1952 Topps, Carl Erskine

#250 Carl Erskine

For no apparent reason, I haven't posted a card on here for two weeks. It is Christmas time and my weekends off have been dealing with shopping and whatnot. Plus, we finally got our house a puppy last week. But, for whatever reason, I haven't felt like posting much lately, which is a shame because I have got a few '50s cards to show off and those are really hard to beat. So, I made time tonight to feature one last 1952 Topps card. This is now the sixth '52 that I have got signed and I got it through the mail two months ago. It took me a whole nine days to get back. If I am going to make it to nine signed cards from this set, I am going to have to purchase the remaining three signed cards.

This is only the second card of Carl that I have posted on here and it has been nearly eleven and a half years since I posted the first one. I originally posted a '55 Bowman of Carl way back in the first month of this blog. I got that card signed at a Brooklyn Cyclones game and it was a blast getting (at that point) my oldest signed card autographed in-person. Since then, I have added three more signed cards of him to my collection and even one to my son's, all through the mail. In fact, the next card that I have to post on here is one of Oisk.

In that first post many moons ago, I mentioned nothing of Carl's playing career. Back then, it was all about how I got the card signed. But, Oisk had great career, all spent with the Dodgers. He suited up for them for twelve seasons and got to call Brooklyn and Los Angeles home. He finished his career with a 122-78 record with 13 saves and a 4.00 ERA. He made one All Star team and pitched in five World Series, winning it all in 1955.

1952 Topps, Howie Judson

#169 Howie Judson

Here is another recent through the mail success of mine. I sent this card to Howie in September and I had it back two weeks later.

Howie pitched in the Majors for seven seasons with the White Sox and Redlegs. He both started and relieved, but spent the majority of his career coming out of the bullpen. Over his career, he went 17-37 with 14 saves and a 4.29 ERA. I didn't even realize they tracked saves in the '40s.

It is so odd to me to see the strikeout and walk numbers from guys that played in Howie's era. Just like Carl Sheib, Howie finished his career with more walks than strikeouts. He walked 319 batters while just striking out 204 over 615 innings of work. That is good for a about three K's per nine innings of work. Nowadays, a pitcher with that kind of K/9 wouldn't even sniff the Majors, especially as a reliever. It is crazy how the game changes.

I noticed that Howie and Eddie Robinson, who are both pictured with the Sox in this set, are rocking two different hats. According to Dressed to the Nines, this hat was last used in 1945. The hat Eddie is wearing was last used in 1950. I wonder how accurate that site is as Howie didn't make it to the Majors until 1948.

1952 Topps, Irv Noren

#40 Irv Noren

Next up in the '52 Topps procession is this beautiful looking horizontal card of Irv Noren. I sent this card, along with ten bucks, to Irv in October and I had it back two weeks later. Sadly, Irv passed away three weeks after I got the card back.

Irv played in the Majors for eleven seasons with the Senators, Yankees, A's, Cardinals, Cubs, and Dodgers. Over that time, he was a .275 hitter with 65 home runs and 453 RBI. His best season was probably his rookie campaign in Washington. That year, he hit .295 with career-highs in homers (14) and RBI (98). Despite those impressive numbers, Irv did not receive a single vote for Rookie of the Year. Four years later, with the Yankees, Irv would get his lone All Star team nomination in a season in which he finished with a .319 average, 14 homers, and 66 RBI.

Irv appeared in three World Series as a Yankee, all against the Dodgers. The Yanks triumphed in two of the three and Irv hit .148 in eleven World Series games. He was also a member of the Yankees 1956 championship team, but missed most of the season and the Series to injuries.

Irv played in three NBA games in 1946 with the Chicago American Gears.