#487 Hal Brown

I don't think I ever once heard of him referred to as anything other than Hal 'Skinny' Brown. At least that I recall. Even the always proper Red Barber called him that on the radio.

Anyway here he is posing in Yankee Stadium... what a unique concept. He actually found himself pitching in a Yankee uniform in two games late in the 1962 season. That was close to the end of the line for Brown who had begun his career as a Red Sox signee in 1946 following a two year service hitch. He pitched for the White Sox in 1951/52 and found his way back to the Red Sox in 1953. The transactions that got him to that point are a jumbled mess that I really didn't care to follow.

But it was after a 1955 trade to the Orioles that Brown's career took flight (pun intended). He held a spot in the Orioles rotation until that trade to the Yanks late in '62. Along the way he had been the grand old man as part of the Orioles 1960 'Baby Birds' rotation. At thirty five he was a decade and a half older than the four other starters.

He finished his career with a couple of rocky season in Houston in 1963 and 1963. The '63 campaign actually wasn't bad for Brown as his numbers were better that his 5-11 record might indicate. That's what happens when you pitch for lousy clubs. He was 85-92 with a 3.81 ERA for his career.

After his retirement he co-owned a heating and air conditioning firm in his native Greensboro N.C.

#356 Bob Mabe

It's not often that I feel compelled to discus the picture on a player's card before I touch on his career. But Bob Made presents an exception. I mean come on, what the heck is that expression all about? I've never run a contest on one of my blogs but if I did I think a 'Caption this Card' contest would be fun and this Mabe card would kick things off.

Anyway Bob Made pitched (a bit) for three different clubs from 1958 through 1960. Originally a Cub signee he was acquired by the Cardinals and built an impressive record as he moved up the Cards organizational ladder. He won 21 games for the Dixie League champion Houston Buffs in 1956. After a season at AAA Omaha he pitched for the Cards early in '58, was sent down and recalled and given a spot in the Cards rotation in July. He made five starts with mixed results and spent the rest of the time in the bullpen.

He was traded to Cincy for 1959, split his season between the Redlegs and the minors and was again traded after that season, this time to the Orioles. Two brief and rocky appearances for the O's put an end to his days in the majors. He finished with a 7-11 record in 142 innings for his career.

An avid golfer, Mabe worked in management for K-Mart and Dan River Mills after retirement.

#161 Frank Baumann

High school hotshot Frank Baumann was a much sought after pitching prospect in 1951 coming out of St. Louis. The Red Sox outbid his hometown Browns and in 1952 Baumann began a long slow climb up the ladder and he never really established himself with Boston. He'd get a look nearly every season with the big club but never stuck until 1959 when he got 10 starts and 26 overall appearances.

He was traded to the White Sox for the 1960 season and his career bloomed with a 13-6 record and a 2.67 ERA which led the league. He got 20 starts that year and had 7 complete games and three shutouts. That was easily his best season and he went 10-13 in 1961 as his numbers slid downhill after that. He allowed the most earned runs in the league in 1962, double the number he allowed in '61 in nearly the same number of innings. He made a very brief stop with the Cubs in 1965 and called it a career. Baumann posted a 45–38 record with a 3.90 ERA and 13 saves in 244 games pitched in 11 seasons (or parts thereof).

Bob Lemke had a nice post about Baumann which you can read here. Full of background info you may find interesting.

This is one of those retouched pictures that show up in the 1959 set.  Hard to say where the original was taken.

#122 Bennie Daniels The Sporting News Rookie Stars

Bennie Daniels gave two years to the military in between five years in the Pirates' chain after signing out of Compton, Ca. in 1951. He had been an outstanding three sport athlete there. Daniels had a couple of looks from the Pirates during the 1957 and 1958 seasons. In his 1957 major league debut he started for the Bucs in the last game ever played at Ebbets Field. He got a full time shot in 1959 and made 12 starts out of a total of 34 appearances and went 7-9. After a return to the minors for most of 1960 he was traded to the Washington Senators for 1961 where he pitched the last game in Griffith Stadium and started the first game ever played in D.C (later named RFK) Stadium.

In D.C. he had five up and down seasons. His best was his first when he won 12 games and lost 11. He was under .500 every year after that. He spent 1966 in the minors and then retired. He worked for various health and veterans affairs departments after his playing days.

#389 Joe Nuxhall

Joe Nuxhall made his major league debut with the Reds on June 10th of 1944. At the age of 15! He became the youngest player in modern baseball history to appear in a game. He's been signed the year before by scouts who were looking at his father as a wartime player. Joe's Dad turned down an contract offer but the then 14 year old was signed instead.

