#488 Norm Cash

Norm Cash  Detroit Tigers

Career: Norm Cash carved out a solid career over 17 seasons, 15 with Detroit. His 1961 season, in which he hit .361 with 41 homers, 132 RBI and had an OPS of 1.148, stands out as his best by far. He made four AL All Star squads and helped the Tigers win the 1968 World Series by going 10 for 26. He was known as a hard living, fun loving prankster. His SABR bio is a great read.

In 1960:  His first season in Detroit was also his first as a full time starter. He hit a solid .286 with a .402 OBP, 18 homers and 63 RBI. All nice numbers but they gave little indication of the career season to come for Cash in 1961.

WikiFacts: From Cash's SABR bio:

"Although Cash wore a Cleveland cap on his 1960 Topps baseball card, he never played an inning for the Indians. On April 12, as the Tribe headed north from Tucson at the conclusion of spring training, Cash found himself traded yet again. This time, he was dispatched to Detroit in exchange for third baseman Steve Demeter. Detroit General Manager Rick Ferrell was dumbfounded when Frank Lane, his Cleveland counterpart, offered Cash for Demeter, unsure if he meant “cold cash or Norm Cash.” While Demeter’s career with the Indians consisted of merely four games, Cash became a fixture at first base in Detroit for 15 years. Lane was not through making controversial trades with the Tigers. Five days later, he sent Rocky Colavito to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn, and later in 1960, the two clubs swapped managers, Joe Gordon going to Detroit for Jimmie Dykes."

The Card: Cash had been traded twice since the end of the 1959 season, first from the White Sox to the Indians in December and then to the Tigers in April. Topps stuck an Indians' logo on his cap for his card but didn't re-do it after his trade to Detroit. But this 6th Series card was created late enough to correctly list him as a Tiger and his 'action b&w shot on the left had a Tigers logo added to his cap.

The cartoon notes that he 'came to Cleveland...' which reads like it was drawn prior to his trade to Detroit. That deal is mentioned at the end of his write up and that reads like a late addition to the card.

#50 Al Kaline

Al Kaline  Detroit Tigers

Career: Hall of Famer, class act, native of Baltimore. Not much more to say.

Notable Achievements:

• 15-time AL All-Star (1955-1967, 1971 & 1974)
• 10-time Gold Glove Winner (1957/ML-RF, 1958/AL-RF, 1959/AL-CF & 1961-1967/AL-OF)
• AL Batting Average Leader (1955)
• AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1959)
• AL OPS Leader (1959)
• AL Hits Leader (1955)
• AL Total Bases Leader (1955)
• AL Doubles Leader (1961)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 9 (1955-1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967 & 1969)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 3 (1955, 1956 & 1963)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1955 & 1961)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1955)
• Won a World Series with the Detroit Tigers in 1968
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1980

In 1960: Kaline was an established star by 1960. But his numbers took a one year dip that season with his batting average dropping to the lowest he'd had since his rookie year and his other stats (HR, RBI) following suit. It turned out to be a one year glitch in the matrix of what was a sterling career for Kaline. He did make the AL All Star squad for the sixth straight year.

WikiFacts: From Kaline's Baseball Reference Bullpen page:

Al Kaline was a teen phenom from Baltimore, MD who became the regular right fielder for the Detroit Tigers in 1954 at age 19. He was signed by Tiger scout (later an executive) Ed Katalinas for a reported $25,000, who told the front office that he was a better player than the starting outfield they had. In 1955, he leaped into stardom, winning the batting championship, the youngest champion ever at 20, younger by one day than Ty Cobb. He played on for two decades, never winning another batting title but finishing in the top three in the American League five more times. He hit 399 home runs although he didn't think of himself as a slugger, and was honored with 10 Gold Gloves.

The Card: Back in the day you knew you were getting a star when you had a 'star numbered' card like #50, #200, #500 etc. Note the Season's Highlights....he had highlights from every month of the season. How very Al Kaline-like...he was consistently a great player. And that's definitely Jack Davis' cartoon artistry.

#418 Don Mossi

Don Mossi, Detroit Tigers

Career: Mossi pitched 12 seasons, all in the A.L. He bracketed a run with the Tigers as a starter with stints with the Indians, White Sox and A's for whom he was mostly a reliever. He had 17 and 15 win seasons for Detroit and won 101 games overall.

In 1960: This was Mossi's second year of four consecutive in which he was a member of the Tigers' rotation...and it was a pretty pedestrian one. He went 9-8 with a 3.47 ERA and 1.2 WHIP.

