#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.

#277 Harry Bright

 

 

 

Harry Bright  Chicago Cubs

 

Career: Harry Bright made his pro debut in 1946 with the Twin Falls (Idaho) Cowboys of the Class C Pioneer League, where he'd been assigned after signing with the Yanks as a 16-year-old. He got his final pro at-bat in 1971 as a player/manager in the Athletics chain. That's a span of 25 years. In between he played for five big league clubs and managed many minor league teams. He stayed in minor league dugouts as late as 1985 in the Expos chain. He'd also done work as a scout and instructor.

 

As a player, Bright did almost everything but pitch. He had his best (and busiest) season in 1962 with the Senators when he held down the regular first base post and hit .274 in over 400 at-bats. That year he even appeared as a catcher in three games. Over eight seasons he hit .255 and got to play in the '63 Series for the Yankees.

 

In 1960: Bright is shown with the Cubs, and he did play for them*, but not in 1960. He was 'returned' to the Pirates on the eve of the season after having been drafted away from them the previous winter. Bright had a big minor league season for Salt lake City in the PCL (27/97/.313/.370) and made a handful of pinch-hitting appearances that September after being called up to Pittsburgh. He was not on the Pirates roster to the 1960 Series.

*=Bright got back to Chicago in 1965 and played in 27 games for the Cubbies. It would be his last big-league year.

 

Off The Charts: Entertaining story from his SABR bio...

[...]Harry Bright played in nearly 2,000 games. None of his exploits on the playing field, not even all of his 1,966 major and minor league hits, earned Harry Bright as much notoriety as one time at bat in the 1963 World Series.

It was the opening game of the fall classic between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Behind the pitching of Sandy Koufax, the Dodgers had take a 3-2 lead into the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. At the end of the eighth, a note on the scoreboard said that Koufax had tied the record for the most strikeouts in a World Series game. The first two outs in the ninth were routine putouts. With only one more chance for Koufax to break the record, Bright strode to the plate to pinch-hit for pitcher Steve Hamilton. He ran the count to 2 balls and 2 strikes before swinging and missing. Koufax had his record 15th strikeout, the crowd erupted, the Dodgers won the game, and Harry Bright became a footnote in the record books. “It’s a hell of a thing,” Bright said. “I wait 17 years to get into a World Series. Then when I finally get up there, and 69,000 people are yelling—yelling for me to strike out.”

 

The Card: Bright poses in Wrigley Field in his Pirates vest jersey with the batting cage behind him. That's fine but what I like about the card is the cartoon that shows him in his 'off season' job as a surveyor.

 

#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.

#238 Danny Kravitz

Danny Kravitz  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Kravitz, yet another Pennsylvania native, began his pro career as an outfielder in the Pirates chain in 1949. He was a US Marine in 1952/53 and returned then to the Pirates. He was put behind the plate and made his way to the majors. After a few seasons of splitting time between the majors and the farm system, he was in the bigs in 1958 and served as the Pirates' back-up and pinch-hitter for a few years.

He was dealt to the Athletics where he played a season and then toured the minors in the Reds', Orioles', and Yankees' chains for three more years and called it a day. Over his five years, he hit .236 in 215 games and never displayed the bat he showed in the minors.

In 1960: The Bucs won the 1960 Series but, sadly, Kravitz had been traded to Kansas City in May and missed the party. In his nearly sixty games played he hit close to his career average. He was traded to the Reds after the season but never returned to the majors.

Off The Charts: His 2013 obit noted that his first major league home run occurred on May 11, 1956 in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the Pirates trailing the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2. Kravitz' walk-off grand slam gave the Pirates a 6-5 win.

His SABR bio has an odd vide to it, unlike most of those bios I've read. It's as if it was written by his brother-in-law. It addresses weird stuff like the tone of voice he and his wife used to speak to each other. I dunno, maybe it's just me.

#209 Ron Blackburn

Ron Blackburn  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Blackburn was a grinder in the Pirates' chain beginning with his 1953 signing. His numbers were mediocre at best but he made the majors in 1958 (his card notes a big spring training) and he pitched 63 innings, mostly out of the bullpen. In 1959 he had comparable stats but was shipped out in July and never returned to the big leagues. The final career data: 3 wins, 2 losses, a 3.50 ERA, and four saves in a season and a half.

In 1960: Relegated to AAA, Blackburn stayed there for 1960 (and most of the next four years. Splitting the year between the Bucs' two top minor league clubs, he didn't do much to earn another look by the Pirates.

