in '48 after being given a spot in the rotation.

He was sold to the Phils after that and he won 47 games in four years including a 17-9 year in 1949. He pitched briefly in two games in the 1950 Series against that Yankees. He took the loss in Game Three when, after entering a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the ninth, he got two quick outs before allowing three straight hits and the Yanks' winning run.

Meyer was involved in a complicated four team deal prior to the 1953 season and found himself in Brooklyn pitching for the Dodgers. His antics no doubt amused the fun loving Brooklyn fans. From his SABR bio:

[Robin] Roberts in his autobiography recalled an incident in 1953, after the Phillies traded Meyer to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Pitching against the Phillies in Connie Mack Stadium, Meyer walked Richie Ashburn with the bases loaded, forcing in the go-ahead run. Meyer charged off the mound to protest to umpire Augie Donatelli. Meyer’s language got him ejected by Donatelli. But he returned to the mound and just refused to leave until manager Charlie Dressen came out to get him. Finally Russ stomped off the mound. As he stomped off the mound he flipped the rosin bag into the air with disgust. The rosin bag flew 30 feet in the air and came down directly on Meyer’s head. White powder flew everywhere, and even Monk had to laugh a little, Roberts said.Monk wasn’t through, however. When he got to the dugout, Roberts said, he yelled at Donatelli and grabbed his crotch. Unfortunately, the game was the television Game of the Week, and a camera in the dugout caught the whole episode and displayed it to the nation. The network switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree. For about the next ten years baseball had a “Meyer” Rule that forbade cameras in the dugout. And Meyer was fined and suspended for three days, one of at least three suspensions he received during his career.

With the Bums Meyer went 26-11 over his first two seasons but his other numbers don't look as impressive and the strong Brooklyn teams helped that win total. He won and lost World Series' with Brooklyn. In the '55 series he entered Game Five with the bases loaded in the third and promptly gave up a grand slam to Mickey Mantle.

Fresh off the '55 Series win he was traded to the Cubs and spent the next few seasons bouncing around the majors with three teams and had a minor league stint before leaving the game and not pitching in 1958. Meyer returned to pitch for the A's in 1959 and he is airbrushed into their cap for this card. He was released in July of that year after 18 appearances.

He went on to coach for the Yankees in their minor league system and for a season as bench coach. He retired in 1992 to operate a bowling alley.

His N. Y. Times obit (he died in 1997) contains this interesting tidbit:

In June 1981, Meyer returned to Brooklyn with his former teammates Carl Erskine and Sandy Amoros to promote a quest to bring the Dodgers back from Los Angeles. But in renewing old times, he lost his treasured rewards from his Dodger days: He was held up at gunpoint and had his 1953 and 1955 Dodger World Series rings stolen. At least it did not happen in Brooklyn -- the scene of the crime was Lexington Avenue and East 25th Street.

Meyer's SABR bio is, as you might expect, an interesting read.

Dodger history fans might enjoy this photo archive site I stumbled across while looking for Meyer facts. Here is one photo and the text that accompanies it:

Close-up of manager and pitcher conferring, apparently on pitcher's mound, with manager pointing finger at pitcher's chest. Caption on verso: "Temper, Temper: Russ Meyer, left, newest Dodger and explosive right-handed pitcher, gets the word to straighten up and fly right from manager Charley Dresses at Vero Beach (Fla.), training camp."

#309 Sal Maglie

Sal Maglie is one of the most interesting guys I've come cross in blogging the '59 set. Out of Niagra Falls Maglie signed with the New York Giants in 1938. He spent five uneventful seasons in the Giants chain and at one point left the game and worked at a defense plant in New York. (He had been rejected for military service for a sinus condition). He then returned to baseball, pitched in the Giants chain and debuted in 1945. When the '45 season was over Maglie jumped to the Mexican League after having issues with Manager Mel Ott. That earned him a five year ban from the majors.

During his five years away.... well there is no way I can capture the color of Maglie's career in a blog post. And there is no point in re-inventing the wheel. I refer you to the exceptional SABR bio which is found here and is highly recommended.

