#223 St. Louis Cardinals

The 1959 Cardinals were a 7th place entry in the N.L. that year. Stan Musial hit only .255 with 44 RBIs. Ken Boyer led them with 28 dingers and drove in 94. Larry Jackson and Lindy McDaniel each won 14 for the Redbirds. 

Looks like the kid who had this checklist back in the day was able to complete the 4th Series. He gave it the big blue crayon check-mark. My detective instincts tell me Billy Hoeft was the last card he needed since it wasn't filled in. I can see the kid with this checklist on the kitchen table opening packs his Dad brought home after work at the little store right near the bus stop. As soon as the kid saw the Hoeft card... swoosh, done with this series!!!

I doubt he cared that it's off-center any more then than I do now.

#94 Chicago White Sox Team

If Topps had known that the 1959 White Sox were going to be American League champs and play in their first World Series since the 1919 Black Sox they might have given them a better looking card than this red and pink monstrosity. Then again, being Topps, they might not have.

The '59 Sox were known as the "Go Go Sox". They relied on manufactured runs and solid pitching to claim the title. They finished first in stolen bases in the A.L., last in homers, third in ERA. They had a Hall of Fame combo up the middle with Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio and relied on 39 year old Early Wynn for fill the role of staff ace. He did the job quite well with 22 wins.

I hope Sox fans savored their big season because it wouldn't be until 1983 that the franchise would make the postseason.

This card appears to have been owned by the same person who owned the Tigers card featured not so long ago. Same neat ink filled boxes on the backside checklist. It's in nice shape except for some gum stains and the hideous color combo. 

#528 Pittsburgh Pirates Team

The 1959 Pirates were a slight dip in the franchise's road to top of the baseball world. Coming off a second place, 84-70 season in '58 (the teams' first winning season in a decade) this year's club slipped to fourth just a couple of games over .500.

In 1960 the Pirates hit the big time, winning the NL pennant and defeating the Yankees in seven games in a Series rich in baseball lore.

In '59 the Buccos were led by an up and coming star in 24 year old Roberto Clemente, strength on the corners with Dick Stuart and Don Hoak, and glove wizard Bill Mazeroski at 2nd. They featured pitcher Vern Law who won 18 games in a preview of his 1960 Cy Young Award winning performance and Elroy Face whose 18 relief wins remains the baseball record.

Looks like whoever owned this card originally was able to complete the 7th series. And they marked it a lot more neatly than most filled in checklists I've come across. An added bonus is the fact that the card frame represents (more or less) the Pirates colors. No way to know it that was planned or just coincidental.

#48 Baltimore Orioles Team

I've only posted a few times with 'a purpose', that is selected a card for a specific reason. The first two posts (Brooks and Bob Gibson) and the Duke Snider post are about it. But here we have another one. The Orioles 1959 team card with first series checklist on the reverse. I need to get this one posted before they lose a game and spoil my mellow.

As a lifelong Orioles fan I've had my shares of ups and (lately) downs, but I keep plugging along. What else can you do... change to another team? Not going to happen.

But the 4-0 start to the season has really peaked my interest. I'll be the first to admit I don't follow the game as I used to, I can't name every teams rotation or every Oriole's number and hometown like I could in the 60's. Hell, I don't even remember the Os' closers name, but I do know that the Birds have good young pitching arms and that goes a long way towards building a firm foundation. I heard on the radio the other morning that if you started a season the day Buck Showalter arrived to manage the O's they'd be 4 and a half games up on the entire league, only the Phils have a better record in that time frame. Wow.

The 1959 Orioles finished 6th in the A.L. at 74-80 under Paul Richards. Speaking of young arms, the '59 O's had Milt Pappas and Jerry Walker in their rotation. They were joined in 1960 by Chuck Estrada and Steve Barber to form a starting staff known as the 'Baby Birds'.

Yes, that's Brooks Robinson's signature on my team card. I remember picking this one up at a show way back when I was putting together all the Orioles Topps and Bowman team sets. That was a fun project that I finished by obtaining the elusive 1967 Mark Belanger/Bill Dillman rookie card. I continued putting together Oriole team sets until some time in the early 90s when the rookie/variation/error card shenanigans turned me off to the hobby.

The checklist on the reverse of the Oriole team card appears to have been filled in by a kid with visual impairments.