#290 Jerry Lumpe

 

Jerry Lumpe  Kansas City Athletics

Career: Jerry Lumpe was a Yankee prospect who put up impressive minor league numbers but wasn't quite good enough to carve out a spot in their packed lineup in the second half of the 1950s. He spent the early 50s climbing their ladder and serving Uncle Sam. 

Lumpe was a utility infielder on the solid Yankee clubs that played the Braves in the 1957 and 1958 Series and won a ring. Like so many 'close, but not quite good enough' Yankees he found himself shipped to Kansas City in 1959. There he established himself as an everyday player and had a good career with the Athletics and Tigers. He was an All-Star in 1964 and from 1959 through his last season (1967) Lumpe hit nearly .270. 

Lumpe was a coach for the Athletics (under Dick Williams) in 1971 and then went into the banking and insurance businesses. 

In 1960: His numbers were close to his career norms as he had 8 homers and 53 BRI to go along with a .272 average.

Off The Charts: In 1994 Lumpe was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall Of fame. The ballfield in Warsaw, Missouri is named in his honor.

The Card: The cartoon shows Lumpe combing his two off-season hobbies, fishing and golf. Clever.  Here's a closeup.

#270 Bob Turley

 

 

Bob Turley   New York Yankees

Career: 'Bullet' Bob Turley signed with the St. Louis Browns in 1948 after graduating from East St. Louis (Ill) high school. He'd been sought after by the Yankees but their scouts whiffed and signed a relative by mistake (story below). 

Turley made a one game debut in 1951 and sandwiched minor league seasons around military time. He finally made the Browns for good in 1953 and moved along with them to Baltimore the following year and became the staff ace. But, as he would his whole career, Turley struggled with control. While giving up only 178 hits in 247 innings he walked 181. That led the league as did his 171 strikeouts.

The Yanks got their man for 1955 as part of a huge, complicated trade with the Orioles. Baseball-Reference has the details...

November 17, 1954: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles with players to be named later, Billy Hunter and Don Larsen to the New York Yankees for players to be named later, Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Willy Miranda, Hal Smith, Gus Triandos and Gene Woodling. The New York Yankees sent Bill Miller (December 1, 1954), Kal Segrist (December 1, 1954), Don Leppert (December 1, 1954) and Theodore Del Guercio (minors) (December 1, 1954) to the Baltimore Orioles to complete the trade. The Baltimore Orioles sent Mike Blyzka (December 1, 1954), Darrell Johnson (December 1, 1954), Jim Fridley (December 1, 1954) and Dick Kryhoski (December 1, 1954) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.

Turley put together some outstanding seasons with the Yanks and peaked in 1958 when he won the Cy Young award, led the league with 21 wins and 19 complete games (he led in walks as well), made the All-Star squad and finished second in the MVP voting. He got an MVP trophy in October with an outstanding World Series against the Braves.

In his career, Turley won two titles but his numbers fell off quickly after that '58 season and he finished his career with the Angels and Red Sox in 1963. He had great success in his post-baseball career as a financial planner/insurance and real estate mogul and he became very wealthy.

In 1960: Turley had slipped in 1959 but he rebounded in 1960 to win nine games over 24 starts. His ERA dropped by more than a run.

Off The Charts: From SABR...

[After high school] He attended a Yankee tryout camp with his uncle, Ralph Turley, who was about two years older. Bob impressed the scouts, and one of them made a note to follow up on “R. Turley.” Looking in the phone book, he found the listing for Bob’s grandfather and asked if there was a pitcher in the family. Sure, the grandfather said, my son Ralph. “R. Turley,” check. The Yankees signed Uncle Ralph.

Turley pitched the Orioles’ home opener in 1954, the first major league game in Baltimore since 1902, following a parade that jammed the city’s streets. He struck out nine White Sox in a 3-1 victory. In his next start, he struck out 14 Cleveland Indians and carried a no-hitter into the ninth before a single and a home run beat him.

