#284 Don Gross

Don Gross  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Pitcher Don Gross, like our previous subject Joe Nuxhall, was a product of the Cincinnati system. He signed with the Reds in 1950 and moved impressively up through the ranks a few steps behind Nuxhall. 

Gross made the Reds' staff for parts of both 1955 and 1956 season and was primarily a starter during those two stints. He put up some pretty decent numbers in '56 (3-0, 1.95 ERA in seven starts) and returned in '57 to spend the whole season with the big club. But he couldn't replicate his previous success and at year's end he was traded to the Pirates for Bob Purkey. Most sources blame a series of arm problems for Gross' failure to sustain his minor league numbers.

Gross worked out of the Pirates' pen for a couple of seasons and collected 9 saves along the way but he was about to run out of chances for big league success. His career ended after a couple of seasons back in the minors and he returned to Cincinnati to raise a family (he had two sons who were ballplayers at the college or minor league level) and went to work in the sporting goods business.

In 1960: Gross made a handful of appearances out of the Pirates' bullpen in April and may before being farmed out to Salt lake City in the PCL. There he took a starters role and had a good season but he never made it back to the Pirates (or any other major league team). He missed out on a shot at pitching in a World Series. God knows he couldn't have done any worse than a lot of the pitchers the Pirates threw out there at the Yanks that fall.

Off The Charts: Interesting tidbit from his SABR bio....Gross wasn’t always a left-hander. “I was right-handed as a young boy,” he said in 1956. “At the age of 7, I caught my arm in a washing machine and broke my arm. I switched to the left and have been throwing and batting that way ever since.” Yikes!

Gross' nephew, Todd Benzinger, had a nine-year big-league career.

#272 Fred Green

 

Fred Green   Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Fred Green was a Jersey boy who starred in hoops, soccer, and baseball in high school and was signed by the Pirates in 1952. Green spent almost seven seasons pitching his way thru the Pittsburgh system, taking a military detour during which he, according to SABR, mostly played baseball. He debuted in 1959 as a major-leaguer and got into 17 games between his trips back and forth to the minors. 

Green had (by far) his best year in 1960 as the Pirates took the Series but then was back in the minors for parts of 1961 and '62. He was claimed on waivers by the Senators and pitched in five games for them before ending his active career and turning to coaching.

In 1960: Green was the lefty pairing in Danny Murtaugh's 1-2 punch out of the bullpen. Elroy Face, the righty, served mostly as the closer and had a great year (10 wins, 24 saves) but Green contributed eight wins and his three saves were good enough to tie for second on the Bucs' staff. He had 45 appearances, more than half of his career total and posted a 3.21 ERA striking out 49 in 70 innings.

Green's SABR bio notes his rocky road through the 1960 World Series:

In a Series of contrasts, the victorious Pirates’ four victories were by scores of 6-4, 3-2, and 5-2, while the Yankees crushed the Bucs, 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. Green pitched in all three of the Pirates’ losses, and was hit hard. In four innings he yielded ten runs. He gave up two home runs to Mickey Mantle, including a mammoth shot over Forbes Field’s right-center-field wall in Game Two. Although he appeared to be throwing batting practice for Yankees hitters during the World Series, Green was named to The Sporting News’ 1960 All-Star rookie team.

Off The Charts: Green was only 61 when he died of heart problems in 1996. At that time his widow, Mona Green, said her husband’s greatest baseball memories were of playing on the same team as Roberto Clemente and pitching against the New York Yankees in the World Series.

His son Gary was a first round pick of the Padres in 1984 who went on to play about a hundred games in the majors over parts of five seasons for them, the Reds, and the Rangers. Gary then coached and managed in the minors for several organizations

#258 Dick Groat

Dick Groat  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Dick Groat's baseball career ran alongside his basketball career for a while and both of those came after his top-notch collegiate career at Duke. Well, maybe it was sort of the other way around. I dunno. What I do know is that Groat was a multi-sport star at every level. He was an All-American and National Player of the Year for the Blue Devil hoops team in his senior season of 1951-52. He was a first-round pick of the Fort Wayne Pistons and played one season before the money available in baseball turned him away from what was his favorite sport.

Branch Rickey signed Groat for the Pirates in 1952 as soon as he finished his 4-year athletic commitment to Duke. Rickey had attempted to sign him the previous summer but Groat was intent on finishing at Duke and took a handshake promise from Rickey that he would sign the following summer. He did. 

