#312 Don Newcombe

First things first.... I love this card. I'm partial to the black border cards in this set and this is one of the better ones. Newk's red and white uni just looks good here. More on the uni in a bit.

Don Newcombe began his career with the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues as a youngster in 1944. After signing with the Dodgers he pitched pretty impressively in their chain with Nashua and Montreal before debuting with the big club in 1949. And an impressive debut it was. Newk went 17-8 with 5 shutouts, made the All Star team and collected Rookie of the Year honors. 

And he only got better winning 98 games in the next five seasons. He did that wrapping those five seasons around a two year stint in the military. His best year was 1956 when he won 27 games, lost only 7, had a WHiP below 1.0 and took home the Cy Young and MVP trophies. That makes him the only pitcher until Justin Verlander to have won the three most prestigious trophies in his career. 

Although he never did win a World Series game himself, his Dodgers were in the Series three times and took the 1955 Series from the Yankees. 

Newcombe was traded to the Reds in June of 1958. He stayed in their rotation (and bullpen at times) until he was purchased by the Indians in June of 1960. He spent '61 with the Indians' top farm club and then pitched in Japan in 1962. In 1970 he joined the Dodgers front office and has served in several capacities ever since. The Los Angeles Times spoke to Newcombe following the recent news that the club had a new ownership group with Magic Johnson as part of it. Newk was very happy with the deal.

The photo on this card was taken in the LA Coliseum based on the tall sloping stands in the background. Newcombe was traded to the Reds in 1958 so it's possible that the photo was taken during one of the Reds' two trips to the West Coast following the trade. But it's also possible that the shot is airbrushed, something Topps did a lot of back then. If it is airbrushed it's one of their better jobs. I blew the card up and can't tell one way or another. Doesn't matter I guess. The card looks terrific anyway. It's a little worse for wear with being off center and having some soft corners but no matter. It's one of my favorites in the '59 set.

#549 Howie Nunn

Howie Nunn appeared in 46 ballgames between 1958 and 1962 for the Cardinals and Reds. He had a 4-3 career record. He was a signee of the expansion New York Mets and spent time in their first spring training camp in 1962 before being returned to the Reds. (edit: Actually Nunn had his contract sold to the Mets by the Reds. He talks about it in his interview linked below. I stand corrected.)

You can read an interesting two part interview/bio with Howie here and here. At the bottom of the second part of that series are some comments from Nunn's cousin and great niece/nephew. Nothing earth shattering there but it served to remind me that these baseball cards feature guys who are/were someone's father, brother, son, cousin, etc. He's the the first of two featured player to have pitched for the Houston Buffs. If I could interview him I'd ask how it was to pitch outdoors in Houston's summer heat.

I'd also ask about his 1960 season spent with the Havana Sugar Kings, until July that is, when the Castro regime nationalized all business and baseball up and moved the franchise to Jersey City. One day you're playing in colorful, storied (and tumultuous) Havana and the next day you're in Jersey City, New Jersey. There were a boatload (pun intended) of past and future big leagues on that 1960 Havana/Jersey City squad with Nunn including Mike Cuellar, Cookie Rojas, Luis Arroyo, Leo Cardenas and Brooks Lawrence.

This high numbered card is in decent shape. It's not off centered like so many of mine are. And the corners aren't bad either. The best part is the back that features a cartoon pointing out a fact very common back then. Nunn spent his off seasons as a basketball coach. Players such as this didn't make the kind of money that's made these days and many had to supplement with second incomes. I bet to a kid it was cool to have a coach who was also a big league player.

 Howie Nunn died just weeks ago, in February of this year. 

#431 Whammy Douglas

Charles William "Whammy" Douglas. Still alive and kicking at age 75 and still probably having to explain to his great-grand kids why he was called 'Whammy'. Story is that he was having an exceptional outing as a minor leaguer and a sportswriter stuck the name on him. Interesting that he was blind in one eye as a result of a childhood accident. Whammy never pitched for the Reds. He had a brief whirl with the Pirates in '57 and ended up as a throw-in in the deal that brought Frank Thomas to the Bucs.

Two things jump at you from the back of this card. The cartoon celebrates Whammy's spring training homer and the fact that he won 27 games in the minors in 1954. A serious win total in any league. Quite a bit more about Whammy Douglas in this terrific article.

This is a great baseball card. The black frame sets off the picture nicely. Whammy has an obviously air-brushed uniform. Topps kept the airbrush industry afloat in those days. This copy replaced a ragged one I had purchased previously. Very clean with nice corners.