The Card: It's another really nice one. The Yankees got this color combo as their primary and it looks great. And this is another nice portrait shot and a fun cartoon. I've tried to figure out who the Yankee player is in the background who seems to be watching hitters through the batting cage. He might be Whitey Ford but we're no close enough to know for sure. 

Bonus: Turley was prominent enough during his heyday to warrant a bunch of magazine covers.

None of these are mine. I do remember the Sport cover. My father used to buy Sport to read on his train/bus commute to NYC. He kept them for a long time and I read and re-read them as a kid. Sport was always my favorite magazine.

#266 Joe Jay

Joe Jay   Milwaukee Braves

Career: Joey Jay was among the first players to sign under the 'Bonus baby' rule. That regulation forced a team who signed a youngster to a contract above a certain threshold to keep him on the major league roster for two seasons. When the Braves signed him in 1953 he spent a couple of seasons watching and waiting and has said he was ignored in the clubhouse and 'felt like the batboy'.

He was able to impress with his first start which came in the form of a shoutout in late 1953. Jay stuck with the big league club until the middle of 1955 when he was sent to the minors and he stayed there (with mixed results) until reappearing on the big league staff in 1958. He still didn't get a lot of work but he had impressive stats that year. An arm issue kept him off the World Series roster for the Braves that season. Jay's numbers regressed over the '59 and '60 seasons and he was traded to the Reds for 1961.

In Cincinnati, he found his form and won 21 games in each of his first two seasons with the Reds. He was an All-Star in 1961 and made two starts in the Series. He won Game Two with a four-hitter in Yankee Stadium that tied the Series at 1-1. He then returned in Game Five and the Yanks proved they had figured him out and Jay didn't get out of the first inning.

Jay never again approached the success he'd had in those first two seasons with the Braves. He stuck around through 1966 and even had a return engagement with the Braves when he was traded to the Atlanta version of the club midway through 1966. That was his last big league run.

He had a shot with the Phils in 1967 but he wasn't effective in a few starts with their minor league club in Clearwater and that was that. He retired to a career and a business owner (oil drilling, taxi cabs, and building cleaning and maintenance. 


In 1960: Jay went 9-8 over 32 games including 11 starts. His ERA was 3.24, better than it had been in '59, but the Braves thought they had better prospects for their rotation and he was on to the Reds that winter.

Off The Charts: Jay had nothing to do with baseball once he left. Here is a paragraph or so from his SABR bio:

Jay, a western Florida resident, adopted a life without baseball. He declined to attend card shows or fantasy camps and embraced a very low profile contrasted to his former public life. “I don’t live in the past, like most ballplayers,” he said. “I don’t wear my World Series rings, my mother has my scrapbooks, and if someone offered me a baseball job, I’d turn it down in a minute. When I made the break, it was clean and forever. It’s infantile to keep thinking about the game. It gets you nowhere. Most ex-ballplayers keep on living in some destructive fantasy world. Not me. I’m happier than ever since I left. And do me a favor. Don’t mention where I live.”

I don't recall ever hearing him referred to as 'Joe' Jay. It was always 'Joey'. Topps used the more formal version on this and (I think) all his cards. Other companies mixed and matched.

I'd always thought he was credited with being the first Little League World Series winner to play in the majors. Apparently, he was the first LL'er, period.

#262 Hank Bauer

Hank Bauer  Kansas City Athletics

Career: Bauer, whose reputation as a tough ex-Marine is widely known, had a 14-year playing career, twelve of those seasons were with the Yankees. His career peaked with the powerhouse early-to-mid 50s Yankees clubs and Bauer was an All-Star from 1952 through 1955. He picked up MVP votes in five straight years beginning in 1952 as well.