Groat went straight to the majors and played almost a hundred games that first year. He hit .284 and was third in the RoY balloting. After a stint in the service, Groat returned to the Pirates and played short, next to Bill Mazeroski through 1962. Along the way, he won a ring with the Bucs in 1960.

He was traded to the Cardinals in 1963 and won another ring the following year as the Redbirds beat the Yankees. During his career he was an ironman, rarely missing a game and making five NL All-Star teams. 

Groat, finished his playing career with some (very) short stays with the Phils in 1967. After retiring he built and managed a gold course with former teammate Jerry Lynch. He was the color commentator for Duke basketball for 40 seasons until he left the job in 2019.

In 1960: Not a bad year for Groat, all-in-all. He won the first of his World Series rings and made the All-Star team. Groat also won the National League Most Valuable Player. He slashed.325/.371/.394 with 32 extra-base hits, including 26 doubles, four triples, and two home runs. On the defensive side of things, he lad the league in Defensive WAR and some other stat geek categories like Total Zone Runs.

Off The Charts: Lots of fun Groat trivia and stories floating around. Here are a few from online newspaper stories, Wikipedia, and SABR:

Groat is one of 13 athletes that played in both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. The thirteen are: Danny Ainge, Frank Baumholtz, Gene Conley, Chuck Connors, Dave DeBusschere, Johnny Gee, Groat, Steve Hamilton, Mark Hendrickson, Cotton Nash, Ron Reed, Dick Ricketts and Howie Schultz.

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Groat began playing for the Pistons while still a student at Duke so he could finish those credits. But the university had a rule at the time, he said, that if you missed three classes, you were out, just like at the plate. He missed one while playing for the Pirates that year, then missed another while playing for the Pistons when his flight from Detroit to North Carolina was grounded. So he called Pistons owner Fred Zollner and told him he could no longer play basketball for him.
 
“I only was allowed three cuts at Duke,’’ Groat says. “My father would have killed me with the grades I had if I hadn’t graduated from Duke.”

The colorful Zollner, perhaps the richest NBA owner at the time who became the first in the league to purchase an airplane to charter the Pistons to games cut a deal with Groat through GM Carl Bennett. They offered to provide a private plane to fly Groat back and forth to Duke from wherever the Pistons played so he would not miss another class.

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Critics [...] pointed to his lack of range at shortstop and weak arm. Fellow shortstop Alvin Dark defended him. “They say he doesn’t have much range at shortstop. What’s range but getting to the ball?” Dark said. “You watch Groat. He’s always in front of the ball. He’s smart and he knows the hitters and plays the position as well as anyone I ever saw. Maybe he doesn’t have a great arm, but he makes up for it by getting the ball away quicker than anyone else.”

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At the end of his career, he ranked ninth in major league history in games at shortstop (1,877) and fourth in double plays (1,237), and was among the NL career leaders in putouts (10th, 3,505), assists (8th, 5,811) and total chances (9th, 9,690).

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Groat is the great uncle of the golfer Brooks Koepka, who won the 2017 and 2018 U.S. Open, and the 2018 and 2019 PGA Championship.

#247 Gil McDougald

Gil McDougald   New York Yankees

Career: After three red-hot minor-league seasons McDougald made the '51 Yanks starting at third and some at second, and proceeded to win the Rookie of the Year award.

He went on to play ten seasons in the Bronx, hit .276 with decent power for an infielder (he moved to short and then second before returning to third), was a five-time All-Star, and had several Top Ten MVP totals.

The 50s Yankees being what they were, McDougald played in eight World Series, winning five rings. He didn't hit particularly well in the post-season as far as average goes, but he homered in the first four he participated in and had two dingers (and a .321 average) in the '58 Classic against the Braves.

McDougald turned down an offer to play for the expansion Angels in 1961 to go into retirement. He scouted for the Yanks for some years and lived his last years on the middle Jersey Shore, passing away at 82.

In 1960: This was the end of the trail for McDougald. He played the fewest games and had the fewest at-bats of his career but he still played in nearly 120 games alternating and third and second with Clete Boyer and Bobby Richardson. Casey Stengel was pulling a boat-load of strings between naps. His numbers were actually as good or better than his previous season in fewer at-bats. You could look it up! 😉

His last big-league appearance came in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series. He entered the game in the top of the ninth as a pinch-runner for Dale Long who had singled a couple of batters earlier and had advanced to third on Mantle's hit. (Why Casey waited to put a runner in for Long until he'd been advanced to third is beyond me. I was watching but I'm sure it went over my 8-year-old head. Anyone?) Anyway, McDougald came home on Yogi Berra's grounder and that run tied up the game at 9-9 and set up what happened in the bottom of that crazy inning. McDougald, btw, had gone in to play third so he had a decent view of Maz' homer sailing over his left shoulder and into history.