The short version is that Maglie became a highly successful pitcher for the Giants and Dodgers and garnered more major league time with the Indians, Yankees and Cards. He's one of about a dozen players to have been with all three original New York franchises. He had been released in April of 1959 and therefore was out of the game by the time this card was issued by Topps.

He finished with 119 wins, a 3.15 ERA, an ERA title, a wins title and World Series title and one of the coolest nicknames in baseball history, 'The Barber'.

There is a You Tube video of a 1956 appearance Maglie made on the old "What's My Line?" TV show. It was broadcast live on the evening of October 7, 1956. That was the same day as the fourth game of the World Series.  The NEXT DAY Maglie pitched and lost in one of the most celebrated World Series games ever played, Don Larsen's perfect game. On the panel is Yankee Phil Rizzuto who was wrapping up his career. The video is here. It runs immediately upon opening the page so I didn't embed it. Here's a still shot.

Other Maglie notes:

Sal Maglie Stadium is home to minor league and collegiate baseball in Niagara Falls, New York. The original Sal Maglie Stadium is profiled here.

He had pitched his own no-hitter just two weeks prior to the Larsen perfecto.

He served two stretches as Red Sox pitching coach and saw his last uniform duty as the pitching coach for the Seattle Pilots.

His post playing career life was a roller coaster of triumph and tragedy and again I refer you to the SABR bio or this book available on Amazon.

edit: Amazon link cleaned and replaced. Dunno what was up with that

#59 Irv Noren

It's pretty easy to overlook Irv Noren but he had a nice little run in the early fifties on some very good Yankee clubs. He'd gotten to New York via a 1952 trade with the Washington Senators. Talk about going from the outhouse to the penthouse.

In New York he played both in the outfield and at first. He was part of a platoon system used by Casey Stengel and got enough at bats and played well enough to make the 1954 All Star team. In that game he spelled Ted Williams in left for the ninth inning in an AL 11-9 win. Another perk of being a Yankee of course is getting a taste of the post-season. Noren played in three Series', all against the Dodgers and won rings in '52 and '52. He went 3 for 10 in that 1952 Series.

Noren was originally a Dodger signee but had his progression up the chain blocked by the wealth of talent owned by Brooklyn. And he ended his time with the Yanks in 1957 with a time honored 1950s tradition, he hung up a call from George Weiss and bought a bus ticket to Kansas City.

Noren never approached the quality of his 1954 play and kicked around from the A's to the Cards, Cubs and finally the Dodgers, back where he had started. He retired after the 1960 season and went on to manage in the minors and coach in the bigs. He served as player manager for a couple of years and even did some pitching for Hawaii of the PCL in 1961 and 1962. He was on the staff of the A's when they had their Series run in the early 70s.

Interestingly Noren is the third player to appear here recently who also had a pro basketball career 'on the side.' Noren played with George Mikan for the NBL's Chicago Gears in 1946/47. They won that leagues (a forerunner of the NBA) title that season.

Pretty routine card here for Noren. Nothing stands out. Depending on when the shot was taken that #24 behind Noren could be Gene Freese, Chuck Harmon, Gene Green or Benny Valenzuela. They all wore that number during 1957/58 for St. Louis. I'm not sure why I even bothered to look that up.

#152 Johnny Klippstein

I remember seeing Johnny Klippstein pitch but I was very surprised to find that his pro career went back to 1944. He was property of the Cardinals, Dodgers (and Uncle Sam for 1946) before he debuted with the 1950 Cubs.

Beginning as a spot starter and reliever he held that sort of role for the Cubs and Reds until 1958 when he was traded back to the Dodgers mid season. From that point he called the bullpen his home as he pitched for the Indians, Senators, Reds (again), Phils, Twins and Tigers until he retired after the 1967 season. 18 major league seasons for eight different teams. Along the way he acquired the nickname of "Wildman" because of the control problems he suffered throughout his career.

Klippstein pitched in the '59 Series for the Dodgers and the '65 Series for the Twins. He led the AL in saves in 1960 and the NL in hit batsmen in 1956. He led each league once in wild pitches.

Klippstein, who began his career with the Cubs, remained a Cub fan right up until his death in 2003. He passed away at home in Chicago after a long string of health issues. He'd been a season ticket holder at Wrigley Field.

