big game tonight, but won't stop me from posting the next installment in my 1955 bowman set build. heading into the home stretch with the sharing of my 1955 bowman set build, we are deep into umpire territory, with seven of these next 16 cards featuring the arbiters of the game.
sheet 33, cards 273-280
bubba church's big league career was over by the time this card hit the market as he made his last appearance on may 1 of 1955. you don't see the word "acquitted" on the back of baseball cards in any context these days. church supposedly had a hand in keeping joe namath in school at alabama, and is a member of the alabama sports hall of fame.
jim delsing was a solid outfielder, but baseball trivia buffs know him best for being the player who pinch-ran for eddie gaedel after number 1/8 drew a walk in his only major league appearance.
the back of bill greive's card notes many of his notable games served as an umpire, but fails to mention that he served in the new york state assembly in 1936 or that he was a world war i veteran who was a member of one of the companies that comprised the "lost battalion". it does note that he is "scotch-irish" though.
ivan (known as ike) delock's card back features some of the largest font in the set, and the text is fairly benign as delock spent all of 1954 in the minors after stints with the red sox in both 1952 and 1953. he did hit his stride for the red sox once he was moved to the bullpen full time in 1956.
ed runge is a name that i am familiar with, but it's because of paul runge who was ed's son and also an umpire. ed runge was working the right field line for don larsen's perfect game in 1956 but what i really want to know is what is his ancestry? seriously, though, how about him being a professional roller skater?! runge was also the other umpire involved in the blackmail scandal i mentioned back when bill mckinley's card came up in the set.
like chico hernandez last time, i am guessing kids ripping packs in 1955 were confused about seeing charlie neal's card. he didn't make it to the majors until 1956, but i am sure he gained some fans quickly as he helped the dodgers return to the world series.
hank soar is the last umpire on the page, and we are informed that his ancestry is "english-swedish". the best information given here is that soar played in the nfl with the new york football giants and scored the winning touchdown in the 1938 championship game against the green bay packers. he worked both don larsen's perfect game and nolan ryan's fourth no-hitter as the first base umpire.
last but not least we have clyde mccullough of the chicago cubs. some collector has noted that clyde's full name is "clyde edward", and they have also updated his stats to show that his lifetime batting average is .252. mccullough was done after the 1956 season, so this notation was made sometime after july 22 of that year. he became a big league coach and minor league manager for several seasons before passing away during the 1982 campaign while he was working as the padres' bullpen coach. i am not sure if this is still the case, but the padres named their pitcher of the year award in mccullough's honor at one time.
sheet 34, cards 281-288
some of the cards on this sheet are not in the best condition, but it's full. four more umpires, with mr. jackowski getting the brady bunch pose memo over a decade in advance.
here are the backs:
all bios, and each worth some discussion.
charlie berry's card notes his major league playing career as well as his entry into umpiring, but is completely silent on his football career. berry was a collegiate star who also played in the early days of the nfl, leading the pottsville maroons to a disputed title in 1925. here's a fantastic article about charlie berry, with more information about other cards of his including his appearance in the 1963 topps set.
phil cavarretta's card back blatantly calls him old although he was only 38 when the 1955 season began. he was a former national league mvp and was player-manager of his hometown cubs for a couple of seasons in the early 1950's.
nestor chylak was just starting his hall of fame umpiring career, and i don't plan on trying to upgrade this card as his hof status keeps the prices higher than i would want to pay. the back is silent on his ethnicity, but does mention his world war ii service. another source notes that he was injured in the battle of the bulge and received a purple heart. his career lasted until 1982, and he was notably behind the plate for sandy koufax's last appearance in the 1966 world series. he was also the crew chief who declared the forfeit during the indians' 10 cent beer night promotion and was subsequently hit with a chair.
bill jackowski is the first of these umpires on these sheets to represent the national league. he is of polish descent, and was also a world war ii veteran. like chylak, he was also working the 1966 world series, and both he and chylak were also working game 7 of the 1960 world series when maz hit the walk-off home run to beat the yankees.
walt dropo is the second white sox first baseman on the sheet, and, while the back mentions his time wit the red sox previously, it does not mention that he was the american league rookie of the year in 1950. after his baseball career ended, he started a very successful fireworks company and also found success in real estate.
frank secory's card is just trashed. clearly it was glued in an album at one time. it was part of the initial group of cards i had that kickstarted this set build, but i don't plan to replace it. i can read the back well enough - secory is of bohemian descent, and was a former major league player. as an umpire, he witnessed dock ellis' no-hitter as well as the first and 500th home runs of ernie banks' career.
ron mrozinski's big league career ended after the 1955 season, but he pitched for several more years in the minor leagues. i am always curious about random pen marks on cards. was the number "4" circled intentionally? was someone seeing if there was still ink in the pen? it's ponderous.
finally, dick smith of the pirates gets a card. like bubba church up top, smith made his last appearance in the majors on may 1, 1955. that was one of only four games in which smith appeared that season, but he did pinch hit on april 17 which also marked the debut of roberto clemente. smith - the first of three major leaguers known as "dick smith" - went on to work for penn state for several years after his baseball career ended.
only four more pages left to share in this set build - stay tuned for more tales of umpires and late set subjects!
There are really some great stories among these guys. I'm the big three away from completing this set. The cards overall are so much more expensive than even like three years ago. Especially the high numbers.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, bro. Frigging Dodgers. Good season.
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