#326 Marv Throneberry

My memories of Marv Throneberry are as an object of derision during and after his end-of-career run with the horrific expansion Mets. What Mario Mendoza was to the 70's, Throneberry was to the 60s, at least among the kids I hung with. And it really was an unfair assessment. I mean a .237 average with fifty some homers is a tidy little career nest-egg, no? He hit 16 in 1962 when the Mets played in the spacious (except for the foul lines) Polo Grounds.

Marv's reputation as a bad ballplayer, combined with his good-natured ability to laugh at himself, led to some Miller Lite commercials that put him in the spotlight more than he ever was in his playing days. 

A Yankee signee he made a one game appearance in 1955 but actually broke in with the '58 team after putting up some impressive power numbers in the minors. He was AA MVP in 1956 and hit over 80 homers in a two year span in Denver's thin air. But, like most Yankees who couldn't budge the regular out of the lineup (Hi, Moose!), he traveled the highway out to Kansas City for a bit beginning in 1960. From there it was on to Baltimore and finally a trade to the Mets early in the 1962 season. He finally had a regular gig and played better than you'd expect from a guy who became the butt of baseball humor, hitting .244 and collecting 49 RBIs. 

Marv's older brother Faye Throneberry played for the Nats and a couple of other clubs through the 50s. Faye has a card in this set as well. It's unknown if Marv lorded his .237 career average over Faye's .236 at family get-togethers. Or the fact that he had an at bat in the 1958 World Series. OK, so he whiffed against Lew Burdette in Game Two. That's one more AB than Faye ever got in a Series. And Marv had a World Series ring to flash around.

Here are a couple of post-career looks at Marv. Neither is very high quality but they are worth linking. First his Miller beer ad....

...and then a feature done about him on the CBS Sunday Morning show.

Pretty nice card, too. The red frame, classic Yankee duds and unusual pose against the blue sky and YS facade make this card stand out. Good for you. Marv. Who's laughing now?

#330 Gus Triandos

Gus Triandos was a Yankee signee who appeared briefly in pinstripes in 1953 & '54. He was dealt to the Orioles for the '55 season in a deal that included 17 players total and is far too complicated to explain. He spent eight seasons with the Orioles and showed quite a bit of power, especially playing in the then cavernous Memorial Stadium. His thirty homers in 1958 established the record for catchers at the time. 

Triandos caught two no hitters and made three All Star squads. He also bravely faced the challenge of catching (or attempting to) Hoyt Wilhelm's knuckler using the oversized glove pioneered by Paul Richards. Ina a game early in 1959, he allowed four passed balls catching Wilhelm. A year later he allowed three in one inning.

He attempted one stolen base in his entire 13 year career. And he made it! That stolen base came on the last day of the '58 season in Yankee Stadium in the second game of a doubleheader. He pinch singled for Joe Ginsberg in the top of the ninth and promptly stole second while (I can only assume) Yankee back-up catcher Darrell Johnson watched in amazement, too stunned or tired to make a throw.

Triandos spent time with the Tigers, Phils and Astros before he retired in 1965. He's one of three Orioles to have a street named for him in Baltimore. The other two are Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brooks Robinson.

This is another favorite card of mine. I think I've upgraded it at least twice. This third copy is pretty sharp. I love how the Bird head sleeve patch is shown front and center. That and I just like Gus. From all accounts he's still quite a character.

#266 Woody Held

Topps insists on calling him "Woody" but I always thought it was "Woodie" and Google seems to support me. Anyway Woody/Woodie Held was a Yankee signee in 1951... made his debut (a brief one) with the Yanks in 1954 and was back (again briefly) in 1957 but was dealt to the Athletics early in the season... he had 20 homers that year and actually garned enough MVP votes to land in the top 20... traded to the Indians in '58 he became that teams regular shortstop... remained a starter either at short or second in Cleveland thru 1964, displayed good power along the way...he was the first Indians' shortstop to hit at least 20 homers in a season.... dealt to Washington for 1965 that was his last year as a starter... moved on to the Orioles, Angels and White Sox to finish his career playing both infield and outfield... retired after the 1969 season.