WikiFacts: "...By [1960], Don had appeared on enough bubble gum cards to have caught the attention of millions of young fans, who marveled at his unusual visage. He did not have the classic country boy good looks of a Mickey Mantle or the dark, handsome face of a Sandy Koufax. Don was, well, different. He had a long, slightly crooked nose, his eyes were close together, and his ears stuck out to the edges of the cardboard. Indeed, some of his teammates called him “Ears.” Others nicknamed him “The Sphinx.” -from Jockbio.com

Later, when these young fans grew up, they were less diplomatic. One said Don looked like “Mount Rushmore on a rainy day.” Bill James wrote that Don was the “...complete ugly player. He could run ugly, hit ugly, throw ugly, field ugly and ugly for power. He was ugly to all fields.” 

The Card: The crease isn't as obvious in hand or in the binder as it is in the scan. But nonetheless I'll nab a better copy of this one at some point. After all, it's Don Mossi! If you have a joke about the crease and those on Mossi's face kindly add it to the comments.

Ugliest card ever? I dunno, you be the judge.

Note that one of his 'Season Highlights' is beating the Yankees for the fifth straight time. He had more wins (and losses) against the Yanks than any other team. He went 19-16 in his career versus them.

#249 Earl Wilson

Earl Wilson, Boston Red Sox

Career: Wilson had double digit wins in eight straight seasons from 1962 through 1969. He pitched for the Sox and Tigers for the bulk of his career but finished up with a half season in San Diego in 1970. He won 121 games with 21 being his best season total. He led the AL with that in 1967.

Notable Achievements:
AL Wins Leader (1967)
15 Wins Seasons: 2 (1966 & 1967)
20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1967)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 7 (1963-1969)
200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1966)
Won a World Series with the Detroit Tigers in 1968

In 1960: Called up in July he had three shaky relief appearances before given a shot as a starter. He responded with back-to-back complete game wins. He got seven more starts before the season ended with mixed results, a 3-2 record and 4.71 ERA. He spent the following season in the minors before returning to the bigs for good in 1962.

WikiFacts: "Occasionally used as a pinch-hitter, he was a definite home-run threat any time he stepped into the batter's box. Wilson hit home runs for teams in each league in 1970 - it would be 38 years until another hurler, C.C. Sabathia, duplicated the feat. His 33 homers by a pitcher in the post-1960 expansion era stands as a record; as of 2014, Bob Gibson and Carlos Zambrano were tied for second at 24."

The Card: From time to time you come across cards from this set on which the letters in the player's name are uneven. This is one of them.The color scheme isn't repulsive and the condition is about f/g.              

#546 Hank Aguirre

Hank Aguirre, Detroit Tigers

Career: In his 16 year career Aguirre spent four seasons as a starter for the Tigers and two others in which he split time about equally between the rotation and the pen. The rest of the time, including seasons with the Indians, Cubs and Dodgers, he was a bullpen fixture. He won 75 games and had 33 saves. His best season was 1962 when he won 16 games and led the AL in ERA, ERA+, WHIP and made the All Star team. He pitched three innings in the second of two ASGs that year and got a 'hold'.

In 1960: He went 5-3 in 37 games including six starts. He posted a 2.27 ERA and a career best 2.67 k/w ratio.

WikiFacts: One of the worst hitting pitchers of all time Aguirre got one at bat in that 1962 ASG. Juan Marichal whiffed him. he had one career triple. It came in a game at Yankee Stadium which I witnessed. I detailed that day in my post of Aguirre's 1959 card.

Notable Achievements:

AL All-Star (1962)
AL ERA Leader (1962)
15 Wins Seasons: 1 (1962)
200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1962, 1963 & 1965)

The Card: Red, blue, yellow and white is a nice combo on these cards. This was part of my initial large lot purchase. It's typical of the condition of the cards I got, a bit closer to 'good' than 'fair'.

I'm partial to this card because of my 'connection' to Aguirre. He probably had that same grin on his face as he stood on third base that day in Yankee Stadium. Those same stands were behind him at that moment that day as well.

#22 Rocky Bridges

Rocky Bridges, Detroit Tigers

Career: Bridges came up through the Brooklyn Dodgers' chain and played 11 major league seasons for seven different clubs. He had a few brief runs as an everyday starter but was mostly a back-up platoon type guy. He had a career line of .247/.310/16/187. He made the 1958 All Star team as a member of the Senators. After finishing his playing career with the expansion Angels he had a long tenure as a coach and manager at various levels of organized baseball.

In 1960: He played for three clubs. He began the year with Detroit but barely played (injuries) and was traded to the Indians in July. The Cards purchased him in early September but he only made three appearances for them during what was an unsuccessful effort to make a run at the Pirates.

WikiFacts: Sports Illustrated noted in 1964 that Bridges was “one of the best stand-up comics in the history of baseball.”

The Card: I don't know if there is a card (or picture for that matter) of Bridges that shows him without a wad of tobacco in his cheek. I'm partial to pink cards but the pink and red with the yellow and white letters just isn't that attractive. My copy is in decent shape with some staining in the corners.