Off The Charts: I'm generally not a fan of the Bleacher Report site but the link to this came up in my McDougald search and I thought it was interesting.

Gil McDougald: [...] Line Drive Tragedy

In Aug. 1955, Bob Cerv, who had almost as much power as Mickey Mantle, hit a line drive during batting practice. McDougald, who was otherwise engaged, was standing near second base when the liner struck him in the ear. It eventually cost him his hearing.

McDougald kept his deafness a secret until 1994 when he revealed it to Ira Berkow of the New York Times. A group of physicians read the article and told McDougald that a cochlear implant might restore his hearing. It did.

The other line drive was hit on May 7, 1957 in Cleveland. It struck Cleveland Indians left-hander Herb Score in the eye. Score remained on the ground for several minutes before being carried off the field. Neither Score nor McDougald was ever the same.

From 1951-56, McDougald hit .284/.369/.419, averaging 15 home runs and 77 RBIs over a 162-game season. After the "Herb Score incident," McDougald batted .264/.336/.394, averaging 13 home runs and 61 RBIs.

The Card: Another mystery is why McDougald is pictured capless. It not like he just came over to the Yanks from another club.

#157 Rocky Nelson

Rocky Nelson  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: In 13 MINOR league seasons, stretching from 1942 through 1962, Glenn Richard 'Rocky' Nelson did this...produced a .319 batting average, 234 home runs, three MVP's, three batting championships, all while averaging just under 35 strikeouts per season. In the majors, he didn't have that sort of success. He banged around over parts of (sometimes all of) nine seasons playing for the Cardinals (twice), Browns, Dodgers (twice), White Sox, Indians, and Pirates (twice!). He was generally a platoon first baseman/outfielder and pinch-hitter. It wasn't until 1960, at the age of 35, that Nelson had his moment in the baseball sun.

In 1960: 18 years after turning pro, Nelson had his first and only .300 big league season. He split the 1st base job with Dick Stuart and contributed to the Pirates pennant run. In the Series against the Yankees (his second, he had played for the Dodgers in the 1951 Classic) Nelson started Games Two & Seven, went three for nine, and contributed a first-inning homer in that wild deciding game.

Off The Charts: Here's a clip of Nelson's World Series homer via the Pirates Twitter. At least I hope it is...I've never linked to a tweet before. It doesn't seem to be on YouTube which is surprising since I have found dress rehearsals for The Last Supper on YouTube.

Rocky Nelson just looks like a ballplayer, doesn't he? Along with Bridges and Colavito, he was one of three 'Rocky's playing in the majors in 1960.

#113 Bob Skinner

Bob Skinner  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: He had a solid 12-year career, the bulk of it (and easily the best of it) coming in Pittsburgh beginning in 1954. He had some pop and some speed as he had double-digit totals in both homers and stolen bases five times each. He was twice an All-Star, and he won Series rings with the Bucs in 1960 and the Cardinals in 1964. Skinner had two hits and a walk in four pinch-hitting appearances in that '64 win over the Yankees.

He managed the Phils from mid-season 1968 after taking over for Gene Mauch. He was let go about 100 games into the '69 season. He managed (and won) one game as interim skipper for the Padres in 1977.

In 1960: Skinner hit .273 which was down from his previous few seasons but his 15 homers and 86 RBI were career bests to that point. He was the NL's starter in left field in both 1960 All-Star games. He went 2-for-4 with a stolen base.

Skinner was hurt in the first game of the Series (jammed thumb) against the Yanks and didn't return until Game Seven.

Off The Charts: While Skinner played (and managed) exclusively in the NL, his son Joel played (and managed) nine seasons total for three AL clubs, the White Sox, Yankees, and Indians.

#104 Dick Schofield

Dick Schofield  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Known as 'Ducky' he played 19 years for seven clubs. He spent most of his career as a utility infielder but was the regular shortstop for the Pirates and Giants from 1963 thru 1965. He was a part of two NL championship teams, the Pirates in 1960 and the Cards in 1964. His son, also 'Dick' played for 14 years in the majors and his grandson, Jason Werth, played for 15. All three of them were with the Dodgers at some point in their career.

In 1960: Schofield had a career-high .333 average over 65 games and 102 at-bats. He also hit .333 in the '60 Series by getting a hit in three trips. His tally was a pinch single in the second game.

