#249 Bobby Adams

Infielder Bobby Adams was 37 years old and in the last season of his pro career when this card was issued. He had signed with the Cincinnati Reds way back in 1939 and spent four seasons in the minors, three of the hitting well over .300. Interestingly he was signed by the Reds as part of a sort of 'family deal' that included his brother Dick Adams.

After the 1942 season both Adams brothers were called to military service and they played alongside Joe DiMaggio in California. Bobby Adams remained in the service through 1945 and re-joined the Reds organization the following spring. He made the big club and played in a platoon/utility roles until he worked into the Reds' full time third base job in the early 1950s.

Always a good fielder, Adams led the league in games played and at bats in 1952 while hitting .283 on 180 hits which was good for third in the league. He even garnered a few stray MVP votes that year. He played everyday again the following season but after that his performance and playing time waned until he was dealt to the White Sox in 1955. He moved on to the Orioles in '56 and then to the Cubs in '57. He played sparingly through 1958 and after three games played in 1959 he was sent to the minors where he saw his final action as a pro.

After his active days Adams served in several capacities in baseball, as a coach, league executive and players association executive. He also raised a major leaguer, son Mike Adams who played for three different clubs in the 1970s.

From the site I linked above comes this picture of the 1943 Santa Ana Army Base team. Bobby Adams is front row, fourth left. His brother Dick is back row, sixth left and Joe DiMaggio is front row, second right.

In the late '40s picture below Bobby Adams is the guy (#12) greeting the runner who is scoring on a wild throw to the plate. I'm always fascinated by how close to the action they allowed photographers to get in those days. 

#480 Red Schoendienst

Now that's a baseball card, right? Love the Braves' road flannels, the "M" cap and the seafoam green frame. But I think Hall of Fame member, 'baseball lifer' and revered Cardinal 'ambassador' Red Schoendienst deserves a nice card. He's been involved in the professional game since 1942! At the age of 90 he is still in uniform during Spring Training during the season is still serving as a special assistant in the St. Louis front office.

Albert 'Red' Schoendienst was signed by the Cards in '42 and he spent 2+ years in the minors including a 1943 season that saw him hit .345 and win the Piedmont League's MVP. He joined the Army late in 1943 but received a medical discharge due to an eye injury and he returned to baseball during the 1944 season. That injury hampered his hitting while batting right handed against righty pitchers so he taught himself to become a switch hitter.

He made the Cards as their starting second baseman in 1945 and promptly led the NL in stolen bases. The next season he made the first of his 10 All Star teams. He led the league in doubles in 1950 and his batting averages improved as he played with a high of .342 in 1952. He won the first of his World Series rings with the Cards in 1946.

He spent eleven full seasons as the Cardinals infield anchor but was traded to the Giants in June of 1956. Almost a year to the day later he was traded to the Braves. Not often that the league base hit leader is a guy who was traded in mid year. He won his second ring that year as the Braves beat the Yankees.

1958 was his last year as a regular and he was signed by the Cards for the 1961 season. He played part time in St. Louis for a couple of seasons before becoming a coach. When Johnny Keane quit following the Cards' 1964 Series win Red took over (a deal with Leo Durocher apparently fell through) and remained the Cardinal skipper for 12 years. He also served two stints as an interim manager when asked by the Cards. His overall winning percentage as a manager was .522 and he won a World Series in 1967.

Quite a baseball resume for the guy. In fact Wikipedia passes along this bit of Red Schoendienst wisdom:

Schoendienst was a member of five winning World Series teams, all of which won in seven games: as a player with the Cardinals and Braves in 1946 and 1957 respectively; as the Cardinals manager in 1967; and as a Cardinals coach in 1964 and 1982. He was also a member of three teams that lost the Series after leading three games to one: the 1958 Milwaukee Braves (to the Yankees), the 1968 Cardinals (to the Detroit Tigers), and the 1985 Cardinals (to the Kansas City Royals).

As noted Red Schoendiest is still involved with his club after celebrating his 90th birthday. We should all be so lucky. I know he was working with the team during the regular season as late as three seasons ago. We saw him on the field, in uniform before a Cardinal-Astro game at Minute Maid Park.

One final set of quotes courtesy of Wikipedia:

• "The greatest pair of hands I've ever seen." – teammate Stan Musial

• "He was just a tremendous ballplayer. He and I dressed side-by-side and I'll never forget how much he taught me about the game. He was a terrific leader." – teammate Hank Aaron

#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.

#38 Morrie Martin

Night Owl posted the other day about how he'd like to write a book. It's based on a card that shows a moment in time that turned the fortunes of two baseball franchises (in opposite directions). It's a good read. But even before he writes his first book, I have a suggestion for his second one......

You may or may not know much about lefty pitcher Morris "Morrie" Martin. I know that before I began researching this card I probably hadn't crossed paths with him more than a fleeting time or two while looking at Oriole history. Martin was signed off a Missouri farm by the Chicago White Sox in 1941 and spent the year in their system. In '42 he pitched (under a working agreement it seems) with the independent St. Paul Saints. There in St. Paul one of his teammates was Dave Philley. 

Late in '42 Morris, like many other American kids, shipped out for the European theatre of WWII. While serving in North Africa, Sicily and on D-Day he was, among other things, torn up with shrapnel, buried under a shelled house and left for dead and shot in the leg, almost losing it to infection. The whole 'Morrie Martin in war' story is chronicled here. 

Following his service he returned to baseball and, after several seasons in the Dodger chain, debuted as a 29 year old rookie with the Bums in 1949. A 1-3 record earned him a trip to the minors. He re-emerged in 1951 with the Philadelphia A's and he won 11 games for them that year, 10 more in 1953. The rest of his major league career was an odyssey through the South Side of Chicago (where he was reunited with fellow 3 year service vet  Dave Philley....I wonder if they had any war stories to swap?!?), Baltimore, St Louis, Cleveland, and finally the North Side of Chicago briefly in 1959. He finished with a career 38-34 record. 

Morris Martin, having survived so much on the battlefield, wasn't going to let a demotion by the Cubs deter him. He spent the 1960 season with the Houston Buffs and was signed by the fledgling Colt 45s (as was Martin's old pal Dave Philley) and traded to the Braves before hanging up his glove for good prior to the 1961 season.

By my count Martin played in 18 cities across North America and was a member of 18 different teams in one form or another and saw action on three fronts during WWII. Then he topped it off by living to the age of 87 back in rural Missouri in 2010. Full life I'd say. And to think I looked at Morrie Martin's '59 Topps card and wondered what I'd write about. Live and learn.

And here's a great shot of Morrie at a gathering of baseball/WWII vets in New Orleans a couple of years before his passing.