Sunday, October 17, 2010

1955 Topps #17 - Bobby Hofman


Bobby Hofman (b. 1925 - d. 1994) played 7 years in the majors (all with the Giants) as an infielder and catcher from 1949 and 1952 to 1957. He had career numbers of .248 and 32 homers and was a member of the 1954 World Champion New York Giants.

(DECEASED 12)

Saturday, October 16, 2010

1955 Topps #16 - Roy Sievers

Roy Sievers (b. 1926) is the 1949 Rookie of the Year and a 4-time All Star who played from 1949 to 1965. He led thre league in home runs in 1957 with 42. He played for the Browns, Senators, White Sox and Phillies.

Sievers was the 18th player to hit 300 home runs in his career, but was also the first player who hit 300 home runs to not be elected into the Hall of Fame. Sievers finished his career with 318 homers, 1,147 RBIs and an average of .267.

Friday, October 15, 2010

1955 Topps #15 - Jim Pendleton


Jim Pendleton (b. 1924 - d. 1996) was an outfielder in the majors from 1953 to 1962 for the Braves, Pirates, Reds and Colt 45s. He was considered a decent part time player who ended his career with 19 home runs.

(DECEASED 11)

Thursday, October 14, 2010

1955 Topps #14 - Jim Finigan

I think it's always cool to see former teams' logos, especially since the team hasn't been in existence for years...

Here we have a player from the Kansas City Athletics. Pretty cool.
Jim Finigan (b. 1928 - d. 1981) was an infielder for six seasons for the A's, Tigers, Giants and Orioles. He ended his career with 422 hits and a .264 average.
The A's moved to Kansas City from Philadelphia in 1955, so this card is the first Topps card to represent the Kansas City A's. The A's stayed in Kansas City for 12 years, until they moved to Oakland for the 1968 season.
(DECEASED 10)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

1955 Topps #13 - Fred Marsh


We are in the middle of a bunch of fringe-type players in the set. Another is infielder Fred Marsh (1924-2006). He was a career .239 hitter with 10 home runs. He played from 1949, 1951-1956 for the Indians, Browns, Senators, White Sox and Orioles. He does have the distinction of being traded from the Browns to the Senators and then back to the Browns in the same season. Interesting.
DECEASED (9)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

1955 Topps #12 - Jake Thies



Wow. I couldn't find much on this guy. Not much at all. He pitched only 2 seasons with the Pirates (1954 and 1955). His card says he was born in 1928, but baseball-reference.com says he was born in 1926. I assume he is still alive, as I haven't seen anything otherwise. His career won-loss record is 3-10. He didn't exactly set the world on fire.

Monday, October 11, 2010

1955 Topps #11 - Ferris Fain

We have our first 'Final Card' of an established major leaguer, that of 5-time All Star Ferris Fain.

Fain (b. 1921 - d. 2001) was a decent player in his career, having played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians from 1947-1955. In addition to his All Star nods, he was also a two-time batting champ (1951 and 1952) and the 1952 Doubles champ. He ended his career with 1,139 hits and a .290 lifetime average.

DECEASED (8)