#262 Hank Bauer

Hank Bauer  Kansas City Athletics

Career: Bauer, whose reputation as a tough ex-Marine is widely known, had a 14-year playing career, twelve of those seasons were with the Yankees. His career peaked with the powerhouse early-to-mid 50s Yankees clubs and Bauer was an All-Star from 1952 through 1955. He picked up MVP votes in five straight years beginning in 1952 as well.

Bauer played in nine World Series with the Yanks, winning seven including five straight from 1949 to 1953. He is sixth on the list of World Series at-bats and hit seven Series homers including four in the '57 Series. The card's cartoon mentions the fact that Bauer holds the record for hits in consecutive World Series games. He still holds the record. His streak included 1956 WS games 1-7, 1957 WS games 1-7, and 1958 WS games 1-3. warren Spahn's two-hit shutout of the Yanks in Game Four of the '58 Classic ended Bauer's run. He got the last laugh though, as he homered off Spahn in his first at-bat in Game Six and he got his ring in the end.

He finished his career with the Athletics in '60/'61. He was the As' player/manager for part of his final active season.

Bauer managed the A's in both KC & Oakland, as well as the Orioles and he won another ring when the '66 Birds swept the Dodgers.

There is a lot more to the Hank Bauer story than I can include here so I'll point you to his SABR bio for a long but entertaining read.


In 1960: Bauer came to the Athletics in the December '59 trade that sent Roger Maris to the Yankees. He got into 95 games and hit a respectable .275 which is right about his career average.

Off The Charts: Bauer's WWII Marine story as told by Wikipedia...

One month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Bauer enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served with the 4th Raider Battalion and G Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. While deployed to the Pacific Theater, Bauer contracted malaria on Guadalcanal, however he recovered from that well enough to earn 11 campaign ribbons, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts (for being wounded in action) in 32 months of combat and the Navy Commendation Medal. Bauer was wounded his second time during the Battle of Okinawa, when he was a sergeant in command of a platoon of 64 Marines. Only six of the 64 Marines survived the Japanese counterattack, and Bauer was wounded by shrapnel in his thigh. His wounds were severe enough to send him back to the United States to recuperate.

Hanks's next-to-last career homer was an inside-the-park job off his pal, Whitey Ford in June of 1961 at Yankee Stadium. I bet they laughed about that one over beers a time or two. Baseball-Reference's home run log says it was hit to 'deep' centerfield. In Yankee Stadium that likely means it rolled to the monuments.

The Card: Topps had their artist paint the A's logo on to Bauer's cap but so little of it is visible on the color shot you wonder why they bothered.

#240 Luis Aparicio

Luis Aparicio  Chicago White Sox

Career: Signed by the White Sox out of Venezuela in 1954 on the recommendation of fellow Venezuelan shortstop Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio went on to play for 18 seasons as a shortstop for three AL clubs, the White Sox, Orioles, and Red Sox. He was the 1956 AL Rookie of the Year after leading the league in assists, putouts, and stolen bases.

He played in two World Series, facing the Dodgers both times. He was on the losing end in 1959 with the Sox but got his ring with the Orioles in 1966. He was a ten-time All-Star, won nine Gold Gloves and led the AL in steals for the first nine years of his career. Aparicio received MVP votes as a 22-year-old rookie and as a 38-year-old vet in his next-to-last season in Boston (and eight times in-between). In 1959 Aparicio was second in the MVP balloting to teammate Nellie Fox.

Aparicio was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984. He is third on the list of games played at shortstop behind Omar Vizquel and Derek Jeter. He never appeared at another position other than shortstop.

In 1960: Coming off his near-MVP season Aparicio raised his numbers nearly across the board. His average jumped 20 points while his OPS, Slugging, and RBIs were also up. While he hit two homers as opposed to six the previous year and had eight fewer stolen bases, he again led the AL in almost every defensive category as a shortstop and he actually raised many of those stats. But his MVP share dropped to the point he was 22nd in the voting.

Off The Charts: Aparicio comes from a baseball family. His father, Luis Sr., was considered a superstar in Venezuela and has a stadium named for him in their hometown of Maracaibo. His uncle Ernesto, also a well-known player, was instrumental in teaching Luis Jr. the game. 

This quote is from Aparicio's page at the Hall of Fame site:

"He's the best I've ever seen,” former White Sox owner and future Hall of Famer Bill Veeck said in 1959. “He makes plays which I know can't possibly be made, yet he makes them almost every day.”

#206 Claude Osteen

Claude Osteen  Cincinnati Reds

Career: Osteen took some time to get it going but once he did he was a top-notch pitcher for a run of strong Dodger clubs. He came out of his Ohio high school as a much-ballyhooed athlete and signed with the Reds in 1957 and even got into one big league game that same week as a 17-year-old. He spent several years moving up and down between the Reds and their AAA club and ran out of options after a demotion in 1961.

Rather than risk losing him to a Rule 5 claim after the season the Reds dealt him to the Senators. He found his stride in D.C. and had three solid seasons for the Nats. His stock rose to the point where they could deal him to the Dodgers for Frank Howard after a 15-win 1964.

With the Dodgers, he had nine double-digit win seasons and made three NL All-Star squads. He was in the shadows of some Dodger greats like Koufax, Drysdale, and Sutton and never got the recognition he deserved.

