#279 Chuck Tanner

Chuck Tanner  Cleveland Indians

Career: After signing with the Boston Braves in 1946 Chuck Tanner spent nearly a decade in their system before debuting in 1955 as a platoon outfielder and pinch-hitter. He went on to spend eight seasons (or parts thereof) with four clubs with more minor league duty sprinkled in.

Tanner hit .261 in nearly a thousand big-league at-bats with a touch of power. He wound up his playing days with a handful of games with the Angels in both 1961 and '62. He then entered the phase of his baseball career that he would become well known for, managing.

Tanner managed in the Angels system from 1963 through most of 1970. He was picked to pilot the White Sox for the final two weeks of the '70 season and went on to manage in the majors for 19 years, mostly for the Sox and Pirates. He led the 1979 Pirates to the World Series title over the Orioles. That was his only post-season managing experience. His career w/l as a skipper was 1352/1381.

Tanner later worked as a scout and in 'special assistant' and 'senior advisor' roles for the Brewers and Pirates until his passing in 2011 at the age of 82.

In 1960: Tanner spent most of 1960 with the Indians' Toronto AA club where he had a fine season. He spent almost two months in the midd of the year as the Indians primary pinch-hitter as he hit .280 in 30 appearances at the plate.

Off The Charts: Chuck's son, Bruce Tanner, pitched in ten games for his father's old club, the White Sox.

The Card: That's a pic taken in Seals stadium in San Francisco. I got the vibe from the color of the seats and what seemed to be hints of red among them which comes from the red railings surrounding the boxes. That much I've seen many times before. But the structure beyond the batting cage and the outfield wall puzzled me so I poked around and found plenty of photos that show exactly those elements at Seals. Easily seen in this picture.

And this one.

#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.

#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.
  

#7 Master & Mentor

The Card: Even without the creamy home Giants jerseys you can tell this was taken at Seals Stadium. You can make out just enough of the red railings in the seating areas to be sure.

Nice photo of Willie Mays and Bill Rigney near the batting cage. The back features a write-up that focuses mostly on the Giants' manager. This is an inexpensive card ungraded and an easy way to  snag a Mays card from his career.

#275 Curt Flood

Curt Flood   St. Louis Cardinals

Career: He was originally signed by the Reds but he was a three time All Star in 14 seasons with the Cardinals. Won seven Gold Gloves and two World Series rings. Led the NL in hits in 1964. Multiple time leader in fielding categories. He's best know for his groundbreaking stand against baseball's reserve clause. This story at The Atlantic is a good read about that aspect of his life. He actually returned to the field for a brief stint with the the Ted Williams managed Senators in 1971.

In 1960: This was Flood's last of three seasons as just an average big league starter. He had hit .261 as a rookie and had seen his numbers sliding. He hit .237 in 1960 but raised his average about 80 points the next year and hit over .300 in six of the next nine seasons.

WikiFacts: From Flood's Wikipedia page:

Despite his outstanding playing career, Flood's principal legacy developed off the field. He believed that Major League Baseball's decades-old reserve clause was unfair in that it kept players beholden for life to the team with which they originally signed, even when they had satisfied the terms and conditions of those contracts.

On October 7, 1969, the Cardinals traded Flood, Tim McCarver, Byron Browne, and Joe Hoerner to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Allen, Cookie Rojas, and Jerry Johnson. Flood refused to report to the moribund Phillies, citing the team's poor record and dilapidated Connie Mack Stadium, and for (what he thought were) belligerent—and racist—fans. Flood said, "That I didn't think that I was going to report to Philadelphia, mainly because I didn't want to pick up twelve years of my life and move to another city."

The Card: This one is cropped strangely with Flood being somewhat off-center. The stadium is San Francisco's Seals Stadium. It's easy to tell by the red hand-railings visible in the out-of-focus background.

I love the color combo, the cream and gold back and the highlights text. It's one of my favorite cards in the set.