Bauer played in nine World Series with the Yanks, winning seven including five straight from 1949 to 1953. He is sixth on the list of World Series at-bats and hit seven Series homers including four in the '57 Series. The card's cartoon mentions the fact that Bauer holds the record for hits in consecutive World Series games. He still holds the record. His streak included 1956 WS games 1-7, 1957 WS games 1-7, and 1958 WS games 1-3. warren Spahn's two-hit shutout of the Yanks in Game Four of the '58 Classic ended Bauer's run. He got the last laugh though, as he homered off Spahn in his first at-bat in Game Six and he got his ring in the end.

He finished his career with the Athletics in '60/'61. He was the As' player/manager for part of his final active season.

Bauer managed the A's in both KC & Oakland, as well as the Orioles and he won another ring when the '66 Birds swept the Dodgers.

There is a lot more to the Hank Bauer story than I can include here so I'll point you to his SABR bio for a long but entertaining read.


In 1960: Bauer came to the Athletics in the December '59 trade that sent Roger Maris to the Yankees. He got into 95 games and hit a respectable .275 which is right about his career average.

Off The Charts: Bauer's WWII Marine story as told by Wikipedia...

One month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Bauer enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served with the 4th Raider Battalion and G Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. While deployed to the Pacific Theater, Bauer contracted malaria on Guadalcanal, however he recovered from that well enough to earn 11 campaign ribbons, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts (for being wounded in action) in 32 months of combat and the Navy Commendation Medal. Bauer was wounded his second time during the Battle of Okinawa, when he was a sergeant in command of a platoon of 64 Marines. Only six of the 64 Marines survived the Japanese counterattack, and Bauer was wounded by shrapnel in his thigh. His wounds were severe enough to send him back to the United States to recuperate.

Hanks's next-to-last career homer was an inside-the-park job off his pal, Whitey Ford in June of 1961 at Yankee Stadium. I bet they laughed about that one over beers a time or two. Baseball-Reference's home run log says it was hit to 'deep' centerfield. In Yankee Stadium that likely means it rolled to the monuments.

The Card: Topps had their artist paint the A's logo on to Bauer's cap but so little of it is visible on the color shot you wonder why they bothered.

#59 Juan Pizarro

Juan Pizarro  Milwaukee Braves

Career: He pitched for eight clubs over a span of 18 seasons and had a career that is often overlooked. His stats (131 wins, a sub 3.80 ERA and a good WHIP land him in the 'Hall of the Above Average' His best seasons came in 1963 and '64 with the White Sox and he made the All-Star teams in those two years. He won a ring with the '57 Braves and appeared in the '58 Series with them as well. 

In 1960: In his final season of four with the Braves he saw his stats (and workload) decline. He appeared in 21 games (17 starts) with a 4.55 ERA. He was dealt to the AL champion White Sox in a three-team deal after the season. The trade brought Roy McMillan to the Braves from the Reds.

Off The Charts: As a professional Pizarro won nearly 400 games including the majors (131), minors (66), the Mexican league (38) and the Puerto Rican Winter League (157). 

The Card: Another Seals Stadium shot with a nice color combo and the colorful Braves cap. I'm partial to Pizarro cards and have a nice PC of him.

#37 Bill Bruton

Bill Bruton  Milwaukee Braves

Career: Bruton led the NL in steals his first three seasons in the league. He went on to play centerfield for twelve years, eight with the Braves and the last four with the Tigers. He was a member of two NL championship Braves squads but missed the '57 World Series due to a knee injury. He hit .412 with a homer in the '58 Series. 

In 1960: This was his last season in Milwaukee but he made it a good one as he led the league in runs and triples.

Off The Charts: From his SABR bio: "...Bruton’s development as a player benefited directly from the professional baseball help and advice he received from his father-in-law, Hall of Famer William Julius “Judy” Johnson. Johnson spent 18 years in the Negro Leagues playing third base primarily with the Hilldale Club of Philadelphia and the Pittsburgh Crawfords."

The Card: Wonderful card that ticks off all the boxes for this set...nice color combo, "action" (posed) shot, great Braves uni, Wrigley Field background, cream cardboard, Season's Highlights bullet list on the back. Damn near perfect!