This was one of my #1 priority upgrades at the card show last week. It's one of my five favorite cards among those I've already posted. Classic baseball card follow-through pose, terrific light green border complimenting the Dodger colors well. Really great card all the way around. My original copy had a crease and very soft corners. For a buck or two I grabbed this much nicer one.  

Just or fun here are his first and last regular baseball cards. There were a lot of miles and a lot of walks between these two shots.

1951 Bowman and 1967 Topps

#312 Don Newcombe

First things first.... I love this card. I'm partial to the black border cards in this set and this is one of the better ones. Newk's red and white uni just looks good here. More on the uni in a bit.

Don Newcombe began his career with the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues as a youngster in 1944. After signing with the Dodgers he pitched pretty impressively in their chain with Nashua and Montreal before debuting with the big club in 1949. And an impressive debut it was. Newk went 17-8 with 5 shutouts, made the All Star team and collected Rookie of the Year honors. 

And he only got better winning 98 games in the next five seasons. He did that wrapping those five seasons around a two year stint in the military. His best year was 1956 when he won 27 games, lost only 7, had a WHiP below 1.0 and took home the Cy Young and MVP trophies. That makes him the only pitcher until Justin Verlander to have won the three most prestigious trophies in his career. 

Although he never did win a World Series game himself, his Dodgers were in the Series three times and took the 1955 Series from the Yankees. 

Newcombe was traded to the Reds in June of 1958. He stayed in their rotation (and bullpen at times) until he was purchased by the Indians in June of 1960. He spent '61 with the Indians' top farm club and then pitched in Japan in 1962. In 1970 he joined the Dodgers front office and has served in several capacities ever since. The Los Angeles Times spoke to Newcombe following the recent news that the club had a new ownership group with Magic Johnson as part of it. Newk was very happy with the deal.

The photo on this card was taken in the LA Coliseum based on the tall sloping stands in the background. Newcombe was traded to the Reds in 1958 so it's possible that the photo was taken during one of the Reds' two trips to the West Coast following the trade. But it's also possible that the shot is airbrushed, something Topps did a lot of back then. If it is airbrushed it's one of their better jobs. I blew the card up and can't tell one way or another. Doesn't matter I guess. The card looks terrific anyway. It's a little worse for wear with being off center and having some soft corners but no matter. It's one of my favorites in the '59 set.

#38 Morrie Martin

Night Owl posted the other day about how he'd like to write a book. It's based on a card that shows a moment in time that turned the fortunes of two baseball franchises (in opposite directions). It's a good read. But even before he writes his first book, I have a suggestion for his second one......

You may or may not know much about lefty pitcher Morris "Morrie" Martin. I know that before I began researching this card I probably hadn't crossed paths with him more than a fleeting time or two while looking at Oriole history. Martin was signed off a Missouri farm by the Chicago White Sox in 1941 and spent the year in their system. In '42 he pitched (under a working agreement it seems) with the independent St. Paul Saints. There in St. Paul one of his teammates was Dave Philley. 

Late in '42 Morris, like many other American kids, shipped out for the European theatre of WWII. While serving in North Africa, Sicily and on D-Day he was, among other things, torn up with shrapnel, buried under a shelled house and left for dead and shot in the leg, almost losing it to infection. The whole 'Morrie Martin in war' story is chronicled here. 

Following his service he returned to baseball and, after several seasons in the Dodger chain, debuted as a 29 year old rookie with the Bums in 1949. A 1-3 record earned him a trip to the minors. He re-emerged in 1951 with the Philadelphia A's and he won 11 games for them that year, 10 more in 1953. The rest of his major league career was an odyssey through the South Side of Chicago (where he was reunited with fellow 3 year service vet  Dave Philley....I wonder if they had any war stories to swap?!?), Baltimore, St Louis, Cleveland, and finally the North Side of Chicago briefly in 1959. He finished with a career 38-34 record. 

Morris Martin, having survived so much on the battlefield, wasn't going to let a demotion by the Cubs deter him. He spent the 1960 season with the Houston Buffs and was signed by the fledgling Colt 45s (as was Martin's old pal Dave Philley) and traded to the Braves before hanging up his glove for good prior to the 1961 season.