#45 Roy McMillan

Roy McMillan  Cincinnati Reds

Career: He spent 16 seasons in the National League including the entire decade of the 50s with the Reds, He finished with the Braves and Mets and his numbers, never spectacular, at least held up to nearly the end of his career. He had a lifetime average of .242 and ten times finished at or near the top of the league in fielding. He won three Gold Gloves and was twice an All Star. His best full season was 1957 when he had career highs in average, OBP and slugging.

After his playing days he was a coach and in 1975 served as manager of the Mets following the dismissal of Yogi Berra. He also managed and coached in the minors for several organizations.

In 1960: This was to be his final season in Cincy before being dealt to the Braves for Joey Jay and Juan Pizzaro. He was coming of a '59 season cut short by a broken collarbone hitting .236 and had the first of two double digit home run totals of his career (he hit 10).

WikiFacts: From his Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame entry- Roy McMillan, the 5 foot, 11 inch, 164 pound Cincinnati Reds shortstop who's highest season batting average was .272, graced the cover of the September 9, 1957 Sports Illustrated, an honor usually reserved for athletes with names like Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. It was not a fluke. McMillan, in his ten years with the Reds (1951-1960), had earned the reputation of being the best defensive shortstop in the Major Leagues and the title "Mr. Shortstop." McMillan considered the SI cover "one of the top moments in his career."

Hall of Fame member, Pie Traynor said, "McMillan makes his own bounces, He's the only present-day shortstop who can do that..he can take the ball on the half hop all the time, a very tough play." Leo Durocher hailed Roy as " the best defensive shortstop in the game today." Manager Birdie Tebbets declared, " Roy McMillan is the finest defensive shortstop I've seen in the last 20 years. He's a good run-batted-in man and his hitting is continually improving."

The Card: Nice to get back to cream and gold backs and a card with bulleted highlights. Nice color combo on the front as well. McMillan poses without his glasses (that's rare) in either Wrigley Field (likely) or Seals Stadium in San Francisco (less likely).

#16 Ernie Broglio

Ernie Broglio   St. Louis Cardinals

Career: Broglio is best remembered as the guy the Cardinals traded to the Cubs to get Lou Brock but he had a respectable career in his own right. He won 77 games with a decent set of numbers over eight seasons. Hi was originally signed by the Reds and passed thru the Giants chain but pitched only for the Cards and Cubs in the majors. His best year was certainly 1960.

In 1960: Started the season in the bullpen and was 2-1 as late as the end of May but he got a shot in the rotation and took advantage to the tune of a 21 win season. He led the league in wins, WAR by Pitchers, and Hits Per 9 Innings. He was second in ERA and finished third in Cy Young voting.

WikiFacts: Interestingly the general reaction to the now infamous Broglio-Brock deal was that the Cubs had gotten the best of it. Here is a bit of SABR's Broglio bio detailing the events surrounding the deal:

Broglio started on June 12 [1964] in Los Angeles, but Koufax blanked the Cardinals again. Broglio’s record was now 3-5. In 11 starts his strikeouts were noticeably down to three per game. On June 14, after the Dodgers swept the series, the Cardinals boarded their plane for Houston.
General manager Bing Devine had been busy on the phone right up to departure and later he sat by Keane during the flight. Devine said, “I can make the deal with Chicago.” Keane’s response was either “Make it!” or “What are we waiting for?” depending on what account the St. Louis fans read. As soon as they landed in Houston, Devine called Cubs general manager John Holland. Three other trades in the major leagues were announced on June 15, but none proved larger than the one between the Cardinals and the Cubs.
Broglio, pitcher Bobby Shantz, and outfielder Doug Clemens were sent to Chicago for outfielder Lou Brock, pitcher Jack Spring, and pitcher Paul Toth. Keane summoned Ernie to his hotel room to tell him about the trade, and Broglio was shocked. Several veteran Cardinals were very negative about the deal and declared that the Cubs got the better of the trade. Keane called a team meeting before their game to tell the players to cease their grumbling. Meanwhile, Chicago Daily News columnist Bob Smith was jubilant as he wrote about acquiring Ernie, “Thank you, thank you, oh, you lovely St. Louis Cardinals. Nice doing business with you. Please call again anytime.”

