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.
1952 Topps Profile
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.
The Non-Yankee Yankee Card in ’52 Topps
He’s wearing a Yankees cap. There’s a Yankees logo in the lower left corner. He pitches for the Washington Senators.
A Surprise ’52 Topps Mantle?
Searching the background of a 1952 Topps common to find Mickey Mantle.
Ehhh…Close Enough
My octogenarian neighbor invited me to fight him this past summer, and it all started with a hat.
The Worst Pitcher in 1952 Topps
I had to change the axis on my player performance graph to capture just how awful Ed Blake’s MLB career was.
Plan A: Play Baseball; Plan B: See Plan A
Education. Health. Duty to one’s country. These are the demons you must slay to be a baseball player if your name is Hoot Evers.
Trade Bait in the Biggest Ever Transaction
Imagine a player trade so large that it makes more sense for the general managers to just switch caps rather than move the underlying players. The thought must have run through the minds of Yankee and Oriole fans alike in 1954 as the teams swapped 17 players after more than two weeks of negotiations.
Dynamite and Middle of the Rotation Pitching
This pitcher once blew off part of his hand with explosives he found on the road outside his house.
Gil Hodges Gets Some Respect
Gil Hodges’ early death 50 years ago came as a shock. His addition to Cooperstown this year was not.