#501 Bobby Tiefenauer

Oh, the irony! Knuckleball specialist Bobby Tiefenauer (and I'm NOT typing that again) spent from 1948 through 1969 playing pro baseball across North America and another 20 coaching but in 1959, the year this card was issued.... he was 'voluntarily retired'.

Signed by the Cardinals in 1948 he pitched in their minor league system for the better part of eight seasons getting a six game look in 1952 and a more extended 18 game stint in 1955. Those shots totaled 40 innings. In September of '56 the Cards dealt him to the Tigers in the first of a dizzying array of transactions for Tief that saw him pitch for six major league teams and in the system of a seventh in addition to being the property of several independent AAA clubs.

Rather than try to reproduce a 'map' of his career I'll let Baseball Reference lay it all out.

Teams Played For

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Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff
1948	18	Tallassee Indians	Georgia-Alabama League	D	STL
1949	19	Tallassee Cardinals	Georgia-Alabama League	D	STL
1950	20	Winston-Salem Cardinals	Carolina League	B	STL
1951	21	Rochester Red Wings	International League	AAA	STL
1952	22	Rochester Red Wings	International League	AAA	STL
1952	22	Columbus Red Birds	American Association	AAA	STL
1952	22	St. Louis Cardinals	National League	MLB	STL	1	1952-07-14	1952-08-08
1953	23	Rochester Red Wings	International League	AAA	STL
1954	24	Houston Buffaloes	Texas League	AA	STL
1955	25	Omaha Cardinals	American Association	AAA	STL
1955	25	St. Louis Cardinals	National League	MLB	STL	1	1955-04-16	1955-06-22
1956	26	Charleston Senators	American Association	AAA	DET
1957	27	Toronto Maple Leafs	International League	AAA
1958	28	Toronto Maple Leafs	International League	AAA
1959	29	Voluntarily Retired
1960	30	Rochester Red Wings	International League	AAA	STL
1960	30	Cleveland Indians	American League	MLB	CLE	1	1960-04-19	1960-05-31
1961	31	San Juan/Charleston Marlins	International League	AAA	STL
1961	31	St. Louis Cardinals	National League	MLB	STL	1	1961-04-14	1961-05-02
1962	32	Houston Colt .45's	National League	MLB	HOU	1	1962-04-13	1962-09-29
1963	33	Atlanta Crackers	International League	AAA	STL	1
1963	33	Milwaukee Braves	National League	MLB	MLN	1	1963-08-15	1963-09-27
1963	33	Toronto Maple Leafs	International League	AAA	MLN	2
1964	34	Milwaukee Braves	National League	MLB	MLN	1	1964-04-15	1964-10-01
1965	35	Atlanta Crackers	International League	AAA	MLN	1
1965	35	Milwaukee Braves	National League	MLB	MLN	1	1965-04-21	1965-05-23
1965	35	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	AAA	NYY	2
1965	35	New York Yankees	American League	MLB	NYY	2	1965-06-18	1965-07-06
1965	35	Cleveland Indians	American League	MLB	CLE	3	1965-08-13	1965-09-18
1966	36	Portland Beavers	Pacific Coast League	AAA	CLE
1967	37	Portland Beavers	Pacific Coast League	AAA	CLE
1967	37	Cleveland Indians	American League	MLB	CLE	1	1967-09-10	1967-09-24
1968	38	Tacoma Cubs	Pacific Coast League	AAA	CHC
1968	38	Chicago Cubs	National League	MLB	CHC	1	1968-04-10	1968-09-21
1969	39	Tacoma Cubs	Pacific Coast League	AAA	CHC

One odd detail in all this is that Tief looked to be ready to establish himself  in the majors in '59 as he was coming off some very good seasons in Toronto. I can't find anything that hints at why he sat out that season after being traded to Cleveland. Since SABR doesn't have a Tief bio it remains a mystery. Perhaps he had gotten comfortable in Toronto and would have preferred to stay there.

But he did report to the Indians in 1960 and that began a 10 season odyssey of trades, sales, demotions, and promotions among several organizations. His busiest major league seasons came in 1962 when he pitched in 43 games for Houston and 1964/'65 when he had 46 and 31 appearances for the Braves (and Yankees in the second half of '65). He had 13 saves for Milwaukee in '64 which is more than half his career total.

In all he won nine games with a 3.84 ERA in 179 big league innings. In almost 850 minor league games over 19 seasons he was 162-96 with an ERA of just 2.66. He is enshrined in the International League Hall of Fame.

He last pitched in 1969 with the Cubs' AAA club and then spent nearly two decades in the Philadelphia Phillies' organization, working as a bullpen coach and a minor league pitching coach. He passed away at the age of 70 in 2000.

#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.

#567 Del Crandall The Sporting News All Star

This Del Crandall card is the next to last All Star card to be posted here. Crandall, who was featured on his own '59 card (posted here), was a eight time NL All Star, a four time Gold Glove winner and 1949 Rookie of the Year runner-up.

Known for his defensive and pitcher handling abilities Crandall was a decent hitter who had a couple of .290+ seasons. He was probably ranked second only to Roy Campanella at his position during the decade of the fifties.

Crandall played in 8 All Star games and while he hit only .200 in those games (4 for 20) he did homer for the NL off the Red Sox' Bill Monbouquette at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium in the first of two All Star games in 1960.

The red railing tips us off that Crandall is posing in San Francisco's Seals Stadium in the photo on this card.

#517 Joe Koppe

First of all, Joe Koppe is not a pitcher. That pose sure makes it look like he is one though, doesn't it? When I hit up his Baseball Reference page I thought I had made a mistake or something, it was all hitting stats. Then I rechecked the card and sure enough it said 'infield'. Proves once again that there are plenty of things for me to learn in the '59 set.

Koppe (who was born Joe Kopchia) may not have been a 'name' player but he sure was at it a long time. He spent seven seasons, from 1949 through '55, playing independent pro ball in Texas and Louisiana and building a reputation as a versatile, fine fielding middle infielder. Then he was signed by Milwaukee and he spent the next three seasons in the Brave's chain finally getting a taste of the bigs at the end of 1958. He played in 10 games, got nine at bats and had four hits. He had three hits in his first two games in six at bats. Koppe didn't get to play in the World Series that year but he did get a 'taste' of the pennant winning spoils... here he is getting a Miller High Life shower from Braves teammate Juan Pizzaro while Felix Mantilla and Hank Aaron (partially hidden) look on on September 22 when the Braves clinched:

Despite that auspicious debut the Braves included him in a trade package with the Phils. Topps included him in their set here in the high numbers and took a picture credited to Spring Training of 1956 and changed it (poorly, the Phils never used that piping) into one of Koppe as a Phillie. Here is the original shot:

Koppe, a 28 year old rookie at this point, took over a spot in the Phillies' infield and had a nice season hitting .261 and hitting seven homers. He was picked to be a part of the 'Topps All Rookie Team' and was so honored on his 1960 card:

Ruben Amaro got the bulk of the work at short for the Phils in 1960 as Koppe's bat all but disappeared. On May 4th of 1961 the Phils traded Koppe to the Dodgers who assigned him to the minors and then in a week and a half, on May 16th, traded him to the Cardinals. A month after that he was purchased by the Angels for the grand sum of  $1000.

For that one grand the Angels got a utility player who played nearly full-time in 1962 and as a handyman for several years after that. After splitting the 1965 season between the Angels and the minors Koppe was out of baseball. He passed away in 2006.


Late Edit:

In the comments for this post reader Paul pointed out that Koppe once posed with a lefty's glove for a card. I found that card. Thanks Paul.