The Card: Action, even of the staged variety, is welcome in the 1960 set, Broglio poses here in Seals Stadium in San Francisco. The back is pretty standard but cream cardboard wins points with me. Off-centeredness hardly registers with me anymore in this set.

#419 George Crowe

George Crowe  St. Louis Cardinals

Career: A prep basketball star, Army vet and veteran of the Negro Leagues Crowe was 31 before he made his major league debut in 1952. He had his best season in 1957 with the Red Legs when he smacked 31 homers with 92 RBI and a .271 average. That homer total is more than double his output in any other season. His only All Star season was 1958. He was hitting over .300 at the All Star break that year but his numbers tumbled after that and he never regained that level.

In 1960: Nearing the end of his career Crowe was used mostly as a pinch hitter accumulating 72 at bats. He played briefly the next year and then finished the season in the minors as a player/coach.

WikiFacts: Crowe's story is an interesting one and his SABR bio is worth the read. Here is a bit of it that discusses his post-baseball life:

Away from sports, Crowe was adrift. He sold life insurance, worked for Pan American World Airways in California, and then returned to New York to teach physical education and coach the freshman baseball team at a high school. He and his wife divorced. When a doctor told him he was developing an ulcer, he blamed the stress of trying to teach kids who weren’t interested in learning.
As he reached his fiftieth birthday in 1971, Crowe dropped out. He moved to the back side of beyond, to the foothills of New York’s Catskill Mountains. His home, near the hamlet of Long Eddy, was a log cabin he called "The Jackass Inn," seven miles from the nearest paved road. It had no heat, electricity, running water, or telephone. The only way to his front door was a long hike up a rocky slope. Some described him as a hermit, but he stayed in touch with family and friends and was willing to talk to any reporter who took the trouble to find him.
Crowe lived as a mountain man for more than 30 years. "In these hills I’m free," he told a visiting writer. "I don’t have to punch anyone else’s time clock. I was sick of people and all the nonsense of our society." Although he had enjoyed hunting and fishing, he became a vegetarian for a while, growing most of his food. He stopped drinking and gave up white flour and sugar. The powerful athlete morphed into a skinny old man with a white beard. "Here, I make my own rules," he said. "I look at birds when I want to, eat all the raw fruits and vegetables I want, don’t have to chew tobacco any more to calm my nerves and think any way I want. Now I can honestly say, ‘Crowe isn’t anyone’s slave anymore.’"

The Card: I'm happy to see a '60 Topps that shows more than a head shot. Crowe is posing in Seal Stadium for this one. It's also nice to have a cream colored cardboard card with the 'bulleted' Seasons Highlights. Looks like he had a pretty nice month of August.

#233 Don Elston

Don Elston, Chicago Cubs

Career: Elston was a Cubs signee who debuted in 1953. He was traded to the Dodgers but after a minor league stint and one Dodger appearance in 1957 he was traded back to the Cubs with whom he finished his career. 

In 1960: Elston was coming off his All Star season of 1959 (he got the save in the NL's Game 1 win). He had led the NL in appearances in '58 and '59 and finished third in 1960. It was also his third consecutive double digit save season. He ranked 7th in the NL with 10.

WikiFacts: -from Baseball Reference:

"He made his debut on September 17, 1953, the same day Hall of Famer Ernie Banks also made his first major league appearance in the Cubs lineup."

 "As one of the top firemen of his time, he was cited as one of the inspirations for the creation of the "save" statistic for measuring a reliever's effectiveness" 

The Card: The cartoon references a stretch of games in late August thru the first week of September of 1958 in which Elston went 11 innings between allowing a hit. He picked up three of his eleven saves and only walked one batter in that run.

The 'posed action' shot of Elston is a change from the usual portrait photos that dominate this set. It was taken at Seals Stadium in San Francisco. This is a replacement card for the one that came with my original large lot. While most of the cards that were included in that group were just fine for my needs the Elston was unacceptable. Someone didn't care much for Don Elston. 

Here is the original version:

A closeup of the damage: