#34 George Shuba

#34 George Shuba

5 of 274

1.8% complete

"His Walk About" - Shuba's MLB walk about consisted of 351 games over seven seasons, all with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  He picked up 211 hits while batting .259.  Shuba also saw time in three different World Series with the Dodgers in '52, '53 and won a ring in '55.  He batted .333 in 12 World Series at-bats.

"That's Not a Knife" - The youngest of ten children, Shuba was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1914.  His father had just emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1912.  In 1947 Shuba was with the Dodgers farm club the Montreal Royals.  He was on deck when Jackie Robinson hit his first home run with the Royals, and his handshake with Robinson as he crossed home was picked up by the A.P. and became a symbol of racial tolerance.  

"More of a love bite really..." - This card is really in very nice shape.  I'm not sure what it looked like coming out of the pack in '53, but it couldn't have been too much better looking than it is now.

"Down Under" - Shuba is card number #326 in the 1952 Topps set.  That's another hi-number, and another one that I don't have.  This is another close call, but I'm going go ahead and say that I prefer the original to the sequel.  The 52's hold a 4-1 lead five cards in.

"At the Oscars"

1955 World Series Ring

31st NL MVP Voting '52

#3 George Crowe

 #3 George Crowe

4 of 274

1.4% complete

"His Walk About" - Crowe's MLB walk about lasted 9 season's, and saw him collect 457 hits while batting .270 with 81 home runs.  His best year was 1957 when he hit 31 homers and drove in 92 runs for the Cincinnati Reds.  Named an All-Star in 1958, Crowe never played in a World Series.

"That's Not a Knife" - Born a Hoosier in Whiteland, Indiana, Crowe was the inaugural winner of Indiana's "Mr. Basketball Award" in 1943.  During his time in the Negro League, Crowe also played Professional Basketball for the Los Angles Red Devils, where one of his teammates was Jackie Robinson.   

"More of a love bite really..." - This card's only real scar is the paper-loss on the back.  It's not a huge bit of damage, but it obscures the number enough that I had to "research" to figure out if it was card number 3 or 8.

"Down Under" - Crowe is card number #360 in the 1952 Topps set.  That's a dreaded hi-number, and I don't have it.  As tempted as I am to go with this '53 on the strength of the Yankee Stadium facade in the background, I'm going to give the edge to the '52 original to this '53 sequel.  The 52's hold a 3-1 lead four cards in.

"At the Oscars"

NL All-Star '58

6th NL Home Runs '57 (31)

8th NL RBI's '57 (92)  

8th NL Hit By Pitch '52 (5)

#22 Howie Fox

#22 Howie Fox

3 of 274

1.1% complete

"His Walk About" - Howie's MLB walk about lasted 9 season's, seven with the Reds and one apiece with the Phillies and Orioles to end his career.  Fox tossed 1,108.1 innings and was credited with 43 wins and 72 loses while posting a career of 4.33 ERA.

"That's Not a Knife" - Actually, it was a knife.  Following his last season with Baltimore in '54, the Coburg, Oregon born Fox opened a tavern in San Antonio where he was pitching for a minor league team.  During a disturbance at the bar, Fox was stabbed to death, while trying to eject three men.

"More of a love bite really..." - This card came through it's own walk about in pretty good shape.  There's nothing that pops out too much as far as damage, and I'll happily take 273 more cards just like it.

"Down Under" - Fox is card #209 in 1952 Topps.  My copy is in terrible shape, so that may be influencing my decision, but I'm going to say I like this sequel better than the original.

"At the Oscars"

1949 NL Loss Leader (19)

1949 NL Leader Assists as P (65)

1951 4th NL WAR for Pitchers

1945 NL 4th Games Played

1945 NL 7th in losses

1951 NL 8th in losses

#18 Ted Lepcio

#18 Ted Lepcio

2 of 274

0.7% complete

"His Walk About" - Ted's MLB walk about last 10 season's.  He picked up 512 hits, 69 home runs, and batted .245 over that period of time.  He never saw the post-season.

"That's Not a Knife" - Born Utica, New York, Ted attended Seton Hall.  He was signed by the Red Sox while playing amateur baseball in Oneida, NY, in 1951.  A year later he was in the majors.  He was roommates with Jimmy Piersall on the road, and is credited with often saving Piersall from being beaten up by other teammates in the book "Fear Strikes Out," which chronicles Peirsall's struggle with bi-polar disorder.

"More of a love bite really..." - This card has some pretty rough edges, which I'm quickly discovering to be a common theme among 53's, and decent crease running up about half the length of the card.

"Down Under" - Lepcio is card #335 in 1952 Topps.  That's a hi-number that I don't own.  Going off nothing more than the picture that I've seen of it, I think I prefer the original.

"At the Oscars"

1954 AL Leader in Range Factor/9 inn as 2B

1954 AL Leader in Range Factor/Game as 2B

#9 Joe Collins

#9 Joe Collins

1 of 274

0.3% complete

"His Walk About" - Joe's MLB walk about lasted 10 seasons, all with the Yankees.  Along the way he picked up 596 hits, 86 home runs, and won 5 World Series Rings.  He had 18 hits and 4 home runs in World Series plays.

"That's Not a Knife" - Born in Scranton, PA in 1922, Collins died at the age of 66 in 1989.  In Union Township, NJ there is a park named for Collins and plaque erected in his honor.

"More of a love bite really..." - This card boasts a couple of significant scars, with a small tear along the right edge and some red marks on Joe's face.  They're really not all that distracting, and this copy is perfectly acceptable by my standards.

"Down Under" - Collins is card #202 down in the 1952 set.  I prefer the original to the sequel.

"At the Oscars"

33rd in 1952 AL MVP voting

9th in AL Triples '52

10th in AL Home Runs '53

3rd in Assists for 1B in '54