In that debut game Nuxhall entered with his club behind 13-0 to the Cardinals in the ninth and was cuffed around pretty good before being taken out. But despite that it was a pretty remarkable event. Consider this quote from Nuxhall BR.com Bullpen page:

"Probably two weeks prior to that, I was pitching against seventh, eighth and ninth graders, kids 13 and 14 years old. All of a sudden, I look up and there's Stan Musial . . ." - Joe Nuxhall, about his first game as a 15-year-old major leaguer

Following that debut Nuxhall did what 15 year old major leaguers have always done... he went to high school. Nuxhall then spent about eight years in the minors and returned to the Reds in 1952. By 1954 he had established himself as a fixture in the rotation and he went 12-5. Over the six seasons he held a spot as a Reds starter he was 73-58. His best seasons came in '55-'56 when he was chosen for the All Star squads in the NL.

Nuxhall saw his numbers and innings go south in 1960 and he was traded to the A's for the 1961 season. After the A's released him he signed briefly with the Orioles and then the Angels appearing in 5 games for the Halos early in 1962. Released again the Reds took him back and in June of 1962 he began a second tern in Cincy and his career rebounded. He won 15 games in 1963 and 11 in 1965 before he retired after the '66 season. Ironically Nuxhall, who pitched in 15 seasons for the Reds was gone the only year, 1961, that they went to the World Series.

After retirement Nuxhall remained a fixture with the Reds as a broadcaster from 1967 through 2004, He was also their batting practice pitcher for more than 20 years. Nuxhall, a much beloved figure in Ohio (he was a Hamilton native) died in 2007.

Great stuff about Joe Nuxhall can be found all over the net. His NY Times obit is here. One from ESPN is here. But the best resourse is a page dedicated to him on the Reds MLB site. Lots of pics, tributes and info. Check it out.

The website for the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League fields is here. It's a complex that provides baseball/softball diamonds specially tailored for use by kids with disabilities.

Once again I'm struck by the greatness of these black framed Reds cards. The color combo just seems right. Looks like Nuxhall has his road uni on in this shot. I'm guessing the Polo Grounds is the site with some of the high rise apartment buildings that surrounded it in the background. But I wouldn't bet my life on it.

#52 Coot Veal

If your name alone could get you into the Hall of Fame then Coot Veal would surely have been inducted years ago. His name has even inspired Dustin's very readable Tiger-centric card blog. The one time Auburn basketball star was signed by the Tigers in 1952 and spent several seasons slowly climbing up the organization's ladder, arriving in the big leagues late in July of 1958.

As the blurb of his card back alluded to, Orville Inman Veal took over the Tiger shortstop job and swung a hot bat for awhile. His debut was a two for three game and he kept his average above .300 into September before falling back to earth. He finished that year at .256 which was higher than in any of his full-time minor league seasons. It was his slick glove work that earned him a salary.

He never again held a starting job in the bigs other than during the 1961 season when he platooned with Bob  Johnson in Washington after being picked up in that season's expansion draft. He was sold to the Pirates after that season and traded to the Tigers midyear 1963. Most of his final three years in baseball, '62 thru '64 were spent in the minors. He finished with a .237 average in 247 games.

After he retired he worked for 34 years for an industrial supply firm as a salesman. He currently lives in his native Georgia. The Denver Post has a nice article about Veal and his days with the American Association champion Denver Bears.

On his red framed card we see Coot occupying the same spot dozens of other visiting players have occupied for the Topps photographer in Yankee Stadium. My copy is a little off center but pretty sharp. I seem to recall it as being one of the first cards I upgraded while pursuing this set.

The Denver Post article has a photo that claims to show Coot chatting with fans but it looks like he's with his family. Don't know for sure but it's a sweet pic either way.

#527 Solly Hemus

Solly Hemus served a four year apprenticeship in the Cardinals chain in the 40s as he climbed through their talent-rich system. He took over the shortstop job in 1951 and held it for more than three seasons displaying a decent bat and the ability to score runs. His playing time waned as players like Ken Boyer emerged in the mid to late fifties and eventually he was dealt to the Phillies.

With the Phils he was primarily a second baseman and once again had a starting job in 1958. But he was released and signed on with the Cards for the 1959 season as a player-manager, a job description much more common back in the day than it is now.

Hemus managed for two and a half seasons but didn't appear as a player after 1959. He was replaced by Johnny Keane midway through the 1961 season. He later coached with the Mets and Indians and managed in the Mets system until he entered the oil business in Houston where he had played for three years in the Cards' chain.

A couple items of interest... pretty nice write up of Hemus' career can be found here and a 1954 Sports Illustrated article about the baseball cards of the day uses Hemus in the title.

And finally here is a closer look at the cartoon on the back of Hemus' card. As was pointed out in the case of the cartoon on Ron Kline's card by Deal, this one wouldn't fly today.