#494 Don Pavletich

Don Pavletich is an interesting guy on an interesting card. He was signed out of Wisconsin by the Reds for a big bonus in 1956. The card-back claims it was a 'reported $40,000' while Pavletich, in this book excerpt on Google which I referenced numerous times for this post, says it was $30,000 but reported as $20,000. Whatever it was it qualified him as a 'bonus baby' and obligated the Reds to keep him on their roster.  

He began his pro career in 1957 when he reported to spring training. He was on the Reds roster as the season opened and pinch hit (he walked for Don Newcombe) in one game. Then at the urging of the Reds he joined the Army in May. The plan was that he could play service ball and get experience without taking up a valuable roster spot and sitting around. He spent the rest of that year and all of 1958 in the military. Interestingly he says that he was discharged three months before the end of his two year hitch on a hardship appeal. The hardship being that he had to be in spring training to pursue his livelihood!

When he returned in 1959 he again played in a single game but this time, instead of heading overseas, he headed for the minors. He had two solid seasons there, played with the Reds in 1962 and was used sparingly. Two seasons split between the Reds and the minors followed and finally, in 1965, he had a full year as a major league platoon catcher and he hit a career high .319. Another good year  (.294 with 12 homers) followed in 1966 but by then a young Johnny Bench was on the Reds' catching horizon and Pavletich's days were numbered in Cincy.

His numbers and playing time took downward trends (he played more first than catcher in '68) and he was traded to the White Sox for 1969. A broken hand limited his playing time and he was dealt to the Red Sox where he played on a limited basis for two years. After an off season trade to the Brewers in the winter of '71/'72 he was released that March. He did not return to the majors and worked as a mortgage loan officer after baseball. 

That card is pretty unique in this set. Pavletich poses in catching gear with a red cap and in what appears to me to be Connie Mack Stadium. The windows and posts in the stands seem to make it so. Check this picture of the old ballpark and see if you agree. 

But when was it taken? He was with the Reds early in 1957 and they played in Philadelphia early in April so that's a possibility. He was in Europe in the Army during 1958. They also played there early in 1959, maybe early enough to have his photo snapped in time to be included in this set. But knowing Topps that just doesn't seem likely. 

But that cap. Assuming it's not 'colored' by an artist and really is red than that becomes an interesting clue. The Reds wore that cap in 1956 before going to the white crown version in 1957. It may be that Pavletich, after signing in '56, was brought to Philadelphia for a look at the club or to iron out details. The Reds were there in mid-September. And Pavletich himself spoke of signing in '56 but not reporting until '57 Or they team may have had him come for the actual contract signing and some publicity pics. That sort of this isn't unusual even today with big dollar prospects. 

I'll never know but tracking down stuff like this keeps me interested in this set even 500+ posts into it.

#523 Harry Bright

When you are 22 years old with five years of pro experience and an organization turns over the reigns of a team to you, even a Class D minor league team, it's clear that someone sees you as a 'baseball guy'. And so it was with Harry Bright. In 1952, six years after signing his first contract with the Yankees (at 16!), Bright was named player/manager of the Janesville Cubs in the Wisconsin State League. One of his opposing managers, btw, was Hall of Famer Travis Jackson who, at 48, likely had spikes older than Bright.

Despite some impressive numbers it took Bright 12 years to make the major leagues after his signing in '46. He played some for the Pirates in the second half of 1958 and spent the whole of '59 with them playing on a limited basis.

He was traded to the Senators and in '61 was a platoon guy but in '62 he had his best big league year hitting 17 homers to go with a .273 average as the Nats' regular first baseman. He bounced around with several different clubs through 1965. That included a stint with the Yankees that got him his only post-season action, two at bats (both whiffs) in the '63 Series against the Dodgers. He was Sandy Koufax' 15th strike out in Game One, ending the game as a footnote to what was then a new Series single game K record. He later lamented that after waiting so long to make it to a Series the whole country was pulling for him to strike out.

Following his retirement as an active player Bright coached and managed in the minors and served as a scout for the Expos up until his death in 2000 at the age of 70.

And finally, just because it's a challenging read, here is Harry Bright's transaction log, as seen on Baseball Reference. Please take notes as a quiz will follow.

