The Poor Man’s Gil Hodges
Gil Hodges and Hank Bauer had almost identical careers. Also, Hank intimidated the crap out of me when I met him as a kid.
1952 Topps
Catcher v. Catcher
Ed Fitz Gerald may be the only catcher to hit a home run off another catcher.
First Came Hercules, Then Came Socrates, Then Came Chakales, The Greatest Greek of All
Chick Chakales had a great line that he used to introduce himself.
The Pickle Guy
Lots of athletes supplement their income with sales jobs in the offseason. This one sold pickles.
Captain Bob
One of the briefest careers captured in 1952 Topps ended with a whole lot of seafood.
Trading Card of the Traded Jim Busby
While Topps wouldn’t introduce its “Traded” cards for two decades, the card manufacturer frequently highlighted midseason trades on the back of cards as far back as 1952.
Clem Koshorek Missed a Record By an Inch
One of the shortest players of all time appeared on a baseball card one year after Eddie Gaedel made his debut.
The Tragic Story of Snuffy Stirnweiss
Disaster struck a ballplayer who left the game in hopes of saving his life.
Bob Kelly: Lifetime Baseball Fan
A fan of the game for as long as he could remember, Kelly approached his time in the majors like a fan getting a fantasy camp experience.