He pitched exceptionally well in both the 1965 and 1966 World series. Although he was 1-2 in three starts his numbers were much better than that. In 21 innings he allowed just 12 hits and two earned runs. He posted an ERA of 0.86 and a 0.857 WHIP.

The Dodgers traded him to the Astros for Jimmy Wynn in December of 1973 and he wound up his career with Houston, the Cardinals, and the White Sox. He was out of baseball after 1975.

In 1960: He spent the year sitting in the Reds' bullpen because he was out of options and they couldn't risk losing him. He got into 20 games and lost his only decision in a spot start against the Giants. Overall his ERA of 5.03 wasn't indicative of what was to come.

Off The Charts: Osteen's nickname was 'Gomer' because of his resemblance to TV's Gomer Pyle as played by Jim Nabors.

The Card: Is the same picture used here for the main shot and the b/w 'action' shot? Looks like it. Osteen's eyes are sorta/kinda not looking the same way in the two pics but the main color pic is 'Flexochromed' so the artist/retoucher can play around with those sorts of details.

#190 Gene Woodling

Gene Woodling  Baltimore Orioles

Career: Ohio kid Gene Woodling signed with the Indians in 1940 but it took him a decade to establish himself in the majors. Along that trail to the '49 Yankees (and the first of five consecutive Series titles) Woodling led four different minors leagues in hitting. He also toured the Pacific in the Navy and played ball with Bob Feller and many others. Woodling went from the Indians' chain to the Pirates and then to the PCL's San Francisco Seals before landing with the Yanks. 

He had gotten a few looks at major league pitching but it wasn't until the Yankees stuck him into their outfield that he became an established big-leaguer.  In those five Series with the Bombers he hit .318 and added three homers.

From New York Woodling carried his potent bat (and underrated glove) to Baltimore, back to Cleveland, to Baltimore for another stay, to the Senators, and finally in 1962, to the Original Mets. That was his last season as a player. He retired with a career .284 average (he hit over .300 five times). He was still swinging well at 39 with the Mets in '62 as he hit .274 in 80 games after coming over from the Senators.

In 1960: He played every day, mainly in left, at age 37, and hit over .280 in his final season in Charm City. He even picked up a few MVP votes.


Off The Charts: He was involved in one of the biggest (in terms of numbers) trades in history in November 1954 when he was dealt to the Orioles. Here is the summary per Baseball-Reference:

November 17, 1954: Traded by the New York Yankees with players to be named later, Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Willy Miranda, Hal Smith and Gus Triandos 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.

That's seventeen players in total. There will not be a quiz later.

Woodling coached for the Orioles through 1967 and earned a sixth ring for the 1966 Orioles' title. He later scouted for the Yanks and Indians.

#178 Woody Held

Woody Held    Cleveland Indians

Career: Woody (aka Woodie) Held played fourteen years as a versatile and dependable infielder/outfielder. He spent half his career with Cleveland and split the rest among six other AL clubs. He never hit for average, and he had a tendency to strike out, but he had power and a locker full of gloves that made him a valuable guy to have around. Held had a high of 29 homers for the Indians in '59 during a run of seasons when he was an everyday member of their infield.

Held got a ring with the '66 Orioles although he didn't appear in the Series. His career had started with the Yankees, and he first saw the majors in 1954, He was dealt off to the Athletics as part of a package of players in June 1957.

The deal was sparked by the infamous Copacabana brawl involving several Yankees, chiefly Mickey Mantle, Hank Bauer, and Billy Martin. Yankee brass blamed Martin for the whole thing and wanted to get rid of him. Held just happened to be a convenient throw-in to balance it all out. A year later he was traded to Cleveland in the Roger Maris deal and that's where Held got his career on track.

In 1960: Held was leading the Indians in homers and RBI when he broke a finger in July. He missed six weeks of the season. He finished with 21 dingers and it's possible he would have come close to his career-high of 29 had he played the whole year.

Off The Charts: Held was in the Yankees farm system for six and a half years before getting traded to KC. He lived on his Wyoming ranch after his playing days and passed away in 2009.

The Card(s):  Topps insisted on using 'Woody' on his cards although 'Woodie' was how he signed autographs. Scrolling through the Trading Card Database shows a mixed bag on paper items through the 50s and 60s. Topps actually switched to '-ie' in 1961 and then reverted to calling him 'Woody' until he got '-ie' on his last card in 1969.

#23 Eddie Fisher

Eddie Fisher  San Francisco Giants

Career: The knuckleballing reliever pitched for six teams over a 15-year major league career. 1965 was his best season by far as he had 15 wins and 24 saves to go along with his 0.94 WHIP. He finished fourth in the MVP balloting that season (for a White Sox team that ended up second in the AL). That effort earned him a trade to the Orioles the following June. Like everyone else in the '66 Orioles bullpen (except Moe Drabowsky) he earned a ring without breaking a sweat.

In 1960: After a mid-season 1959 debut with the Giants that proved rather bumpy after a first appearance win, Fisher spent the season as a starter in Tacoma for the Giants' AAA club. He got into three games after a September call-up.

WikiFacts: He shares a name with the 1950's singer/actor and serial 'celeb marrying' Eddie Fisher, Carrie Fisher's dad.

The Card: Love the pink on the front. I wish I had a dollar for every vintage Topps card back cartoon that showed a 'pirate' walking the plank.  As for the picture on the front...my guess is Wrigley Field.