After he retired Held raced snowmobiles around the country, played in charity golf tournaments, hunted, fished, four-wheeled, ran a pizzeria in Dubois, Wyoming and started the town's first Little League. He died of brain cancer in 2009. A pair of good articles about Woody held are here and here.

Yet another Yankee Stadium shot, a standard 'follow through' pose. Still, it's a nice card of a guy who seemed to be very well liked during his playing days. BTW he was a member of the 1966 Orioles championship team but didn't make a World Series appearance.

#41 Bob Martyn

Vacation posting: Bob Martyn

In a nutshell... Idaho native who starred at Linfield College in Oregon where he double-majored in mathematics and sociology and he graduated cum laude. ... a 1952 Yankee signee (another damn Yankee signee!?!?)... spent about four and a half seasons in their chain with a year off for military service... traded to the A's (no shit) in 1957 and spent '57 and '58 as a part time/platoon outfielder....hit his first (of three) career homer off Bob Turley of the Yanks on September 15 of that year.... traded back to the Yankees early in 1959 but spent the year in the minors.... split the 1960 season, his last, between Yankees' and Reds' farm clubs... he ended up with a respectable .263 average in what amounted to a full season of at bats... looks like a nice guy... he's a member of the Linfield College Hall of Fame... so is his father.

Martyn links:

Martyn on Wikipedia
Martyn on Baseball Reference's Bullpen page

Nothing special about this card. Standard 'stand in front of the visitor's dugout at Yankee Stadium' shot. Mine is in good shape. It's an upgrade.

#108 Zack Monroe

I'm on vacation in the New York area, visiting friends and relatives and doing a few touristy things. The over/under on visits to Ralph's Pizza in Nutley N.J. is three. Take the 'over'. The plan is to go blog-free for the duration so these next few entries are auto-posted quickies. 

Zack Monroe had an impressive minor league record before he debuted with the Yanks in 1958, He went 4-2 with them in 24 games and got into a World Series game, getting shelling in a one inning stint. He had a cup of coffee with the Yanks in 1959 and then was sold/traded/signed by/drafted by (?) the Reds where he spent a couple of minor league seasons.

Monroe pitched for Bradley University and as the cartoon says, he continued his education between seasons.

Classic '50s Topps card. Pitching follow through pose, Yankee Stadium stands and facade in the background.

#400 Jackie Jensen

People don't talk much about Jackie Jensen these days but in his time, particularly during his Red Sox days in the second half of the 1950s, he was an excellent ballplayer.

A California boy, Jensen was a Navy vet when he attended Cal and starred on the football field despite not even being a football scholarship recruit. His play on the baseball field at Cal got him a contract with the Oakland Oaks of the PCL and he played a year there before the Yankees signed him for a 1950 debut. He was touted as Joe DiMaggio's replacement but a lack of production and the logjam of talent in New York (Hello, Mr. Mantle) got Jensen a ticket to the Senators in 1952 and then it was on to the Red Sox in 1954.

He became a star alongside Ted Williams and nobody, not Williams nor Mantle drove in more runs during the time he patrolled rightfield at Fenway between 1954 and 1959. He had won the 1958 AL MVP when this card was fresh.

But he suffered from a fear of flying and retired after the '59 season. He made an attempt at a comeback in 1961 but couldn't overcome his flying jitters. He he went on to work for for ABC TV and was also the baseball coach for the University of Nevada, Reno, and at his alma mater, Cal Berkeley. He moved to Virginia, where he became a tree farmer and established the Jackie Jensen Baseball Camp.

A couple of interesting page for more of Jackie Jensen's life is here and this Sports Illustrated Vault page is well worth the read. And still more about Jensen... his College Football Hall of Fame page, and from his Oakland Oaks days.