• Before 1946 Season: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent.
• May, 1947: Released by the New York Yankees.
• Before 1950 Season: Sent from Miami (Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri) to the Chicago Cubs in an unknown transaction.
• December 3, 1951: Drafted by York (Interstate) from the Chicago Cubs in the 1951 minor league draft.
• Before 1952 Season: Returned (earlier draft pick) by York (Interstate) to the Chicago Cubs.
• Before 1953 Season: Sent from the Chicago Cubs to the Chicago White Sox in an unknown transaction.
• November 30, 1953: Drafted by the Detroit Tigers from the Chicago White Sox in the 1953 rule 5 draft.
• May, 1955: Purchased by Sacramento (PCL) from the Detroit Tigers.
• July 21, 1958: Purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates from Sacramento (PCL).
• November 30, 1959: Drafted by the Chicago Cubs from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1959 rule 5 draft.
• April 7, 1960: Returned (earlier draft pick) by the Chicago Cubs to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• December 16, 1960: Traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates with Bennie Daniels and R C Stevens to the Washington Senators for Bobby Shantz.
• November 24, 1962: Traded by the Washington Senators to the Cincinnati Reds for Rogelio Alvarez. Rogelio Alvarez returned to original team on April 20, 1963.
• April 21, 1963: Purchased by the New York Yankees from the Cincinnati Reds.
• September 11, 1964: Released by the New York Yankees.
• March 15, 1965: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.

Harry Bright Transactions quiz:

• How many times was Harry 'returned' to his original team within months of a transaction?
• How many times was Harry released by the Yankees?
• How many times times was Harry involved in an 'unknown transaction'?
• How many of Harry's transactions involve the Cubs?
• How many years elapsed between Harry first being acquired by the Cubs and the first game he played for them?

And finally...

• ...Which of these transaction methods did the Cubs employ in deals involving Harry?

---Sent to the Cubs

---Sent from the Cubs
---Drafted from the Cubs
---Returned to the Cubs
---Returned by the Cubs
---Signed as Free Agent by the Cubs

Answers: 2, 2, 2, 7, 15 and All of the Above.

It's easy to see that Bright's card has escaped my 'upgrade purges' over the past few years. Condition-wise it sits right in between "I'm  OK with it" and "Maybe I should I'll spring for the $3.75 to get a better one". I think I'll just keep this copy. Harry's bright-eyed 'happy-to-be-in-majors-after-eleven-years-in-the-minors' look seems fitting on a card that's much closer to "F" than it is to "G" on the Fair-to-Good scale.

#520 Don Elston

Ohio native Don Elston spent eight seasons as a starting pitcher in the Cubs' farm system after he signed with them in 1948. Those years were pretty impressive as a whole and one wonders what kept him 'down on the farm', especially in an organization as mediocre as the Cubs were at the time. The answer is likely his lack of control.

He did get a brief two game look at the end of the 1953 season and was banged around pretty hard. After pitching (and going 17-6) in the tough PCL as property of the Cubs in 1955 Elston was dealt to the Dodgers. Another season in AAA followed and then he made the Brooklyn staff in 1957.

That didn't last long however and after just a single one inning appearance in Ebbets Field in May he was traded back to the Cubs. He finished out that year as a starter/reliever on Chicago's North Side and then in 1958 he emerged as one of the better relief pitchers in the NL. He led the league with 69 appearances, had 10 saves (for a club with just 72 wins) and teamed with lefty Bill Henry to form an effective left/right closing combo.

In 1959 he made the NL All Star squad, pitched an inning and got the save in the first of the two ASGs played that year. He allowed a two out single to Nellie Fox in the top of the ninth at Forbes Field but got Harvey Kuenn to pop out to end it and preserve the NL's 5-4 win. that season he had career highs in wins (10) and saves (13). The save category for pitchers was reportedly created by Chicago newspaperman Jerome Holtzman as a way to show Elston's contributions. Holtzman saw Elroy Face getting wins after blowing leads with the Pirates and thought Elston's work as a reliever was better and deserved recognition.

Elston remained the club's workhorse for several more seasons although his numbers never again matched his '58/'59 run. After spending the 1965 season pitching in the minors Elston retired as an active player although he did manage briefly in the Cubs' system. He then spent the rest of his life in sales and working on behalf of Chicago area charities including the Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities organization for which he served as co-chairperson with another Chicago pitching standout, Billy Pierce.

Elston died at the age of 65 from heart failure in 1995. He had a long history of heart problems extending back to the beginning of his playing days, a fact he never shared with his teammates.

His Chicago Tribune obit has a lot of background and stories from his playing days. This big chunk of that work is worthy of being repeated here:

Don Elston, who died Monday at the age of 65, was like many pitchers of his time. He couldn't get Willie Mays out. Having exhausted his usual repertoire, Elston tried a spitter. Mays hit it over the fence in left center. Next time he threw a knuckler. Again, Mays connected-into the center-field bleachers, a few feet below the Wrigley Field scoreboard. "I don't know what we're going to do with him," catcher Dick Bertell told Elston."And Don said, `Tell him what's coming. He won't believe it, anyway.' "And so Bertell, when he went into his catcher's crouch, asked Mays: "What do you want to hit?"As Bertell recalled Wednesday, Willie didn't reply. "He just gave me a funny look. So I said, `It's going to be a curveball.' And for the rest of that at-bat, I called every pitch."Did Willie take Elston deep again?"No," Bertell replied. "He popped up. From then on, I wouldn't say Don had Willie in his pocket but he didn't get any more big hits off him."

