#61 Dick Brown

Dick Brown was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1953 after attending Florida State University and made his debut with them four years later. In an interesting subplot, Brown was dating Herb Score's sister when Score was being signed by Cleveland and she is said to have suggested that the Indians sign Brown as well. He went on to play nine seasons in the big leagues for four clubs, all in the AL. 

His busiest year was with the Tigers in 1962 when he caught 132 games and was 12/40/.241. Those numbers were down from the previous year when he had played fewer games.

He played as a platoon catcher for the next three years in Baltimore but was forced to retire from playing after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor following the 1965 season. 

After some time spent scouting for the Orioles he passed away in April of 1970 at the age of 35. His brother Larry enjoyed a 12 season career in the American League from 1963 to 1974. 

Other than being miscut this card is in pretty nice shape. My scanner didn't do it any favors.

#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?

#111 Cincinnati Red Legs

The 1959 Red Legs were the last of the Cincinnati clubs that used the 'Red Legs' moniker. The had adopted it in 1953 as a response to the McCarthy Era 'Red Scare' goings-on. The club switched back prior to the '59 season.  

Whatever the case the 1959 Red Legs/Reds were a pretty ordinary team. They had some firepower with Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson and Gus Bell.

Their pitching was anchored by an aging Don Newcombe who teamed with Bob Purkey to win 26 between them. 

Mayo Smith opened the season at the helm but, being 10 games below .500, was let go mid-year and replaced by Fred Hutchinson. 'Hutch' was able to squeeze a winning record out of his club over the second half and went on to become a  successful manager with the Reds winning the 1961 pennant.

Team cards have a certain charm I guess. I like the ones Topps produced a bit later that had club stats on the back. I especially liked the pitching record back cards. I was endlessly fascinated by stuff like how many times Dean Chance beat the Indians and similar arcane trivia. At least the checklist on the back of this one is unmarked.

NOTE: I had this scheduled for a future date but I'm pushing it through to try and clear the stray Ryan Callahan post that went up by mistake. That one still shows in the previews of this blog.

#516 Mike Garcia

Mike Garcia was known as the 'Big Bear'. Sometimes nicknames just fit, no? Garcia was part of the Indians' pitching troika of the 50's that also included Bob Feller and Bob Lemon. Those Indians' clubs were powerful but were hard pressed to climb past the Yankee teams of that decade. They took one pennant, that being in 1954. Each of the other seasons from 1951 thru 1956 they finished second to the Yanks.

By the time this card was issued Garcia was nearing the end of a excellent career. He began with a season in the Tribe's farm system in 1942 then spent three years in the military during World War II.

Returning to civilian life Garcia moved through the minors until he made his debut in 1948 with the Indians by pitching in the last scheduled game of the regular season. Garcia got a couple of innings work late in a game lost to Detroit by Bob Feller. That loss allowed the Boston Red Sox to catch the Indians and force the first AL playoff game. The Indians won that game the following day and eventually the World Series.

The next season Garcia had a regular rotation spot and won 14. Over eight seasons as a starter for the Indians Garcia won 138 games. He added a few more as his career played out. He made three All Star squads and pitched twice in the '54 Series against the Giants.

Garcia injured his back in the spring of 1958 and saw limited action. He was released in May but later re-signed for '59 but was released for the second time following a modest showing that year. He had a couple of stints with the White Sox in 1960 but spent the majority of that year as their batting practice pitcher.

He hooked on with the Senators for part of the '61 season. His last decision was a loss in relief to the Indians late that year.

As he posed in Yankee Stadium for this shot by the Topps photographer I can imagine Mike Garcia thinking "How tough can I look for this guy?" while the dude with the camera was wondering "Jeez, could he have hiked the damn pants up any higher?"

Me? I saw that card and thought "Hmmmm.. pretty nice copy of a high number card. I'll take it."

#235 Valmy Thomas

Oh, the stuff one learns. I was vaguely aware of Valmy Thomas only because he was once, briefly (8 games qualifies as 'briefly'), an Oriole. His home was the U.S. Virgin Islands although he was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico because his mother wanted what she believed would be better medical care. He's considered the first native of the Virgin Islands to play in the bigs.