Jensen is one of those guys, like Rocky Colavito, that I collect casually. I'll pick up a card if I find one that is reasonable but I don't go searching for specific ones and I haven't created a want list. 

I had a lesser conditioned '59 before I ever dreamed of collecting this set and I knew I had to upgrade it. I think this one is the first of the cards I grabbed off eBay when I went after the whole set. Obviously 'off-centeredness' hasn't been a problem for me.

My first and favorite Jansen card:

Jensen on some 1950's covers:

#76 Bobby Richardson

No matter how big a Yankee Hater you are I don't think you could find a reason to hate Bobby Richardson. I saw him signing autographs at a small card show in New Jersey some years ago and he was gracious and thoughtful with a smile and a word for every kid and grown-up in the line. 

Richardson signed with the Yankees out of Sumpter, N.C. in 1953 and on the 700 Club website* he tells a story of arriving in New York as a green signee for a workout at Yankee Stadium:

I signed right out of high school when I was 17 and I was given a four day trip to New York to work out with the Yankees. Took the train from Sumter to New York. Checked into the hotel in New York. Took a cab out to Yankee Stadium. I was told to put on my uniform and walk out onto the field and take some balls out at second base and to take some batting swings in the batting cage before the ball game. Well, I took the ground balls at second, but I was too embarrassed to step in front of anybody in the batting cage, and Mickey Mantle came up and put his arm around me and said, “Come on kid, step in here and take some swings.”From that moment on, a special friendship between Mickey and Bobby developed. They played together until Bobby retired in 1966 after an 11-year career. They shared three World Series championships. Mickey always admired Bobby’s faith and the two remained close, long after their playing days.

His relationship with Mickey Mantle is a theme that runs though most of what you read about this solid fielding Yankee. He gave the eulogy at Mantle's funeral in 1995. After a few outstanding minor league seasons and a couple of peeks at the bigs he came up for good in 1957 and established himself as the everyday 2nd baseman by 1959.

Richardson's career included seven All Star appearances, five Gold Gloves, three Wold Series titles with a career .305 average in the Series, and despite the heartbreaking loss to the Pirates, the 1960 World Series MVP award.

I remember distinctly the snag he made off the bat of Willie McCovey that ended the 1962 Series when the Giants had the winning runners on.

My Richardson card is definitely on my 'upgrade needed' list. It's got very soft corners and some scuffs and discoloration. Even so it's one of my favorite cards in the set.


*=I'm guessing that'll be the only link I ever have to the 700 Club website!

#60 Bob Turley

The back of Bob Turley's card hints at the remarkable 1958 season he enjoyed prior to this card being issued early in '59. 

Turley had been a St. Louis Browns signee in 1948. He made his big league debut late in 1951 and was still with the team when they moved to Baltimore for 1954. He won 14 games for a very mediocre O's club that year including the first one ever played at Memorial Stadium. 

In November of '54 he was traded to the Yankees in one of the largest trades (numbers wise) in baseball history. It was a fortunate deal for Turley who went on to pitch for five Yankee pennant winners and earned a pair of World Series wins.

His best season came in '58 as he won a career high 21 wins and 19 complete games. That led the league in both categories. He was named to the All Star team (see the last post) and won the Cy Young award. Turley's real heroics came in the Series that year versus the Braves. But it didn't seem that Turley would be a hero after his Game Two start when he was knocked around and run off in the first inning of a Braves laugher.

But he came back in Game Five to toss a fit hit shutout. After an off day he appeared in the tenth inning of Game Six and preserved a win for Ryne Duran. Then in the deciding Game Seven Turley relieved Don Larson in the third inning and held the Braves to two hits and a run to wrap up the title for the Yanks.

Although he stayed in the majors until he retired after splitting the 1963 season between the Angels and Red Sox, Turley never again approached the success he had in 1958. In fact he averaged about five wins a year after that magical season.

