The Shot Previously Heard ‘Round the World
Before Bobby Thomson, Dick Sisler had the most famous walk off home run in the game.
1952 Topps Profile
1952 Topps Johnny Klippstein
A mailman kept making the rounds while carving out a baseball career that started prior to D-Day and ended well after the Six Days War.
Herm Wehmeier’s 1952 Topps Card
High expectations followed the local sandlot star in Cincinnati.
An Eye for The Strike Zone
Gus Niarhos had one of the most impressive eyes for the strike zone.
Still Looking for A Missing Bud Podbielan Corner
I picked up most of this card in my early 2022 return to a card shop had not been visited since childhood. I say “most” because there is a missing corner which could still be floating around in a shoebox somewhere.
The ’52 Topps Coin-Flip Guy Finished What Kershaw Could Not
Picked up by the Braves on the results of a coin toss, Vern Bickford threw a no-hitter that would be in line with modern pitch counts.
Woody Main and the Wooden Fence
The story behind the wooden fence appearing in the background of so many 1950s Pittsburgh Pirates cards.
The Cubs Want a New Pitcher, This One’s Broken
Paul Minner had been playing off and on in the Majors since 1946, though it would take the expanded checklists of 1952 for him to finally get rookie cards from Topps and Bowman.
Never Injured, Bob Friend Spent a Lot of Time with the Nurse
Bob Friend was durable. He was never on the disabled list at any point in his career, but that didn’t stop him from hanging around the office of the team doctor. He married the resident nurse.