I picked up this 1952 Topps card during last year’s summer visit to the Chantilly card show. A second series card, it brings my completion of the set’s most prevalent series up to 80%. The card is miscut with virtually no left border, but an out-of-pocket cost of virtually nothing made me smile.
Pramesa was a backup catcher who had a promising minor league career. His 1950 season was decent, but future years didn’t really pan out for him. If MLB had 30 team rosters to fill back in the early 1950s instead of 16, he probably would have found a role somewhere. 1952 looks like his final appearance on cardboard as a big leaguer and he ended his career as one of a handful of MLB players to play multiple seasons yet never steal a base. He managed to leave a mark seven decades later with his hometown renaming a ballfield after him in 2019.
Pramesa’s Rookie Card: Chicks Dig the Long Ball
“Chicks dig the long ball” is the conclusion reached by Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in a 1999 Nike commercial. The pair of Atlanta pitchers are shown watching Mark McGwire take batting practice and are upset that McGwire has female fans and they don’t. They decide to remedy the situation by bulking up and devoting extra time to batting practice to humorous effect.
What does this have to do with Johnny Pramesa? His rookie card in the 1951 Bowman set begins its biographical text with “This promising catcher can also slug the long ball.” He is depicted taking time out of batting practice to pose for a photographer. Unlike any other card in the set there is a line of women seen watching in the background. Apparently chicks really do dig the long ball.