He spent a year coaching then went into the financial management business and was very successful. He lives in Georgia.

The orange frame on these '59s is always nice. Turley's picture, posed in pregame I assume, along the side of the Yankee Stadium batting cage is very much like the one used in his All Star Selection card. No need for Dick Tracy to see they were taken at the same session. This one is one of the better cards I have. Not mint by any means but the colors are bright and all but one corner is sharp.

#570 Bob Turley '59 All Star Selection

"Bullet Bob" Turley was coming off his best season when 1959 dawned. His exploits explain why he was selected to appear as the right handed pitcher for the AL All Star subset. But he didn't make the All Star squad that year and, in fact, his best pitching was behind him.

The '58 All Star game in Baltimore was his third and last. He was KO'd in the second inning having given up three hits, two walks and three runs in an inning and two thirds. But better things were in store for him in 1958. Those will be discussed in the next post.

The '59 card was his second straight appearance on one of these specials. He showed up as an All Star selection in the '58 Topps set. Defying almost all logic I prefer the '58 All Star cards. My '59 is about par for the course condition-wise., decent corners and somewhat mis-cut.

#51 Rip Coleman

Walter Gary Coleman, better known as 'Rip' Coleman was a Yankee signee out of Syracuse and Wake Forest Universities in 1952. It took him four seasons to climb the ladder and he debuted with the Yanks in August 1955 after winning 12 games in Denver that season. 

His first game was a start against the Orioles. He was pretty shaky allowing five hits, five walks and six earned runs in five plus innings. Luckily for Rip the Yanks had their hitting shoes on that day and had staked him to a big lead. Bob Grim finished the game and Rip Coleman had a win. The O's starter and loser was Ray Moore whose card was recently profiled here.

Coleman pitched in nine more games that season and got into Game Four of the '55 Series against the Dodgers. He was hit hard in his inning plus allowing five singles and a couple of runs. He was also with the Yanks during the 1956 Series but didn't appear. Likely got a ring, though. 

After a 3-5 1956 season as a spot starter and reliever he was shipped to Kansas City (surprise!) for '57. He was in the minors for a portion of that year and then was knocked around and saddled with an 0-7 mark with the Athletics. Note that the back of his card calls it a "rough 1957 campaign". 

After spending 1958 in the minors he went 2-10 in KC in 1959 before he was waived and picked up by the Orioles. He pitched sparing for the Orioles but kept posting some decent minor league stats before hanging up his spikes after the 1962 year. 

Some of these white cardboard cards give my scanner the jumps. I've tried to adjust the brightness and contrast with Google's online tools because I'm too lazy to re-scan it. Topps airbrushed the "A" onto Rip's cap. Probably over the "NY". They probably cropped it 'tight' to eliminate the need to do much with the pinstripes which are barely visible. I replaced a centered but bruised copy with this sharper but mis-cut version. 

#414 Dale Long

What a great baseball card. I love the perspective that makes Dale Long's bat loom into the foreground. The sig balancing Long's body, the fence behind him, the pale green border. It's one of my favorite cards profiled so far.

Dale Long probably went through several sets of luggage during his career. He played for six clubs and in the system of two others. In 1944 he played for Casey Stengel as a member of the minor league independent Milwaukee Brewers. He was property of the Reds, Red Sox, Tigers, and Yankees before he made his big league debut with the horrid 1951 Pirates. He was dealt to the equally horrid St Louis Browns mid-season.

Seems that Long was a 'bat for hire'  as he spent time with the Pirates (again), the Cubs, Giants, Yankees (again) the Senators and the Yankees (one more time).

Along the way he carved out a place in baseball lore by hitting homers in eight consecutive games (Don Mattingly has since equaled that) in 1956 and becoming one of the major's last left-handed catchers when he played for the Cubs in 1957.