Off The Charts: Wikipedia tells us that..."Following his playing retirement In 1964, Blackburn became a teacher and baseball coach at Western Carolina University, where he also attended school. The family lived in Cullowhee, North Carolina from 1964-1969 before moving to Morganton, North Carolina, where he worked as recreation director at the Western Correctional Center"

Blackburn made a detour into the Orioles system on his way up the ladder to the majors and spent a year with the Dodgers' AAA team on the way down. Baseball-Reference has no record of any transactions. Maybe those other clubs just borrowed him because they liked his smile.

The Card: Blackburn is wearing the batting helmet that the Pirates' pitchers sported on the mound in those days.

#198 Jerry Lynch

Jerry Lynch  Cincinnati Reds

Career: Jerry Lynch was the game's premier pinch-hitter for a number of years in the late 50s and early 60s. His career spanned 13 seasons, with two nearly equal runs in Pittsburgh bracketing a six-plus season stint with the Reds. He had a few seasons where he was a 'nearly-everyday-starter', but a lot of his time was as a platoon guy and lefty off the bench.

His pro career began at 19 with a season at the Class C level on an independent team in the Cotton States League in 1950. Uncle Sam had him for two years, and then he signed with the Pirates, debuting in 1954.

According to Wikipedia Lynch 'had 116 pinch hits during his career, which ranks him 10th on the all-time list. Lynch is third on the all-time pinch-hit home run list (he was first when he retired) with 18, with five of those coming during the 1961 season while driving in 25 runs.'

In the 1961 World Series, he was hitless in four trips but his homer on September 28 in the eighth inning versus the Cubs was the blow that clinched the pennant for the Reds.

In 1960: This was one of his 'primarily a pinch-hitter' seasons. He hit .289 with six homers in 102 games and 159 at-bats.

Off The Charts: In his New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, James made a case for Lynch being named MVP for his 1961 heroics.

 "He hit over .400 as a pinch hitter with power and played 44 games in the outfield. His slugging percentage of .624 and 50 RBI in 181 at-bats was a far better rate than Roger Maris had that same season, hitting 61 home runs," James wrote. "More than that, Lynch had big, big hits; game after game, when the Reds were in danger of falling short, Lynch came up with the big hit to put them back in front, and the Reds, picked to finish sixth, won the pennant."

Lynch and former teammate Dick Groat operated a golf course after their playing days.

The Card: Lynch also appears on a special, multi-player "Cincy Clouters" card with Gus Bell and Frank Robinson in this set that was posted back in 2016.

#197 Ron Kline

Ron Kline  St. Louis Cardinals

Career: Ron Kline was a Western Pa. kid who was signed by the Pirates after a try-out in Forbes Field in 1950. He went on to pitch for 17 major league seasons, eight of them for the Bucs. He made the roster in 1952 and stayed busy for half the season but was 0-7 and did some minor league time that year as well. Kline served two years in the Army and returned to the Pirates in 1955.

Kline was primarily a starter at this point and remained one for the rest of the decade with mixed results. He had some decent numbers but pitching for bad teams caused him to lead the NL in losses twice. After a year with the Cardinals, Kline made himself over as a reliever. Other than a four-year run with the Senators, he bounced around the majors with short stays with the Angels, Tigers, Red Sox, Pirates (again), Twins, Giants, and Braves.

In 1960: His only year in St. Louis proved to be a disaster. He made 17 starts (all before July 4) and an equal number of relief appearances to the tune of a 6+ ERA. The Cards cashed out by selling him to the fledgling Angels just before Opening Day, 1961.

Off The Charts: Kline returned to his beloved Callery, Pennsylvania after his playing days. He was a car salesman (he had earlier co-owned a dealership), ran a bar, and served as a baseball coach and the mayor.

The Card: A second Cardinal pitcher within a couple of spots in the checklist is a sure sign of a guy who was traded too late to finagle the list. Topps was able to include the trade on the back of the card. I will sometimes try to figure out what '59 'Season's Highlight' was bumped to include the trade notation. In Kline's case, I'd bet on an 11-inning complete-game five-hit win over the Reds on July 5. A notoriously bad hitter, Kline even had a hit and two RBIs in that game!

#133 Manuel Javier Sport Rookie Star

Manuel Javier  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Manuel (better known as Julian) Javier, a native of the Dominican Republic, never played an inning for Pittsburgh despite being depicted as a Pirate on his rookie card. He was traded to the Cardinals after moving up the Bucs' system since 1956. He had been deemed expendable because the Pirates had Bill Mazeroski ahead of him. He went on to a 13-year career that included a couple of All-Star squads and two World Series rings. His glovework and speed made him a valuable member of the Cardinals through the 1960s.

