How can you not focus on an event from Joe Dobson’s childhood? At the age of 9 he blew off his left thumb and forefinger while playing with a dynamite cap. That’s it. That’s the story. My kids once played with a snake they found in the yard, but young Joe decided to blow apart rocks at his house with some random explosives he and his friends came across.
Dobson was one of the better pitchers depicted in the ’52 Topps set. He had settled into a role as a middle of the rotation hurler for a series of very good Boston Red Sox teams. Hardly a household name, he still ranks 10th in all time wins for Boston, just ahead of the team’s legendary Lefty Grove. He was easy on the bullpen, completing 112 games and eventually migrating to a relief role himself. Dobson’s defense was also reliable, as the text on the back of this card can attest. He likely would have been a multiple gold glove award winner if the recognition had been given out during his playing time.