1956 was Longs best season as he knocked out 27 homers and 91 RBIs. He played in a couple of World Series for the Yanks and got a ring in 1962. He retired after some final minor league duty in 1964 and went on to umpire in the minors. He served as a minor league executive as well.

#167 Duke Maas

Ring...ring...ring..."Good Morning, Kansas City Athletics, Mr. Selkirk's office. How can I help you?"

"Hello, Marge? George Weiss of the Yankees here. Is Selkirk in?"

"No, Mr. Weiss, but he told me to give you anything you wanted, just like he always does."

"Sounds great, Marge, we need a pitcher or two. Send me Duke Maas."

"Sure thing Mr. Weiss. Would you like Virgil Trucks, too? I just saw him walk past."

"Sounds good, Marge. I'll send something your way. Won't be much but they'll be breathing, probably. My best to Ol' Selkirk. Always nice ripping...err...doing business with the A's!"

"Bye, Mr. Weiss, call again when the Yanks need something. We're here to serve" ...click...

And so it went through the 50's.The Yanks needed to fill a hole, the A's obliged. In 1958 it was Duke Maas.  He was coming off a couple of double digit win seasons for the Tigers, had settled in with some nice numbers for the punch-less A's and then, bingo, off he went to the Yanks to help them in their drive to the American League pennant in 1958. 

Actually I thought Duke Maas had a really reat name. And any card that shows off the various decks of Yankee Stadium (including my frequent upper deck perch) qualifies as cool. That's Jerry Lumpe (#11) in the background waiting for his BP cuts. (Lumpe rode the KC/NY Express the other way when the Yanks brought over Hector Lopez and Ralph Terry in 1959.)

After minor league and military duty (in Korea) Maas broke in with the Tigers in 1954. He was dealt to KC in '58 and ended up on the Yanks. He pitched in two World Series with New York.

His best year, at least record-wise, came in 1959 with the Yanks when he went 14-8. He was drafted by the Angels in the December 1960 expansion draft but traded back to the Yanks for the '61 season which he spent nearly all of in the minors before he hung it up.

Duane Fredrick "Duke" Maas died in 1976 at the young age of 47. 

#88 Herb Score and #345 Gil McDougald

This is the first time I have 'double dipped' and done one entry on two cards. But it's hard to separate Herb Score and Gil McDougald. The two are forever joined by what happened on May 7, 1957 in a game between Score's Indians and McDougald's Yankees in Cleveland.

At the point in time Herb Score was a hard throwing (seriously hard throwing) lefthander coming off a very impressive two season debut. Signed out of Florida in 1952 by the same scout who signed Bob Feller, Score made his mark in 1954 with the Indians' Indianapolis AAA club by striking out 330 in 251 innings. In 1955 Score broke in to the Indians rotation with a 16 win season in which he led the league in strikeouts and k's per 9 and topped it off with the Rookie of the Year trophy. He came back in '56 and was even better. He was named to the AL All Star squad again and went on to win 20 games and again led the league in whiffs. 

The Red Sox reportedly had offered the Indians a million dollars for Score prior to the '57 season and were turned down by Cleveland’s general manager, Hank Greenberg, saying Score “may become the greatest pitcher in the game’s history.” Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra, among others, praised Score through the years as being one of the toughest pitchers they ever faced. Herb Score was, in May of 1957, a phenomenon.

Gil McDougald was signed by the Yankees out of the University of San Francisco in 1948 and, after three successful minor league seasons (he hit over .330 each year) broke in with the big league club in 1951 and went on to play as a steady if not spectacular infielder for the entire decade through the 1960 season. 

Like Score, McDougald had a Rookie of the Year trophy and All Star credentials. He finished as high as fifth in the MVP voting in 1957. He was an excellent fielder wherever the Yanks used him around the infield. He spent seasons as their regular third baseman, shortstop and second baseman.

