Sunday, January 6, 2013

1951 Topps Red Back #50 - Monte Irvin

Monte Irvin (b. 1919) was a star of the Negro Leagues well before he entered MLB in 1949.  He played for the Newark Eagles of the Negro Leagues from 1938 to 1942 and 1945 to 1948 and then played for the New York Giants from 1949 tom1955 and the Cubs in 1956.  Irvin finished third in the NL MVP voting in 1951.  In 8 MLB seasons, he had 731 hits, 99 home runs and a .293 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Giants in 1954.  He played in two total World Series (1951 and 1954) and batted .394 over 10 World Series games.

Irvin was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973 by a special negro League committee.  That Hall of Fame class was a special one, it included Irvin, Warren Spahn (who was elected by the BBWAA), Billy Evans, High Pockets Kelly and Mickey Welch (all elected by the Veterans Committee) and Roberto Clemente (elected by a special committee because of his premature death).

Hall of Fame: 8

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