#45 Grady Hatton

#45 Grady Hatton

89 of 274

32.5% complete

"His Walk About" - Grady spent parts of 9 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.  He appeared in a total of 12 seasons, suiting up for the Red Sox, Cubs, Orioles, White Sox, and Cardinals over his final 3.5 years in the league.  He retired with 1,068 hits, 91 homers, and a .254 career average, but was known primarily for his glove.  In 1952 he made his only All-Star team despite batting a meager .212, well below his career average.

"That's Not a Knife" - It's a lot of ties to Texas.  Hatton was born in Beaumont, Texas in 1922, attended the University of Texas, and managed minor league teams in Houston and San Antonio after he retired.  Prior to the 1966 season he was named manager of the Houston Astros while also holding the titles of club Vice-President and Co-General Manager.  

"More of a love bite really..." - The corners long ago lost their points, but I don't see any thing else to complain about.

"Down Under" - Hatton is card #6 in the 1952 set. This is a rare instance where I prefer the "boring" yearbook photo to the semi-action shot.  I don't know, I guess the artist won me over with the water tower and other background flair on the '53.  As a side note, the backgrounds on the 53's are all artistic liberties, and many of them repeat.  There are also a lot of "Topps" billboard ads sprinkled in the backgrounds of the cards. That extends the '53 set's lead to 35-29-7.

"At the Oscars"

1.6% Hall of Fame Vote '66

NL All-Star '52

3rd NL Doubles '49

6th NL Triples '47

7th NL Home Runs '46