In 1960: He began the year as he had the previous four, playing for a Pirates' farm club. But a month into the season he was dealt to the Cards, stepped into the starting second baseman's job, and didn't let go of it until 1971. Playing in 119 games he led the team in stolen bases and was fifth in hits and runs scored.

Off The Charts: The stadium in his hometown of San Francisco de Macoris is named in his honor.

The Card: Javier's birth date on the back of this card is listed as August 9, 1937. Every source I checked gives the year as 1936. It wasn't uncommon for players coming from Latin America to 'fudge' their age a bit. His 1961 card also has the '37 date but after that Topps corrected it to 1936. This is also the only card (of any kind as far as I can find) that has him depicted A) as a Pirate; B) without glasses; and C) as 'Manuel', at least on the front of the card. Topps' 1970 card gives his name as Manuel Julian Javier on the back.

#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.

#77 Hank Foiles

Hank Foiles  Kansas City Athletics

Career: Foiles is one of the most interesting guys I've come across while researching these team sets from the late 50s/early 60s. He was a career back-up catcher for seven teams and, while he only had 300+ at bats twice, made the 1957 All-Star squad. He was also a bit of a renaissance man having authored a book, done a lot of public speaking and sued the Orioles (booo!) for using his photo without permission in a stadium giveaway card set. The link a bit lower that goes to my '59 set blog will lead you to much more on this interesting (and very much alive) character. 

In 1960: Foiles played in 56 games for three clubs in 1960 but only six were in the A's uniform. As a back up in Cleveland and Detroit as well as KC he hit .282 with a homer.

Off The Charts: From my 1959 Topps blog posting of his card that season: "He was on the roster of four clubs during the 1960 season. Traded after the '59 campaign by the Pirates to the A's he was traded back to the Pirates in June of '60. But Foiles was to be assigned to the minors and he refused. The Pirates allowed him to engineer his own trade so the next day he was dealt to the Indians. In late July Foiles was traded again, this time to the Tigers. To add to the fun he was drafted after the season by the Orioles. So, to sum it up... between December of 1959 and November of 1960 Foiles followed this path: Pirates->Athletics->Pirates-Indians-Tigers-Orioles!!!"

The Card: Foiles is pictured in his Pirates gear in Wrigley Field but, as noted above, he was on tour within the American League when this card was new. But, in any case, it's a beauty. I love the color combo and the posed shot with Wrigley and pregame activities as a backdrop. His trade to the A's is noted in the write-up.

#67 Jose Pagan

Jose Pagan    San Francisco Giants
 
Career: He played 15 seasons in the majors beginning with a taste of the bigs in 1959. The largest chunk of his career was split evenly between the Giants as the starting shortstop,  and Pirates platooning at third. He was steady at the plate (.250 career average) and in general a decent glove guy. He led the NL shortstops in fielding in 1962. He played in two World Series and won a ring with the '71 Pirates. He homered in the '62 Series and his double in Game Seven in 1971 drove in the winning run. He finished his career with a stint on the Phillies in 1972.

In 1960: He started the season with the Giants and got in a few pinch-hitting assignments before heading back to AAA. He was back up in September and started at short for the last few weeks on the season and hit well enough (.286) to establish himself as the starter going forward for the Giants.

Off The Charts: "During a 1971 interview with the Sporting News, Pagan had revealed that he often “managed” games in his own mind from the Pirates’ bench. “I think to myself the type move I might make in a certain situation,” Pagan explained. “I think that’s common among ballplayers, especially those who are thinking of staying in the game. I think it’s important for a manager to be an inning ahead in his thinking during the game.”

The above quote comes from a Baseball Hall of Fame page that highlights Pagan's 1972 Topps card and his career in general.

The Card: A third consecutive capless player card. Pagan had been in a Giants uniform in 1959 long enough to have posed for pics so it seems odd that Topps chose a capless one for this card. The red railings identify the photo as being from Seals Stadium. 

#58 Gino Cimoli

Gino Cimoli   Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: He had an impressive minor league career in the Dodgers' chain but it was hard to move up in that stocked system. He debuted in Brooklyn in 1956 and went on to play for seven clubs over ten seasons. A .265 career hitter, he led the AL in triples in 1962 and in assists by an outfielder in '63. He made the NL All-Star team in 1956 and played in one game of that year's World Series.

