#115 Fork & Knuckler

Two of the era's top relief pitchers posed for this card. Each had a highly specialized repertoire on the mound. Elroy Face is arguably the best-known forkball pitcher of all time. The pitch was (allegedly) invented by 'Bullet' Joe Bush in the 1930s. Face truly mastered the thing and used it to get himself named to five NL All-Star squads.

Hoyt Wilhelm had a remarkably long and productive career. He debuted with the 1951 Giants and over 21 seasons he won 143 games as both a starter and reliever for nine different clubs. His knuckleball inspired Paul Richards, his manager in Baltimore, to construct an oversized catchers' mitt in an effort to reduce the number of passed balls his catchers accumulated. Wilhelm is a Hall of Famer.

More than likely this photo was taken at one of the two All-Star games in 1959. Both were held at NL parks so we can't point to the home uni on Face or Wilhelm's Orioles roadie as a clue. I'd like to think it was the first of the two, the July game at Forbes Field.

#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.

#352 Cincy Clouters

The Card: This is the second Cincy-centric 'special' I've posted. The first one featured Vada Pinson and Jim O'Toole. Here we have three of the club's top hitter from the late 50s. Like the first one this looks to be a Wrigley Field photo.

Gus Bell played nine seasons for the Reds before he was taken by the Mets in the 1962 Expansion Draft. He had a nice rebound year in 1959, hitting .293 with 115 RBI. Frank Robinson was, well, Frank Robinson. His numbers for '59 were 36/125/.311/.391 so his spot on the card was obvious.

Jerry Lynch was fourth on the club in homers in '59, fifth in RBI. He trailed Pinson in both those categories but Topps was spreading the wealth and used this shot. Those sleeveless reds tops and white crowned lids were unique and pretty awesome.

#32 Sophomore Stalwarts

The Card: Jim O'Toole and his close friend Vada Pinson smile for the camera while posed on the dugout steps at Wrigley Field. I love the Reds' vest unis from that era. Even the roadies, while not as colorful as the spectacular home vests, were pretty sweet.

Both Pinson and O'Toole went on to solid major league careers and both have their own cards in this set which is where I will look closer at them both. For now I'll settle for a couple of personal stories.

When I was a kid I read a story about Jim O'Toole in the dearly departed Sport Magazine. It stated that O'Toole wrote "THINK" on his glove to remind himself to do exactly that while pitching. I wasn't a pitcher at any point in my brief baseball playing life but I thought that to be good advice so I did the same to my glove.

In June of 1970 in the second game of an Indians-Yankees doubleheader I witnessed the best baseball fight I've seen in person. In the top of the fifth with the Indians leading 2-1 and one man out Vada Pinson singles, goes to second on a ground out and then, when Stan Bahnsen uncorks a wild pitch, tries to score all the way from second. Bahnsen, covering home tags Pinson out with has glove to the face and Pinson came up swinging. Everyone piled out onto the field and lots of shoving and bear-hugging ensued. The haymaker from Pinson is one of the few really good punches I've ever see land in a baseball fight. I remember that we were surprised Bahnsen was back on the mound for the sixth. Pinson, btw, got tossed.

#292 Dodger Backstops

The Card: Posing at Seals Stadium in San Francisco we have Joe Pignatano and Johnny Roseboro. As the card states Roseboro took over behind the plate for the Dodgers with the burden of attempting to fill the void following the car wreck that disabled Roy Campanella. He held the job for a decade and was a standout, winning a couple of Gold Gloves and making two NL All Star squads. He finished his career with the Twins and Senators.

Joe Pignatano had backed up Roseboro in 1959 but in 1960 he slipped from #2 on the depth chart to #2b behind Larry Sherry. In 1961 he found himself with the Athletics and had his best season stats-wise while still playing part-time. He moved on the the Giants and finished his playing career with the '62 Mets. He coached on the Mets' staff for many years after his playing days.

This is a '59 picture as that was the first season the Dodgers had 'Los Angeles' on their road shirts. That remained the caes for about a decade until they adopted home and road jerseys with 'Dodgers on the front. The city designation returned in 1999.