By my count Martin played in 18 cities across North America and was a member of 18 different teams in one form or another and saw action on three fronts during WWII. Then he topped it off by living to the age of 87 back in rural Missouri in 2010. Full life I'd say. And to think I looked at Morrie Martin's '59 Topps card and wondered what I'd write about. Live and learn.

And here's a great shot of Morrie at a gathering of baseball/WWII vets in New Orleans a couple of years before his passing.

#445 Cal McLish

I'm only going to type this once.... Cal McLish's full name is: Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish. He claimed that he was the first of his family's eight children that his father was 'allowed' to name so he made the most of the opportunity and tagged Cal with the long moniker. We only have Cal's word on that I suppose. 

But it brings up an interesting point about the back of McLish's '59 Topps card. Note the cartoon and the statement that "Cal is the proud papa of 8 kids." If that's to be believed than he had fathered 8 kids by 1959. Not to mention that he was from a family of eight kids! Quite a coincidence I'd say. Did Topps get their facts crossed? I did some digging. I read the LA Times obit that followed McLish's death in 2010 and they list five surviving children. OK, so maybe three of his kids had passed on. Entirely possible. So I decided that the Topps blurb was correct and was an interesting fact, not an error. 

Then I found a Baseball Digest story written in 1959, same year as the card. The story mentions his marriage and the fact that McLish children began arriving early and often. Then they mentioned five names. So he had five kids by 1959, not eight. The point? Well, I guess there isn't any except the guys who wrote the backs of Topps cards in 1959 could have benefited from Google. And the fact that sometimes I fixate on the minutae of baseball cards. 

EDIT: See the comments for clarification. I'm losing my eyesight. 

Anyway, Cal McLish took a long and winding road to his best season, the one that saw this card issued, 1959. He was signed by the Dodgers as a poor Oklahoma sandlotter in the mid 40s. He'd been an ambidextrous pitcher and switch hitter in American Legion ball. He was lit up in his debut season of 1944 in Brooklyn. Spent 1945 in the military and the next nine season bouncing between the Dodgers, Pirates and Cubs and their various minor league affiliates. 

McLish's dogged determination landed him in Cleveland in '56 as a member of the Indian's bullpen and he transitioned to a starters job in 1958, winning 16 games. That nearly matched the 19 he had won in his career previously. In 1959 he won a career high 19 and made his only All Star team. 

Following his banner year McLish was dealt to the Reds and then went on to White Sox and Phils. He never could match his '58/'59 form. He retired after the 1964 season. He's been released mid-year by the Phils. 

Following his playing days he remained in the games as a pitching coach and scout. The closest he ever came to winning a championship was as a member of the staff of the '82 AL champion Brewers.

McLish is a member of the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. 

#87 Danny O'Connell

It's a bonus St. Patrick Day post!

Danny O'Connell.... does it get any more Irish than that? First things first, though.... I really need to adjust those scanner settings. The gray cardboard backs of some of these cards looks bright enough to read by. Jeez.

Anyway, Danny O'Connell broke into pro ball with the independent Bloomingdale Troopers of the North Atlantic League. I mention that because I think it's just a great name for a franchise.  He was soon a Brooklyn Dodger signee, but the Dodgers had more good infielders in their chain than they could count and he was traded to the Pirates prior to 1950 and debuted with them that season. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting playing mostly shortstop. After a couple of years in the military during the Korean conflict he was back in the bigs in 1953. After another good season he was dealt to the Braves where he beame their regular second baseman.

He was sent on to the Giants for the 1957 season, just in time to miss out on the Braves championship NL run. He finished his career in the AL with a couple of seasons with the Senators. He died in 1969 at the young age of 49. He was from the area I grew up in, the Clifton-Nutley-Patterson New Jersey region. He'd been a high school ref and I wonder if he ever did any of our games.

#258 Fred Kipp

Here's one that could stand to be upgraded, the Dodgers' Fred Kipp. It looks worse in the scan than it does in my binder. When this card was issued Kipp was coming off a 40 appearance season in Los Angeles including nine starts. 

