#456 Jerry Casale

Jerry Casale is one of those guys from this set that I knew nothing about but who turned out to be an interesting character. Casale could be described as a 'one year wonder' in that he went 13-9 for the 1959 Red Sox but never won more than two games in any other season. In fact he won only only five other games over parts of five seasons. He pitched for both the Tigers and Angels in addition to the Sox. He retired after the 1963 season which he spent in the minors.

After retirement Casale, a Brooklyn native, opened Pino's, an Italian restaurant, in midtown Manhattan. One whole wall of the place displayed a mural of Fenway Park. Pino's became a haven for New York-based Red Sox fans. Casale held court there regaling customers with storied of his playing days and his friendship with Ted Williams.

Casale closed Pino's in 2003 due to a loss of business as a result of 9/11. He suffered a stroke in 2006.

#114 Earl Battey

Earl Battey spent the first third of his career with the White Sox backing up Sherm Lollar and doing a lot of catching in the Sox system. A trade to Washington for the 1960 season kick started his late blooming career and  Battey became a standout receiver for the Senators and then the Twins.

Between '60 and his retirement following the '67 season Battey made four AL All Star squads, won three Gold Gloves (primarily for his terrific throwing arm) led all catchers in putouts and assists four times and finished in the top ten among MVP vote getters three times.

Not bad for a guy who seemed to have no future as a White Sox benchwarmer for half a decade. The really nice 1965 Twins tribute page Cool of the Evening, which I've referenced here before, has some interesting nuggets about Earl Battey... he spoke Spanish which he learned playing on semi pro clubs, was interested in a journalism career as a teen, had a radio show in D.C. while with the Senators and had thyroid issues which led to his 'roundish' stature.

Second straight orange-framed card with a Yankee Stadium background. But Earl Battey's signature is a whole lot nicer that Andy Carey's.

#45 Andy Carey

After signing with the Yankees in 1950 and a couple of trial runs, Andy Carey took the regular third base job in the Bronx in 1954. He held the job, more or less on a full-time basis until he was nudged aside by Hector Lopez in 1959.

Along the way he won a couple of World Series rings with the Yanks. In 1960 when the Yanks decided to move Carey along they sent him to the place where all old Yankees went to begin the downhill ride to retirement, Kansas City. Stops in Chicago with the White Sox and in L.A. with the Dodgers rounded out the Carey resume.

He had led the league in triples in 1955 but never really recaptured the magic of his first season as a Yankee when he hit .302 and had a career high 65 RBIs.

The card is in really nice condition and I always favor the white cardboard. Take a look at Carey's signature. Looks like he used a late 50's version of a Sharpie doesn't it?

#116 Bob Allison The Sporting News Rookie Stars

I'm not really sure what made Bob Allison a favorite of mine in the early 60's. I wasn't a Twins fan and Allison wasn't a Baltimore native. Yet for some reason I rooted for him pretty hard at Twins-Yankees games I saw in New York. And I continued to follow his career until he retired.

He played football at Kansas before being signed by the Senators. Allison spent his whole career with the Senators/Twins franchise. He captured the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1959 when he led the league in triples and slugged thirty homers.

He continued to hit for power as the years passed with double digit homers in all but one season through 1968, finishing in the top ten 8 times. Never much of a hitter for average Allison did well enough to make three All Star squads and led the AL in runs in 1963. He was also a feared base runner who possessed fairly good speed for a player with his size (6'4" 230+lbs) and power.

He teamed with Jimmie Hall and Tony Oliva to form a strong outfield for the '65 Twins club that went to the World Series. He made a memorable sliding catch in Game Two of that Series.

Bobby Allison died in 1995 from complications of a rare form of ataxia. The University of Minnesota ataxia research is supported by the Allison family's foundation.

Nice recap of his life and career is here.

#349 Hoyt Wilhelm

Seems to have been quite a few card photos on here lately that just don't flatter the subject. Hoyt Wilhelm is the latest 'victim'.


But he's a Hall of Famer, winner of 125 games s a reliever (a record), the first guy with 200 saves, has a no-hitter to his credit (and since it was as an Oriole against the Yankees he has the eternal gratitude of Oriole fans), one of the oldest guys to pitch in the bigs, retiring just short of his 50th birthday, possessor of a wicked knuckleball, one that inspired O's manager/GM to devise and oversized catchers glove, and a Purple heart recipient for injuries he sustained in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII!


Wilhelm pitched for nine different clubs over a 21 year career. Any questions?

#191 Russ Kemmerer

Russ Kemmerer played nine seasons for four different clubs and I don't remember anything about him. He was a Red Sox signee and pitched for the beginning in 1954 after a two sport college career at Pitt (baseball/basketball).

Kemmerer swapped jobs between starting and relieving for the BoSox and Senators through about 1960 when he moved to the White Sox' and then Houston bullpens full time. He was finished in he majors after 1963 and had a 43-59 record. Spent some time after that in the Houston minor league system.

I like any card that shows a player in a stadium other than Yankee Stadium of a spring training facility. This is probably Griffith Stadium due to Kemmerer wearing the Senators' pinstripes.

#441 John Roseboro

Time is of the essence these days with the school year cranking back up so I'm going to kind of 'shorthand' these posts sometimes. I may just hit up a few links for further info on the featured player and add a few comments of my own.

Today we see a smiling John Roseboro, successor to Roy Campanella behind the plate for the Dodgers and pretty fair player in his own right. Roseboro was a pretty athletic guy, not in the big burly mold of catchers of the era. He had some speed and the ability to play other positions.

Roseboro played in four World Series with the Dodgers and homered off Whitey Ford in Game One of the '63 Series. It was the only homer Ford allowed to a lefty that season. He won a pair of Gold Gloves and made four NL All Star squads.

He is best known for being hit with a bat by Giant's ace Juan Marichal in 1965 in a brawl that erupted after Marichal thought that Roseboro's tosses back to Sandy Koufax came too close. That's chronicled here.

Wikipedia page for Roseboro.