Off The Charts: The Schofield/Werth family is one of five to have three generations play in the majors. The others are the Bells, Boones, Colemans, and Hairstons. John Schofield, Ducky's father, played minor league ball through the 1930s.

The Card: I really like the color combo here. It complements the Pirates' colors.

#65 Elston Howard

Elston Howard   New York Yankees

Career: Elston Howard had a terrific 14 season career. He broke in with the Yankees in 1955 playing a lot of outfield since Yogi Berra was entrenched behind the plate. A few seasons later the catching job was Howard's for good. He was the first black player to take the field for the Yankees and the first black player to win the AL MVP. He made nine consecutive AL All-Star team and made 10 World Series appearances including his part as a veteran leader of the '67 Impossible Dream Red Sox. He won four rings and a couple of Gold Gloves along the way.

In 1960: He struggled with injuries and played in only about 100 games. His .245 average and reduced power reflect his struggles in 1960. He was two seasons away from his '62 MVP year. But he was sufficiently recovered from a last-day-of-the-season sprained finger to go 6 for 13 with a homer and four RBIs in the 1960 World Series. Ironically, a Bob Friend pitch in Ellie's first at-bat in Game Six of the Series broke one of his fingers.

Off The Charts: Ellie owned a travel agency in Nutley, NJ while I was growing up there. He was the first ballplayer I met in person. He also created the weighted 'donut' batters have used in the on-deck circle ever since. 

The Card: Really nice color combo. But I have to wonder why Ellie was shown cap-less. it's not like he's with a new team. I do like cards which show the batting cage in the background. I no longer get to games early enough to watch BP but back in the day my father considered it mandatory.

#55 Bill Mazeroski

Bill Mazeroski   Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Maz was a 2001 Hall of Fame inductee via the Veterans Committee. He was originally signed by Branch Rickey as a shortstop. He went on to fame as an outstanding glove man and through his legendary homer that won the 1960 Series.  He player 17 big league seasons, all with the Pirates and was a seven time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glave winner.

In 1960: He hit .273 which was close to his career high and made the All-Star team. Of course that digneris the only hit he really needed to make a name for himself and carve out a spot in baseball lore.

Off The Charts: Maz also homered in Game One of the 1960 Series and had a .323 career postseason batting average.

The Card: It's really a classic...the chaw, Wrigley Field, pink/white/black bottom block. Gotta love this one.

#51 Jim Coates

Jim Coates   New York Yankees

Career: It took Jim Coates more than six years to reach the majors for good after signing with the Yanks in 1952. He settled in as a spot starter/long reliever in '59 and had a 6-1 season and sub 3 ERA. He went on to pitch five years for the Yanks and another four with the Senators, Reds, and Angels. He hung on in the minors until 1970. He pitched in three World Series for NY and won a pair of rings.

In 1960: This was his best season in the majors. He won 13 games and led the AL in winning percentage. He made his only All-Star team and pitched two innings in the first of the two played that year. In Game 7 of the Series that year he relieved Bobby Shantz in the bottom of the eighth and nearly put out the fire by getting a couple of outs before he gave up a single to Roberto Clemente and a homer to Hal Smith (a couple of cards down the screen) which gave the Pirates a lead they'd blow and then regain in dramatic fashion.

Off The Charts: From Wikipedia...[Coates'] nickname, "The Mummy," came from his funereal visage on the mound ..... He was also well known for throwing at opposing batters. Jim Bouton, in his book, Ball Four, said Coates, after throwing at the opposing hitters, "would not get into the fights that followed." Coates now has a book entitled "Always a Yankee."

The Card: I wonder if they airbrushed his eyes or were they really that bright shade of blue?

#48 Hal Smith

Hal Smith  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Smith signed in 1949 with the Yankees (who seemed to sign every catcher in America) and was dealt to the Orioles where he emerged as the #1 catcher in 1955 before landing in Kansas City. He went on to play for the Pirates, Colt 45s and Reds in his 10-year career. He finished with a respectable.267 average and had three double-digit home run seasons.

In 1960: Lucky Hal came over from the bottom-of-the-standings Athletics to the Pirates just in time to be a part of the World Series championship. He went from getting into about 100 games a season in KC to just 77 with the Pirates. He hit .295 as he transitioned back to being a catcher after a few seasons playing primarily at third with the Athletics. In the World Series he was 3 for 8 and had a moment to remember. He hit a three-run homer in Game Seven to put the Pirates on top (temporarily) 9-7 in the bottom of the eighth. We all know what happened in the ninth.