Thomas, a catcher, played in Canada and across the Caribbean between the late 40's and 1951 when he played for the Pirates minor league club north of the border. A pay cut prompted him to 'retire' and he starred in the Dominican Republic for several seasons. SABR has a cool story of his years there online. 

He emerged as a Giants farmhand in 1956 after a year back in Canada for the Pirate chain. He debuted in 1957 for the Giants in New York. He travel to the West Coast when the Giants moved and played for the Phillies, Orioles and Indians in the three subsequent years. By doing do he became the only player to play in five cities in five seasons.

After his playing days he was a successful businessman and public servant in his native Virgin Islands. He passed away in 2010 and was honored by the Congressional Delegate from his homeland. Here is another article which highlights his life and career.

One odd note.... Thomas was shot and nearly killed by another ballplayer in a dispute over a woman in 1962. The link goes to a Sarasota Herald story that's a real eye opener, in several ways.

I'm guessing that the picture of Valmy Thomas on his '59 card was taken while he was a member of the Giants. I'm fairly certain that the Los Angeles Coliseum provides the background. As with the Ruben Gomez card of a few days ago this one has been re-done with a Phillies cap and pinstripes. My scanner cut off the top of the card, it's not as miscut as it appears.

Here's Valmy in his later years.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Ellie Hendricks, another native of VI who became a catcher for the Orioles. Try and find and O's fan who didn't love Ellie. 

Here is Ellie:

Two proud sons of the Virgin Islands.

#414 Dale Long

What a great baseball card. I love the perspective that makes Dale Long's bat loom into the foreground. The sig balancing Long's body, the fence behind him, the pale green border. It's one of my favorite cards profiled so far.

Dale Long probably went through several sets of luggage during his career. He played for six clubs and in the system of two others. In 1944 he played for Casey Stengel as a member of the minor league independent Milwaukee Brewers. He was property of the Reds, Red Sox, Tigers, and Yankees before he made his big league debut with the horrid 1951 Pirates. He was dealt to the equally horrid St Louis Browns mid-season.

Seems that Long was a 'bat for hire'  as he spent time with the Pirates (again), the Cubs, Giants, Yankees (again) the Senators and the Yankees (one more time).

Along the way he carved out a place in baseball lore by hitting homers in eight consecutive games (Don Mattingly has since equaled that) in 1956 and becoming one of the major's last left-handed catchers when he played for the Cubs in 1957.

1956 was Longs best season as he knocked out 27 homers and 91 RBIs. He played in a couple of World Series for the Yanks and got a ring in 1962. He retired after some final minor league duty in 1964 and went on to umpire in the minors. He served as a minor league executive as well.

#535 Ruben Gomez

When you are known in your native land as "El divino loco (the divine fool)" as Ruben Gomez was in his native Puerto Rico, it says something about you. And it's probably not good. But according to his Baseball Reference Bullpen page Gomez was loved there. 

He likely had a reputation there much like the one he cultivated here in the States, an erratic beanballer. Googling Gomez turned up stories of him nailing Carl Furillo and Joe Adcock with both encounters turning ugly. Also mentions is a beanball war with Sam Jones of the Cardinals in 1957 and his KO of Frank Robinson that ended with Robby in a hospital bed. 

Then there was this much ballyhoo'd squabble he had with stateside teammate Willie Mays when the two were also together  members of the Santurce Crabbers in winter ball. 

(Sidebar of Irony: Frank Robinson managed the Santurce club to a couple of championships during the early 80's.)

Anyhow, when Gomez wasn't denting heads or dusting chins he was winning 71 games for the Giants between 1953 and 1958. He led the league in walks once and finished as high as second in hit-batsmen twice. He was traded to the Phillies for 1959 but by then his career was winding down, at least in the USA. He pitched several seasons in Mexico after some 1962 looks with the Indians and Twins. He reappeared in 1967 to pitch 7 times for the Phils and was, at that point, the oldest player in the NL. 

Topps was kind enough to airbrush Gomez into Phillie duds for this card. They even added pinstripes. It's a high number and in about average condition for my cards of that series. They cost more to upgrade than I'm willing to spend for the most part. This one will do just fine.