In that May 7 game in 1957 facing Score, McDougald was the game's second batter and he stroked a liner that hit the pitcher in the face breaking numerous bones. While Score was treated and carried off the field McDougald reportedly had to be talked into remaining in the game by Yankee manager Casey Stengel. The shaken McDougald vowed to quit if Score was blinded.

Score overcame his injuries, regained 20/20 vision and returned to baseball during the 1958 season but hurt his arm while changing his pitching motion and never regained the form that had led Bob Feller to compare him favorably with another 1955 rookie, Sandy Koufax. He was traded to the White Sox in April of 1960 and spent three seasons splitting time between them and their farm team. He continued in the game as a long time broadcaster for the Indians.

McDougald, by some accounts, never was the same aggressive player he had been prior to the Score incident and he retired after the 1960 season. 

There is much more to read about these two stars of the 50's whose lives became intertwined that May day in Cleveland. A good Hall of Fame website article on Score can be found here.

The obits for Score who died in 2008, and McDougald, who died in 2010, add details about both players. This article on a Yankee fan site has quite a bit about McDougald and his reasons for retiring. 

The Herb Score card shows off his youthful appearance as well as my favorite Indians style uni. The Yankee Stadium facade gets one of it's better treatments in the background as well. My copy is miscut but has sharp corners. Pretty nice. 

My McDougald, though, is a candidate for upgrading. Soft corners and scuffing will do that. I noticed as I was checking the card back that it lists his home as Nutley, New Jersey. I pretty much grew up there, having lived in that great little Essex County town from second through ninth grade (Martha Stewart's mom was my 6th grade teacher). McDougald was living in Wall Township when he passed away. That's very close to where I spent my last two years of high school. Not that that all means anything.

#251 Cletis Boyer

I saw a lot of Clete Boyer when he was active. He was the Yankees' third baseman when I was living up there and attending games at the Stadium. He was traded to the Braves at the same time I was moving to Houston. The first friend I made was a Braves fan so we went to quite a few of their games in the Dome in '67 and '68. 

I never heard anyone call him 'Cletis' except for possibly Red Barber. Anyway, Boyer a 'good field/good hit' third baseman for the Yankees and Braves through the decade of the 60's. He arrived in New York via the well established 'Kansas City to New York Express' in 1958. Seems like when the Yanks called, the A's always answered the phone.

Boyer, a Missouri native, never hit for a high average but he had good power and after coming over to the Braves in 1967 he had a career high 26 dingers. For the Yanks he was usually good for double digit homer totals and he anchored a pretty solid infield along side Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson and Moose Skowron or Joe Pepitone. 

As good as he was in the field he only won one Gold Glove, that coming in the NL in 1969. Playing in the same league as Brooks Robinson and then Ron Santo will do that.

There were three Boyers in the big leagues. Clete, his well known (and very accomplished) brother Ken, and Cloyd who was a teammate of Clete when he was ending his pitching career with the A's in 1955. Cloyd and Ken were both property of the Cardinals in the early 50s but Ken was serving in the military and missed the chance to share the field with Cloyd.

Clete played on five straight Yankee pennant winners from 1960 thru 1964, winning two tiles. He and Ken were the opposing third basemen in the 1964 Series won by the Cards.In the seventh game Clete and Ken became the only brothers to ever homer in the same World Series contest. Clete got another taste of the postseason as a Brave in the 1969 playoffs when his club lost to the Amazin' Mets. 

Clete Boyer died in 2007. Nice interview from 2004 with him right here.

Boyer's first Topps rookie card was in the '57 set (his 'rookie' card is a 1955 Bowman). He was a member of the Athletics and the shot was taken at Yankee Stadium. Since the '59 Boyer is an early series card the picture is likely from the same time. (Hard to fool me, yes?) Anyway the point is that Topps wanted to show Boyer as a Yankee and they airbrushed the NY onto his cap. Poorly. It's too small. No doubt they wanted to have it visible but it would have been better to just add the part that would have actually been seen from the angle of the shot.  

