#236 Dick Ricketts

Dick Ricketts  St. Louis Cardinals

Career: Dick Ricketts (and fellow big leaguer brother Dave) were basketball and baseball stars from Pottstown, Pa. Dick went on to excel in hoops at Duchesne University and was the #1 overall pick in the 1955 NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks. For a few years, Ricketts spread his talents over two pro sports. He pitched in the Cards' chain while also playing in the NBA. Ricketts played three seasons for the Hawks and Royals before turning to baseball fulltime.

Ricketts had a decade-long minor league career as a pitcher in the systems of the Cards and Phils. He made the majors with St. Louis in the middle of 1959 and appeared in a dozen games, nine being starts. He went 1-6 and his other numbers were no better. That six-week run was the extent of his big league career.

In 1960: Ricketts had spent his last days as a major league player at this point. He spent the season with Rochester of the International League, a Cardinals' AAA club. In 30 starts he went 9-13 with an ERA over 4.30 and was pitching his way out of the Cards' organization.

Off The Charts: While his brother Dave was a catcher for the Cardinals, the two were never a battery for the team. In fact, Dave was serving in the military during Dick's brief St. Louis run. But they were both in Rochester with the AAA RedWings in 1957 and 1960. Dave, newly signed and arriving in June of that '57 season, was behind the plate for Dick's near no-hitter on the 12th. In that game, Dick had a two-out, two-strike situation in the ninth when he allowed that one hit. Dave Ricketts reached the majors in 1963.

Wikipedia tells us that "[Dick] Ricketts is one of 13 athletes to play in both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. The 13 are: Danny Ainge, Frank Baumholtz, Gene Conley, Chuck Connors, Michael Jordan, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Groat, Steve Hamilton, Mark Hendrickson, Cotton Nash, Ron Reed, Dick Ricketts and Howie Schultz."

The Card: Dick Ricketts had his rookie baseball card in 1959:

But prior to that, he had a card in the Topps hoops set from 1957:

#293 Gene Conley

Gene Conley  Philadelphia Phillies

Career: A native of Muskogee, Oklahoma Conley won 91 games over the course of 11 seasons with the Braves, Phils and Red Sox. His baseball career was highlighted by winning a ring with the '57 Braves. Paralleling his diamond work Conley played pro hoops with the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks.

In 1960: Coming off an All Star selection in '59 Conley's numbers went in the wrong direction in 1960. He slipped to 8-14 but a lot of that could be traced to the anemic Phils offense. They finished last in the NL in nearly every batting category.

WikiFacts: From Wikipedia....

He is best known for being one of only two people (the other being Otto Graham–1946 NBL and AAFC Championship, plus three more AAFC and three NFL championships) to win championships in two of the four major American sports, one with the Milwaukee Braves in the 1957 World Series and three Boston Celtics championships from 1959–61.

In the beginning of the 1952 season, Conley, along with fellow rookies George Crowe and Eddie Mathews, was invited to spring training with a chance of making the roster. Around that time, the United States Army was drafting for the Korean War. Many major and minor league players were selected to fight in the war, depleting team rosters. Conley was deferred because of his height (6'8'), which was above the Army maximum height for a soldier.

The Card: The main photo doesn't look retouched but the b/w one is obviously Conley in Milwaukee gear. The always fun Season's Highlights section gives plenty of evidence of his All Star 1959 season.