Sunday, October 11, 2015

Monte Irvin, Harry Byrd, Art Schult and Andy Carey Purchases

Also picked up these four: #62 Monte Irvin, #131 Harry Byrd, #167 Art Schult and #188 Andy Carey.

Irvin was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973, the first year that Negro Leaguers were considered. Byrd was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1952.  He won 15 games that year, which was about a third of his career wins total.  Considering the Philadelphia Athletics were a solidly second division team by then, they had a considerable amount of talent; Byrd, 1952 MVP Bobby Shantz, and All-Stars in Eddie Robinson, Gus Zernial and Ferris Fain.  Schult and Carey were both backups on the Yankees for several years and combined won three World Series with them.

These pickups bring me to 151/274 (55.11 %).  This might be it for a while, at least until I can pick up some more shifts and reload.  Since August alone, I've spent almost $2,000 on this project, so I need to take a breather.

Johnny Wyrostek, Clint Courtney, Dixie Walker and Harvey Haddix Purchases

It has been a long time since my last update.  Midterms start this week, and I've been chasing my tail for a lot of the last few weeks.  I've also been busy with several new purchases, of #79 Johnny Wyrostek, #127 Clint Courtney, #190 Dixie Walker and #273 Harvey Haddix.  
Wyrostek was a two time All-Star, and one of the tougher cards.  This was the second Wyrostek I've seen, and I am glad to report that I got it cheaper than the other one.  Courtney had a long running feud with Billy Martin that culminated in the two of them beating the crap out of each other under the bleachers at Sportsman's Park.  Walker was the ringleader of the Brooklyn Dodgers who demanded to be traded instead of playing with a black man.  When not circulating racist petitions, Walker was a five time All-Star who won a batting title in 1944.  He is the only man who was a teammate of both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.  Haddix went on to pitch a 12 inning perfect game that was ruined in the 13th inning.  This was his rookie card.

Edit: Walker is the only man to be teammates with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson.