#281 Walt Craddock

West Virginia native Walt Craddock signed with the Philadelphia A's in 1954 out of Syracuse University. The lefty pitched in the Athletics' farm system for the better part of two years with better numbers than his results indicated.

That got him a taste of the bigs late in 1955... and got lit up. He repeated that in 1956, his late season cup of coffee resulted in him getting lit up. He had a great season in AAA in 1957, leading the International League with 18 wins and then spent the whole 1958 season in Kansas City, for the most part getting lit up.

That was his last season in the big leagues. By the time this card was issued he'd been dealt off to Reds. He spent two seasons in the Reds system, pitched very well, but then retiring. He finished with an 0-7 big league mark.

But he did get to be photographed in Yankee Stadium and had this one Topps card.

#64 Joe DeMaestri

Welcome to "Joe Week" here at '59 Topps.

A California kid, Joe DeMaestri signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1946. He spent several years in their system, was drafted away by the White Sox and debuted with them in 1951. He was traded to the Browns for 1952 and then back to the White Sox who, in that same off-season, shipped him to the Philadelphia A's in time for the 1953 season.

It was in Philadelphia that DeMaestri earned a starting shortstop job and he held it for seven seasons. If you look at his numbers over his tenure with the A's you see a pretty consistent if not very spectacular run. He always seemed to hit around .245, knock out 6 to 8 homers and drive in 30 to 40 runs.

His hitting numbers were not what kept him in the lineup though. DeMaestri was among the top fielding shortstops of the 50s, usually finishing at or near the top of several defensive categories. He made the AL All Star team in 1957 but didn't play in the game.

In December of 1959 he was dealt to the Yankees (let's all act surprised) along with Roger Maris and Kent Hadley for Hank Bauer, Don Larsen, Norm Siebern and Marv Throneberry. As part of the Yanks in 1960 and '61 he played on a couple of pennant winners. He played in the 1960 Series but not in the '61 Series. He may not have been included on the Series roster for the Yanks that year. No way to know if he received a ring but he likely got a share of the winner's money as he had been with the Yanks all season.

If you scroll down to the bottom of this Sports Illustrated article from the Baseball Preview issue of 1961 you'll find a story about the 'pebble grounder' that hit Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat in Game Seven of the 1960 Series. Apparently DeMaestri was going to enter the game as part of a defensive switch for Kubek prior to the inning. Casey Stengel had a change of heart and DeMaestri remained on the bench and saw Bill Virdon's grounder to short play a key role in the Series outcome.

DeMaestri owned a beer distributorship for many years after he retired following the 1961 season.

#98 Arnie Portocarrero

Righty pitcher Arnie Portocarrero was a New York city kid born of Puerto Rican-American descent who signed with the Philadelphia A's in 1949 at the age of 18. Following the pattern we've seen many times here he played a bit in the minors before serving in the military during the Korean War.

When he returned in 1954 he went straight to the majors and claimed a spot in the A's rotation. Making 32 starts Portocarrero went 9-18 with a 4.06 ERA. His hits per inning ratio was good, as was his strike out totals but wildness kept him from having more success. He led the AL with 9 wild pitches.

The following season, with the A's now in KC, saw him get fewer starts but similar results and in 1956 he spent almost the whole season in Birmingham, a Yankee affiliate. I can't find a transaction that sent him to the Yanks, and given the chummy relationship the A's and Yanks had in those days it may well have been a case of a player 'loan'.

He was back in KC in 1957 and didn't see much mound time and was traded to the Orioles prior to 1958. He blossomed there in Baltimore under Paul Richards, at least for one year. On a lousy club he somehow won 15 games and lost only 11 with an ERA of 3.25, easily his best year. He then spent the '59 and '60 seasons trying without success to replicate his banner 1958 campaign. In 1960 he split his pitching between the Orioles and their farm club. He was out of the game by early in the 1961 season.

His obit states that he was involved in amateur baseball in the Kansas City area after his retirement. He died in 1986 at the young age of 54. I came across this article online dated last winter that chronicles an adopted young man's search for his birth parents. It turns out that his father was Arnie Portocarrero.

On this card Arnie is in Yankee Stadium in his home town. I hope his family got to see him pitch there. He got into one game in the Bronx in 1958, the fifth game of the season with a relief appearance. He didn't fair well but his year sure turned out well.

#101 Alex Kellner

Signed out of Tenssesse by the Cincinnati Reds in 1941 lefty Alex Kellner only had time to pitch one year of (pretty good) minor league ball before the U.S. Navy became his four year home during WWII. After his service in the Pacific (details are here) he briefly returned to semi-pro baseball and then was back in the pros with the A's organization in 1947.

He got a taste of the bigs in 1948 but had an outstanding true rookie season in 1949 in Philadelphia. That year he won 20 games (of the teams' 81 under Connie Mack) and made the All Star club. He was the first to win 20 for the A's since Lefty grove in 1933. Even for a war-seasoned, not-so-young rookie that had to be heady stuff. He was second to Roy Sievers in Rookie of the Year balloting in the A.L.

He remained a member of the A's starting staff (in Kansas City) through 1957. Although he managed to pull down double digit win seasons along the way (and one 20 loss season) he never re-captured the magic of that rookie season. For parts of two seasons he had his brother Walt Kellner as a teammate.

In 1958 he was waived and picked up by the Reds and then traded, despite doing some of his best pitching in half a decade, to the Cards for 1959. He pitched his last innings in June of '59. This card represent the last season and final stop in a respectable career. He was a good hitting pitcher, hitting .215 with four homers.

This picture, with Kellner in a Red's road top, has the L.A. Coliseum in the background so it was shot on one of the Reds trips to the Coast after he was traded from the A's in 1958. The Reds were in L.A. in July and August.

#30 Nellie Fox

In October of 1949 Nellie Fox was traded by the Philadelphia A's to the Chicago White Sox for catcher Joe Tipton. I'm sure Tipton was a nice enough guy so I won't disparage his career. After all, the closest I've ever come to the big leagues was buying a ticket for a box seat. But when you look at his numbers and then look at Nellie Fox' numbers you realize that someone deserved to lose a job when they OK'd that deal.

Mull over these Nellie Fox facts from Baseball Reference's Bullpen page:

• 12-time AL All-Star (1951-1961 & 1963)
• AL MVP (1959)
• 3-time Gold Glove Winner (1957/ML, 1959/AL & 1960/AL)
• 5-time AL At Bats Leader (1952, 1955, 1956, 1959 & 1960)
• 4-time AL Hits Leader (1952, 1954, 1957 & 1958)
• 8-times AL Singles Leader (1952 & 1954-1960)
• AL Triples Leader (1960)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 4 (1954-1957)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1954)

His 1959 World Series with the Sox was his only taste of the post season but he made the most of it going 9 for 24. Pretty darn impressive credentials. So impressive that I can't help but wonder why his Hall of Fame admission took so long to come to pass. Fox defined 'hustle' and scrappiness' before Pete Rose came along to turn those attributes into a cottage industry. He was tough to strike out. Whitey Ford claimed he only fanned Fox once and that was because of an ump's bad call. Fox finished his career with a season and a bit more in Houston as a member of the Colt 45s/Astros.

Fox coached for the Astros and Rangers after his playing days. Supposedly his tobacco chewing habit caused a problem in the Astrodome. Judge Roy Hofheinz, owner of the Astros and builder of the Dome didn't like tobacco juice stains on his 'rug' and sent down word to Fox in the dugout one day that he should quit spitting on the turf.

Fox certainly looks thoughtful on his '59 Topps card. It's a different pose for sure and makes this card stand out. Nellie Fox died of cancer at the age of 47 in 1975.

I found this video of the 1959 White Sox highlights while googling Fox. Pretty neat.

#409 Gus Zernial

I've never really appreciated Gus Zernial until now. His prime came in the first half of the 50s. And it really was a nice run for Zernial. Signed in 1942 by Cleveland out of Beaumont High School (about an hour east of my home) 'Ozark Ike' had a partial year of minor league ball before spending three years serving his country during WWII. Returning to his career in 1946 he was sold to the White Sox in '47 and debuted with them in 1949. 

An injury that year limited his playing time but he established himself as a slugger in 1950, hitting 29 homers and .280. A three way deal early in the 1951 season sent Zernial to the A's and he continued his slugging ways as he led the league in home runs (33), runs batted in (129), extra base hits (68), and 17 assists an an outfielder. His powerful arm made Gus more than just a threat at the plate. He had a reputation as a guy who could charge a ball in left and throw quickly and accurately. I was surprised to find that Zernial, in that '51 season, became the first player since Jimmie Foxx in 1933 to lead the league in both homers and RBI. He was the first player to win a home run and RBI crowns after being traded in that season.

Zernial continued belting homers for the A's, both in Philly and Kansas City through the 1957 season. Zernial's playing time (and batting average) declined in 1956/57 and he was dealt to the Tigers for the 1958 season and played his final two seasons in Detroit before retiring to the Fresno area.

After retirement Zernial was a local broadcaster for Fresno State football, basketball and baseball games before getting involved in the city's efforts to build a new stadium and bring in the Grizzlies. He became a member of the Philadelphia Athletics' All-Century Team in 2002. This article from the Fresno Bee contains a lot of info from Gus' post career years and a wonderful picture of him behind a radio mike.

Some Zernial based Hollywood trivia: In 1952 with the Athletics, according to Joe DiMaggio biographer Ben Cramer, Zernial took publicity photos with Marilyn Monroe at the request of a movie studio. The retired DiMaggio wondered how a guy like Zernial could get his photo taken with somebody like Monroe. Zernial told DiMaggio how to get in touch with her, a blind date was arranged and the rest is baseball/romance history.

When I scanned this card (love the happy look on Gus' face) I noticed that someone, a kid maybe, had practiced his Gus Zernial signature on the back with a pen. Have a look:

Looks very close, yes? And I had to dig up a copy of his 1952 card on eBay. Posted below. Here is the story via Wikipedia:

Zernial is featured in one of the most unusual baseball cards of all time. His 1952 Topps card shows Zernial holding a bat that has six baseballs attached to it. This photo recognized that he had tied an American League record by hitting six home runs in three consecutive games from May 13-16, 1951. The day after the picture was taken, he hit his seventh home run in a fourth consecutive games.

I found the original shot online:

Finally here is an Ozark Ike comic cover. The Ike character was the inspiration for Gus' nickname given to him by a sportswriter. Watch that hand there big fella!