He was a left-handed knuckleballer who swung a good bat. He showed that with a .250 average during his 1958 season. In bits and pieces of three other seasons in the bigs he got into just seven other games. He had been a workhorse in the Dodgers chain and ended his career with a 3 season run the Yankees AAA Richmond affiliate beginning in 1960. 

I like how, in typical Topps fashion, his cartoon takes three long sentences to say "He started a bunch in the minors but mostly relieved for the Dodgers last year." What does "trouble tossed" mean exactly?

Kipp is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame (don't laugh, Walter Johnson is in there, too. So is Ralph Houk) and attended Emporia State. I had a good friend who went there after we graduated high school in Jersey. Never really told me why.

This makes three Dodgers in the past week of so to be featured. For whatever that implies.

#43 Steve Bilko

Steve Bilko was 'one of those guys". Big time minor league slugger that never could replicate those feats in the majors. After slugging his way through the Cardinals organization and getting yearly looks with the big club Bilko finally stuck with the Cards in 1953. That year he played full time, getting into 154 games, banging out 21 homers and leading the league in whiffs.

Then it was back to the nomadic existence of a bat-for-hire and Bilko played in the Cubs', Dodgers' and Orioles chains while sandwiching in a 20 homer season with the expansion Los Angeles Angels in 1961. That year represented a return to the scene of his minor league 'glory'. LA's Wrigley Field had been his home with the PCL's Angels. He'd popped 148 homers and  had 428 RBI's in '55-'57 when the club was a Cub affiliate.

Bilko retired after the 1963 season he spent with the Rochester club in the Orioles system. He died at the age of just 49 in 1978.

You have to like those old extra short sleeved uni tops that allowed Bilko and others like him to show off their 'guns'.

#71 Don Bessent

If the name Don Bessent doesn't ring a bell, you're not alone. I thought I knew a bit about the 'Boys of Summer' era Dodgers but I can't place this guy. And I feel guilty because every thing I read says he was a pretty fair reliever during his career for the Dodgers in Brooklyn, particularly in the Bums' World Series season of 1955 and 1956.

The numbers show Bessent (his actual first name is 'Fred' btw... note his card-front sig) pitched well in both of those Series', getting a ring in '55 and a win in '56. He was less effective in his next two seasons and ended up pitching in the Dodgers, Indians and Orioles systems until he left the game in 1962. By the time this card was issued he had made his last pitch in the majors. 

Bessent went on to become a State Representative in his native Florida after retirement. He died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 59 while parked outside a Jacksonville fast food spot. That fact, and his nickname (The Weasel), deserve some further homework. 

Any Dodger fans out there? What say you, Night Owl? You know anything about this guy?

#217 Carl Erskine

I bet these pink frames were not very popular with kids at the time these cards were out but I think it looks good with the Dodger cap and card logo. And isn't that the Coliseum in the background? Sure looks like it.

Carl Erskine appears happy to be in Los Angeles but in my mind he's a Brooklyn Dodger. 1959 was his swan song with the Dodgers, appearing in just a handful of games. His retirement ended a nice career that saw him claim double digit wins in seven straight seasons. As his cartoon mentions he tossed a couple of no-hitters. He was a fan favorite in Brooklyn earning the nickname "Oisk" as derived from the Brooklynese calls of his name from the bleacher denizens in Ebbets Field.

At age 84 Carl still out there accepting awards and making appearances. He has his own website (actually his agency has it for him) and exploring it will gain you more tidbits and cool facts about the guy than I could hope to include here. Check it out.

I've mentioned living in Brooklyn but I was just a toddler, and we were not there long. My father was the one with the real ties to that borough having lived there for most of his life before going off the D.C. to attend college. My dad was a Yankee fan. He lived literally down the street from Ebbetts Field and never went there to see the Dodgers play. I asked him a few times why that was and he seemed surprised that I'd asked. He said he was a Yankee fan and "why would I go see the Dodgers play?" I never understood that but it made perfect sense to him. He never went, that is, until he scored seats for Game 5 of the 1949 World Series between the Yanks and Dodgers. He got to see the Yanks close out the Dodgers and he saw Carl Erskine pitch. I bet he appreciated the former a lot more than the later.

#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.