Off The Charts: How's this for a Baseball Reference transaction entry?

November 17, 1954: [Smith was] Traded by the New York Yankees with players to be named later, Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Willy Miranda, Gus Triandos and Gene Woodling to the Baltimore Orioles for players to be named later, Billy Hunter, Don Larsen and Bob Turley. 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.

The Card: He's wearing Athletics duds and this is likely from Yankee Stadium but there's not much to go on. The golden orange, black and white is close to Pirates' colors which is nice. The listed highlights assume we know he played for the A's in 1959. 

#35 Whitey Ford

Whitey Ford   New York Yankees

Career: Ford burst on the scene in July of 1950 and won nine games for the Series-bound Yankees. He was 9-0 until he lost in relief late in September when he was asked to pitch several innings two days after a complete game win. In his Hall of Fame career he was known for his control, fast games, clutch pitching, and friendship with Mickey Mantle among other things.

He won six titles in New York while helping the Yanks to eleven WS appearances. He had ten Series wins with a WHIP of just over 1.1 and was the '61 Series MVP with 2 wins. Over the course of the 1960 and 1961 Series he pitched 32 innings without allowing an earned run. 

In 1960: He went 12-7 and had four shutouts which led the league. He started the second of that season's two All-Star games and threw gopher balls to Willie Mays and Eddies Mathews and took the loss. He was the only effective Yankee pitchers in their Series loss to the Pirates.

Off The Charts: "Some of Ford's totals were depressed by Yankees manager Casey Stengel who viewed Ford as his top pitching asset and often reserved his ace left-hander for more formidable opponents such as the Tigers, Indians, and White Sox. When Ralph Houk became the manager in 1961, he promised Ford that he would pitch every fourth day, regardless of the opponent; after exceeding 30 starts only once in his nine seasons under Stengel, Ford had 39 in 1961". -Wikipedia

The Card: One of my very faves in this set. Love the color scheme, the cartoon and even the fact that four of the 'season's highlights' came against the Orioles.

#29 Clem Labine

Clem Labine  Los Angeles Dodgers

Career: He pitched in 13 big league seasons, mostly with the Dodgers in Brooklyn. He was the Bums' main bullpen guy in their (sometimes) glorious mid-50s. He led the NL in saves in 1956 and 1957 which happened to be the two years he was an All-Star. He pitched in six World Series, five with the Dodgers. He had two Series game wins and two saves. He finished his career in 1962 with a short stint with the Original Mets. He retired to admire his three Series rings after being released a month into the season. 

In 1960: Nearing the end of his career, he was traded to the Tigers in June, released by them in August and was lucky enough to hook on with the World Series-bound Pirates for the last six weeks of the season. His full regular season numbers were pretty decent but like every Pirate pitcher in the Series against the Yankees he was shelled, badly. But as we all know the Bucs pulled out a classic seven-game Series win and Labine had his third ring. 

Off The Charts: The late Robert Creamer, one of our best baseball biographers, wrote this terrific article about Labine for the June 3, 1957 issue of Sports Illustrated. Seriously great writing.

The Card: Super nice color combo and a picture from Wrigley Field. What's not to like?  Interestingly Topps gave his card the 'write-up' treatment rather than the 'bulleted highlights' thing. He had eight saves and five wins in the previous season but I guess it was a matter of them wanting to touch on his career Series exploits rather than just 1959. Can't blame them.

#20 Roy Face

Roy Face  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: After an impressive four season minor league stint he debuted in 1953 and was hit pretty hard. After a year back in the minors he returned in 1955. He transitioned into a relief specialist and became one of the best over the next decade and a half. He was a three-time All-Star and led the NL in saves three times.

In 1960: He was coming off a sterling '59 season which saw him go 18-1(!) out of the Bucs' bullpen. In 1960 he had 24 saves and a WHIP of 1.06 as the Pirates won the NL pennant and defeated the Yankees in that memorable World Series. Law had three saves in that October classic.

WikiFacts: "He achieved his success almost exclusively with the forkball, which he had learned from Yankees reliever Joe Page."

The Card: As a kid, impressed by numbers on the back of baseball cards, I was in awe of Roy Face's 18 win season in 1959. So while I don't collect Face at all I do appreciate his cards. This one, with its pink element, is no exception. BTW.....Roy is giving someone a righteous side-eye, yes?

