here's the next installment in my 1955 bowman set build! this post marks the two-thirds mark of the set, and it gets us into some interesting territory. let's have a look at these cards!
sheet 29, cards 225-232
here are the backs:
sheet 30, cards 233-240
another manager (eddie stanky), two umpires (j.a. paparella and eddie rommel), and a coach (dick bartell)! bowman was really running out of players at this point, i guess. there aren't too many dodgers left in the set, but this sheet gives us billy loes.
seeing the umpire bio begin with nationality - "irishman" - is a bit bizarre. not sure why that was relevant for them and not the players and managers. anyway, the teammate set up is out the window now, and only the back of frank baumholtz's card features non-bio text. he sums up his advice to youngsters pretty well: "the best preparation for tomorrow is to do today's work well."
the back of mckinley's card doesn't say it, but i understand he went by "bill". he was the first big league umpire to have graduated from an umpiring school and his career spanned 20 years (1946-1965). cardboredom commented on the last post about some wild umpire stories, and maybe this is one of them: in 1960, the married mckinley and fellow married ump ed runge (he shows up later in the set) were enjoying some time with a couple of ladies in washington dc and were later extorted by one of the women and two men who had photos of the encounter. the case went to court as far as i can tell, but not sure of the outcome.
here are the backs:
all are bios, with stanky receiving some backhanded compliments ("...not particularly adept at running, throwing, or hitting"). we learn that paparella's ancestry is italian, while rommel's is german. rommel, of course, was a pitcher for the philadelphia a's (he's noted as the "discoverer of the 'knuckle ball'" on his card back) before he started umpiring a few years after his playing career ended in 1932. he became one of the few men to pitch and later umpire in the world series, and was the first umpire to wear glasses during a game.
as for paparella, he went by "joe" and, like mckinley, umpired from 1946 through 1965. i am not sure if his retirement in 1965 was forced like mckinley's but they were similar in age so it is possible. it's also worth noting that paparella was the third base umpire when eddie gaedel made his lone big league appearance.
that collection gets fed first!
with loes there on the second page, i will note that the card i purchased during the pursuit of the set build was an upgrade for my dodger collection
while there is still a third of the set to show off, i am only in need of two cards to finish the set, and i might just see if i can find them in the greater chicago area this weekend. stay tuned!