What IS seen from that (or any) angle is that my Boyer isn't one of the better cards in my '59 set. It's one of the few creased examples I haven't tried to upgrade yet. One of these days I'll get to it.

1957 Topps Clete Boyer:

1955 Bowman Clete Cloyd Boyer:

#222 Bobby Shantz

I frequent a baseball related forum and a thread came up recently concerning which team you associate a particular player with. For example: Bill Madlock... Pirates? Cubs? Or Nolan Ryan... Angels? Rangers? Astros?

I thought of that when I was looking at Bobby Shantz' career. To me he's a Yankee but he actually only spent four of sixteen big league seasons in the Bronx. And his best work by far came in his days with the Athletics, particularly in Philadelphia.

In 1951, his third season in the bigs he went 18-10 for a 70 win A's club and he backed that up in '52 with a superb season. He was 24-7 for the A's who won 79 games total. He posted an ERA of 2.48 and a WHIP of 1.048, best in the league. For his efforts the 5'6" side-armer was named AL MVP. Not an easy thing to do in those days of sluggers and stars. 

Shantz never approached those numbers again in the remainder of his career but he finished with eight Gold Gloves for his fielding prowess (he'd have won more perhaps had they been awarded prior to 1957. He moved to a relievers role in 1958. He was a three time All Star and picked up a World Series ring and two more AL titles while with the Yankees in the late 50's and 1960.

Shantz' brother Billy, a catcher, teamed with him with the A's in both Philly and Kansas City and briefly with the Yanks in 1960. I believe Bobby still does card shows.

#461 Baseball Thrills.... Mantle Hits 42nd...

First look at the Baseball Thrills subset of ten cards numbered 461 thru 470. These commemorate 'on the field' achievements by stars of the day, not all of them coming from the previous 1958 season as I would have expected. The Willie Mays BT features his over the shoulder catch in the '54 World Series. And a couple, Banks Wins MVP for example, honor a general award or skill. We'll look at each at some point.

The backs of these describe the action or achievement and the box in the upper right of the reverse describes them as 'Action Photos'. They appear to be colorized versions of an actual photo. The Mantle above is concerned with the 1958 regular season homer chase and his close win over Rocky Colavito. But the photo of the Mick coiled to unload shows the bunting in the background that signifies a World Series shot.

This subset commands a premium above the regular cards of the same series but they are neither very expensive nor difficult to find, especially in ungraded, unslabbed form.

UPDATE: Corbis provides us with the original photo and indeed it is from the 1958 World Series.

#374 Art Ditmar

True confession time... I've always had a 'thing' for Art Ditmar. No, no... not in the same way I've always had a 'thing' for Jennifer Beals..... but a 'thing' nonetheless. I've got several of his cards. It began when I was a kid and the joke among my many Yankee fan friends was "Oh oh, you're screwed, here comes Art F'ing Ditmar!!"  Yes, most of my friends had precious little comedy talent. but that's another post. It was one of those inside jokes and we all became fans of the guy, even those of us who didn't root for the Yanks.

Here we see my man Art posed in Yankee Stadium with two of the upper deck posts framing his head. Those posts were the bane of my father's existence. We'd be there nearly every Sunday that the Yanks were at home and we'd have to be there early enough so that we could get general admission upper deck seats without a post hindering our view.

The card itself features a classic Topps pitchers pose, a cool orange frame and a gem of a cartoon that points out that Ditmar lost the most games among American League pitchers in 1956. Damn nice of them I'd say.

Art won 28 games for the Yanks over the 1959/1960 seasons before his career went abruptly south and New York graciously returned him to their 'minor league' affiliate in Kansas City, the A's.

And I can't let this post go by without a picture of Jennifer Beals. Still amazing looking at 47ish. My wife knows that I'd leave her for only one woman... 

Hey, you take your ego trips, I'll take mine.