#412 Stan Lopata

That crouch that Stan Lopata is in on this card's picture isn't just a random pose. Lopata used that stance to become a better hitter after some advice from legendary hitter Rogers Hornsby. The story as relayed to us in Lopata's obituary:

When a baseball legend like Rogers Hornsby gave a hitter advice, he'd be wise to take it.
Stan Lopata, something of a legend himself as a Phillies catcher in the '50s, was having problems at the plate in 1954 when he and outfielder Johnny Wyrostek ran into Hornsby during a road trip.
Referring to Lopata, Wyrostek asked Hornsby, "What do you think about this kid?"
The Hall of Fame infielder (.358 career batting average, 2,930 hits), said that he had seen Lopata on TV and that he missed the ball too many times.
"He said you should get a piece of the ball every time you swing the bat - not necessarily a base hit, but get a piece of it," Lopata said.
Stan took the advice to heart and worked on his stance, getting lower and lower, until he developed his famous crouch, and he concentrated on getting a piece of the ball.
As a result, Stan Lopata became one of the best power-hitting catchers in the National League in the mid-'50s.

And so it was that Lopata was able to emerge from behind Andy Semminick and Smokey Burgess to become the Phil's #1 catcher during the 1955 season. His time as a Phillie stretched from 1948 through 1958 but he had just a three year run as a starter. But he made the most of it. He made the NL All Star squads in '55 and '56. That '56 season was clearly his best as he had 32 homers and 95 RBI. Injuries marred his '57 season and he was back to having a reserve role in 1958.

Lopata, a native of the Detroit area, had originally signed with the Phils in 1946. That was following a military stint during World War II that saw him receive a Bronze Star and Purple Heart earned while serving in Marseilles, France. Once back home he played three seasons in the minors, got a short look in 1948 and then getting some significant time as a reserve in 1949 and 1950. That later edition of the Phils was the 'Whiz Kids' club that took the NL pennant. Lopata got one at bat in the Series against the Yanks. With two out in the ninth he struck out while pinch hitting for Robin Roberts in Game Four and thus ended the Series as the Yanks swept the Phils.

Lopata was in the minors for much of the next season but in '52 he was up to stay. The card-back notes that he was traded to the Braves in March of 1959. He played sparingly for the Braves for two seasons while mixing in some time back in the minors and retired after the 1960 season.

After his playing days Lopata worked for IBM in the Detroit area and then in the concrete business in Philadelphia. He died this past summer and his death reduced the number of living members of that '50 Whiz Kid club to four. Lopata's SABR bio is chock full of stories from his career. Interesting to note that he was the first catcher to wear glasses. The stadium lights bothered him with their glare so he adopted tinted glasses.

That's a Connie Mack Stadium shot on this card. Love the seafoam green frame with the red of the stadium and Lopata's uniform. This is one of my favorite cards in the set. And here are a couple of pix I found on the 'net that show his exaggerated crouch and his tinted glasses (which can be seen on his '57 Topps)..

#322 Harry Hanebrink

Harry Hanebrink played for a couple of NL teams as a utilityman in the 50s (he was a member of the Phils by the time this card was put in packs) and had less that 350 plate appearances but in checking him out I found two very different but equally interesting entries.

1) As detailed in this blog post Hanebrink, on August 6 of 1953, hit a bases loaded walk-off triple to propel the Braves to a 3-2 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers. That particular type of hit, a walk-off triple, didn't occur again in Braves' history for 60 years until Andrelton Simmons did it this past season against Colorado.

2) In 1951 Hanebrink and five of his siblings were sued by two other of their siblings over the settlement of their late mother's estate. I have no intention of reading through that entire brief but it seems that a couple of the kids were not happy that the will was changed and contested it on the grounds of their mother's mental state. The Missouri State Supreme Court appears to have come down on the side of the plaintiffs.

You just never know what will pop up in a Google search if you drill down far enough. Like this Toledo Blade newspaper feature on Hanebrink from 1955. It's worth checking out merely for the alliteration used in the headline.

As for Hanebrink, he was a longtime Braves minor league player having signed in 1948. Interestingly he was just 18 at the time but was already a Navy vet. He got that 51 game stretch in 1953 with the big club but didn't return until 1957 when he played in a handful of games and then he stuck with the team in 1958. He hit .270 as a part-timer that year and appeared in the World Series getting two pinch hit at bats.

In '59 he was traded to the Phils and got in 100 at bats in addition to some minor league work. The next year he was back in the minors where he finished his career in 1961.

My version of this card is the more common one which contains the 'traded' line. Here is a shot of the 'no traded line' version.