#484 Pirates, #223 Danny Murtaugh & #467 Pitts. Coaches

In 1960: Hail to the Champs! This 1960 Pirates squad was the one that beat the Yankees in a remarkable seven game Series capped off by Bill Mazeroski's epic homer. I will never forget watching the end of that game after having rushed home from school. Rather than recount the remarkable events of that day I'll link to a 2010 story by ESPN's David Schoenfield. He runs theu the game inning-by-crazy-inning and makes a case for it being the best game ever.

The Bucs led the NL in batting average, OPS, runs, OBP, doubles and RBIs. They were second in slugging. On the mound they were at or near the top in most major categories and their fielding percentage tied for the league lead.

Dick Groat won the NL batting crown and Roberto Clemente was fourth. Bob Friend and Vern Law led the staff and Elroy Face was the stopper with 10 wins and 27 saves out of the pen.


The Card: This one is in nice shape. Is that Clemente sitting up from with the batboys?


Managers Card: Danny Murtaugh managed the Pirates for 15 seasons with a winning percentage of .540 including two pennants and two World Series titles. On this card he's wearing the batting helmet seen on so many of the Pirates' players cards of the era. I've read that it was something Branch Rickey insisted on.

Coaches Card: Mickey Vernon is the best known of the floating heads seen here. He's was a two-time AL batting title winner and was newly retired from active big league duty after a 20 year career. Frank Oceak was a long time major and minor league coach and manager. He was on Murtaugh's staff for both Pirates championship teams.  Bill Burwell was a pitcher for the Browns and Pirates in the 20s and was another career coach and managers at all baseball levels. San Narron had a few glimces of the majors with the Cardinals. He was the uncle of Jerry Narron and grandfather of Sam Narron, both big leaguers.

#315 Bobby Shantz

Bobby Shantz  New York Yankees

Career: Bobby Shantz was deemed too small by many scouts in the 40s but he had a long productive career with the A's, Yankees, several National League clubs. He pitched on three pennant winning Yankee teams and won a ring in '58 although an injury prevented him from appearing in that Series. He moved from a starters role to the bullpen and back again winning 119 games and  accumulating 48 saves.

His best year was undoubtedly 1952 when he won 24 games and was named the AL MVP. That season's 24-7 record came on an A's club that finished 79-75. He made 33 starts, completed 27 of them and had five shutouts and a league leading 1.048 WHIP. He hurt his wrist late in the year and thus began a three season long period of erratic results due to arm and wrist ailments.

In 1960: In his second go-round as a reliever Shantz had a career high 11 saves in 47 relief appearances. He was in the middle of a run of eight straight Gold Glove awards!

WikiFacts: 

From Wikipedia:

Shantz had the distinction of being selected in expansion drafts in consecutive seasons. He was selected in the 1960 MLB expansion draft by the Washington Senators from the New York Yankees, and in the 1961 MLB expansion draft by the Colt .45s from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Card: This is a card I picked up two years ago and sent to Shantz to be autographed along with two others. I posted in my Five Tool blog about that TTM from Shantz. He answered my question about his memories of Yankee Stadium with a nice long paragraph. I'm re-posting that at the bottom here. Shantz was one of my Dad's favorite players and although I was never a real Yankee fan I became a Bobby Shantz fan.

For that reason plus the fact that the color combo on this card is my very favorite in the set makes this a special post. Bobby Shantz is now 91 and still signs (with great inscriptions!) for a small fee which he donates to the Salvation Army. What a guy.

And the other two cards I sent are here:

#96 Ralph Terry

Ralph Terry  New York Yankees

Career: Won 107 games over twelve seasons, 78 of those wins came in two stints with the Yankees ('56-'57 and '59-'64). He pitched in five consecutive World Series from 1960 thru 1964. He had a 2-4 WS record but pitched way better than that as he 2.93 ERA and 1.02 WHIP indicate.

In 1960: Terry was 10-8 in 23 starts and a dozen relief efforts for the Yanks. He famously gave up Bill Mazeroski's game winning homer that won the World Series for the Pirates.

WikiFacts: He was such a fine golfer that he played on the PGA tours after his baseball career ended in 1967. He also is credited with teaching Tug McGraw the screwball during his time with the Mets in 1966/'67.

The Card: Another fine Jack Davis cartoon graces this card which I remember from my schoolyard days in New Jersey. Yankee cards were highly sought and most kids held them back during our card flipping sessions at recess. Colorful scheme on the front, cream colored cardboard, season highlights and a fine illustration=a great card. The scan makes the back appear miscut. It isn't.