#36 Russ Nixon

Russ Nixon  Cleveland Indians

Career: Russ Nixon spent 12 seasons as a big league catcher for the Indians, Red Sox and Twins. He was never an All-Star or hit for much power but he had a respectable career .268 average. He also managed the Reds and Braves and served as a coach, instructor, and  minor league manager well into his 70s.

In 1960: He split the year between the Indians and Red Sox due to a trade in June. The deal revived his bat and he hit .295 after arriving in Fenway. Here's a fun fact from Wikipedia on his 1960 season: "Nixon was actually traded twice to the Red Sox in 1960. Cleveland initially dealt him to Boston on March 16 for catcher Sammy White and first baseman Jim Marshall. White chose to retire and the trade was canceled but not before Nixon played five exhibition games for the Red Sox. Nixon returned to the Indians and started the regular season with them, appearing in 25 games, 21 as the starting catcher; then, almost three months after the original swap, on June 13, he was traded to the Red Sox a second time, with outfielder Carroll Hardy for Canadian-born pitcher Ted Bowsfield and outfielder Marty Keough."

Off The Charts: His twin brother, Roy Nixon, never reached the majors. They were both signed on the same day by the Cleveland Indians and were teammates on the 1953 Green Bay Bluejays and both had 46 hits - but Russ did it in 137 AB while it took Roy 182 at-bats to reach that figure.

The Card: Someone, likely a kid, wrote his initials on the back of this card. Writing on the front of a card is an issue for me. On the back? It's not a big deal. This photo was taken at Municipal Stadium. Nice for a change of pace. 

#423 Ed Fitz Gerald

Ed Fitz Gerald, Cleveland Indians

Career: Fitz Gerald debuted in 1948 after a couple impressive minor league seasons and played 12 seasons with the Pirates, Senators and finally the Indians. His most productive seasons (and the only ones where he could be considered a starter) were in 1953 and 1954. He ot over 400 at bats with the Nats in '54 and hit .289 while tying his career high of 40 RBI.

In 1960: He was out of baseball by the time this card was issued, or at least as an active player. After being released by the Indians in April of 1960 he was added to the coaching staff and he went on to a second career as a major and minor league coach/manager.

WikiFacts: "While with the Pirates, Fitz Gerald caught Cliff Chambers' no-hitter on May 6, 1951. He also broke up, as a Washington Senator, Chicago White Sox pitcher Billy Pierce's bid for a perfect game on June 27, 1958 by doubling with two out in the ninth, the ball landing just inches inside the first-base line."

The Card: Looks like Fitz Gerald is wearing an Indians' home uni. Could this shot have been taken in Municipal Stadium. If so it's pretty rare for Topps.

Side note: Topps seems to have been undecided on the correct 'spelling' of Fitz gerald's last name (although 'spelling' way be the incorrect term). You can see from their cards that it's all over the place...'Fitz Gerald', 'Fitzgerald', 'FitzGerald'. I can't really tell but I think there is a slight space between 'Fitz' and 'Gerald' on the 1960 card. He signed autographs as seen on the baseball below. I'm not sure why I care about this but I do.