In 1960: He was with his third club in as many years but was just in time to help the Bucs win the Series. As the team's fourth outfielder (behind Skinner, Virdon and Clemente) he hit .267 but his biggest moment came in Game Seven of the Series. He got a pinch single to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning that started the rally which put the Pirates in the lead (which they soon blew before they celebrated Mazeroski's famous homer).

Off The Charts: From Wikipedia...After retiring from baseball, Cimoli worked as a delivery driver for United Parcel Service where, in 1990, the company honored Cimoli for completing 21 years of service without a traffic accident. Cimoli, then 60 years old and still working for the company, was now referred to as "The Lou Gehrig of UPS."

He was the first player to bat in a major league game in California when he stepped into the box for the Dodgers at Seals Stadium on April 15, 1958, against Ruben Gomez and the Giants. He fanned, btw.

The Card: The picture is from 1959 and was taken in the park where he had made that first-in-history West Coast at-bat, Seals Stadium in San Francisco. Cimoli's card comes just a few numbers after Bill Mazeroski's and tells us that it was revised after the trade that winter.

Also revised was the last entry in his highlights list...The December 21 trade is shown and the font is just a bit lighter than the lines above it. I crawled down the rabbit hole and I've decided that the trade entry replaced one for his game on July 12 when he went 3 for five, homered, and then drove in the eventual winning run in the top of the tenth with a single to beat the Pirates. The single actually occurred a month later since the game (the second half of a doubleheader) had been suspended in the top of the ninth. So I'm guessing that the last entry originally looked like this:

• July 12: Gets 3 hits, homer, and clutch single in extras to beat Bucs.
  

#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.

#49 Curt Raydon

Curt Raydon   Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Raydon was signed by the Braves in 1953 but a year later was dealt to the Pirates. He pitched his way to the big club over four seasons and had a fine rookie year in 1958. That season he made 20 starts for the Pirates, with 31 appearances in total. He went 8-4 with an ERA of 3.62 and an outstanding hits per IP ratio. He developed both a cyst in his pitching hand and a sore arm and never returned to the majors. He retired after the 1961 season.

In 1960: He had a second consecutive fine season in the Pirates chain. It's a bit surprising he never returned to the bigs after his 1858 rookie year.

Off the Charts: Here is an interesting (and damning) look at how players like Raydon were treated in regards to a baseball pension.

The Card: Great color combo and a shot of Raydon in Seals Stadium, no doubt taken in 1958. As for Raydon...I'd be smiling if I had a baseball card with a Jack Davis cartoon. Just sayin'.

#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. 

#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?

#2 Roman Mejias

Roman Mejias Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Mejias played in nine major league seasons after debuting with the Pirates in 1955. He was an original member of the 1962 Houston Colt 45s and had his best season that year. He hit 24 homers which is almost half his career total. He finished his career with the Red Sox in 1963/64 and then played a season in Japan. Happy Birthday to him as well. He turned 89 this week.

In 1960: He spent the bulk of the year in the minors and got only one big league at bat. With AAA Columbus he hit .278 and showed some power. Side note: He had only one at-bat with the Pirates in 1961 as well and had almost identical minor league stats.

WikiFacts: From his Wikipedia page:

On October 10, 1961, he was selected in the 11th round by Houston in the 1961 National League expansion draft, and was the starting right fielder in the Colt .45s' first Major League game on April 10, 1962. Batting third in Houston's lineup, Mejías had three hits in five at bats, with three runs scored and six runs batted in. He hit the first home run in Houston's Major League history, a three-run bomb off Don Cardwell in the third inning, and then followed with another three-run shot in the eighth off relief pitcher Al Lary, as the Colt .45s routed the visiting Chicago Cubs, 11–2. Mejías held the Colts' starting right fielder job all season, appearing in a career-high 146 games, and led Houston in hits (162), home runs (24), runs batted in (76), batting average (.286), stolen bases (12) and slugging percentage (.485).

And here's a snippet from a great SABR article on Mejias and his 1954 minor league team, the Waco Pirates. It is recommended reading.

Mejias in particular intrigued the parent Pirates. Born in Central Manuelita on August 9, 1930, he progressed to his third year of high school before going to work at his father’s side at 15 years old. Full of natural ability, he excelled in the Pedro Betancourt Amateur Baseball League in Cuba, and was later signed by Hall of Famer George Sisler who was scouting talent in the area. Mejias showed the propensity for hitting for average and power, had good speed on the basepaths, and played his outfield position ably, all tools which would serve him well on his climb to the big leagues

The Card: Topps liked to refer to the Pirates as the Corsairs. Every time I see that I think of this, one of my favorite doo-wop songs from back when it was my favorite music genre.