#521 Gary Geiger

And we are back to some high number series cards with Gary Geiger. Black replaced green on the reverse of these high numbers. Elsewhere it has been stated that the switch was done as part of Topps' efforts to gear up for the printing of their 1959 football cards. Sounds logical to me.

Gary Geiger was a standout player for Gorham high school in rural Illinois and was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954. He began as a pitcher and, after a rough first year, was a twenty game winner in 1955. He was having some success as a reliever in '56 when the Cards decided that given their pitching depth and Geiger's bat, speed and continued control problems as a hurler that he would help them more as an outfielder. And so he was switched.

He struggled with his hitting at the AAA level in 1957 and the Cards ended up exposing him to the Rule 5 draft that winter. In an interesting twist it was Frank Lane who, as Cardinal's GM made the decision to risk losing Geiger....and it was the same Frank Lane who, having taken the same position with the Cleveland Indians, selected Geiger in that draft in his first act with his new club.

Geiger hit .231 as the fourth outfielder with the Indians in 1958, a year during which he had to remain on the big league roster or be returned to St. Louis. In winter ball later that year he injured his neck and came home to the states over Lane's objections. He was then traded to the Red Sox where he would play next to two Hall of Fame outfielders, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski over the course of his seven seasons in Fenway.

Geiger turned out to be injury prone and had trouble putting full seasons together. But he had speed and some power and was even able to hit over .300 in 1960 playing in nearly half the games. But much more was expected of him given the talent he flashed and in the end the Sox let him get drafted away by the Braves where he spent two seasons. Geiger finished his career with a couple of years in Houston after spending 1968 in the minors.

In 1996 Geiger died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of just 59. He had lived the last 20 years of his life battling alcoholism. His family says his issues were a result of his fear of flying. He used drink to calm his nerves and in the end the habit caught up with him.

Gieger's SABR bio is the 'go to' place for more insight on his interesting life and career. This obit from a local paper is a quicker but also interesting read. Lots of stories from his family and friends in that one.

This card and the other 'light green' card (the previously posted #545 Tom Morgan) in the high number series have a distinct 'lime green' look about them. It's certainly a different shade of light green than that which is seen on the lower series cards. For a comparison here are the Geiger and Dale Long cards scanned side by side. The difference seems more pronounced when viewing the cards in person but it is plain enough to see in the scans.

#474 Moe Thacker

The Yankees signed catcher (and three sport Kentucky high school star) Moe Thacker in 1952 and he moved up through their farm system despite some poor hitting numbers and a strong crew of catchers ahead of him in that organization. After six seasons they sent him to the Cubs for whom he hit .293 in AA ball in 1958. He was up with the Cubs for a brief stretch in August and he hit .250 in 11 games. He had homered in his first game at Wrigley but subsequently hurt his knee.

Unfortunately he never approached even the .200 level after that in his career. Thacker played in the minors in '59 but was the Cubs' back-up catcher for most of the next three seasons. During that time he hit .187 or less and he was traded to St. Louis for 1963.

Outside of a handful of at bats for the Cards that year he finished his career in the minors. After baseball he returned to his native Louisville, Kentucky and owned a string of fast food franchise outlets. He died in 1997.

#493 Jim Landis

California native Jim Landis was a five time Gold Glove winner  for the White Sox and as a member of the '59 Go-Go Sox he helped that club win the American League pennant. He began his baseball career by signing with Chicago in 1952 and played two seasons of minor league ball before spending two years in the military.

Landis returned to baseball in 1956 and hit well enough to earn a spot in the Sox' outfield in 1957. He seemed over-matched by big league pitching and was sent to the minors for five weeks in late summer. In '58 he blossomed and hit .277 with 15 homers and was the everyday center fielder.

His '59 season was good enough to garner some MVP votes and in the Series against the Dodgers he hit .292 and made some crucial defensive plays in a losing effort. In 1960 he began his string of Gold Glove seasons and in 1962 he played in the All Star game. He was in the top three in many defensive categories among A.L. outfielders between 1958 and 1963.

But his offensive numbers had been sliding since his 22/85/.283 season in 1960 and he was traded to Kansas City for 1965 where his hitting had a slight uptick. But after a year there the A's dealt him to the Indians and he spent the '66 season watching his stats slide again. His last season in the game was 1967 which he split between the Astros, Tigers and Red Sox. His stay with Boston was only about a week and he wasn't able to stay around to possible play in the '67 Series with them.

He was in the sign business after retiring. SABR is as always the best place to read up on Landis' career and Baseball Almanac has an interesting interview with him. Jim's son Craig Landis played minor league baseball and is currently a player agent

#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."