#21 Billy Johnson

#21 Billy Johnson

78 of 274

28.5% complete

"His Walk About" - Billy Johnson was named to his only All-Star team in 1947 as a member of the New York Yankees when he batted .285 and drove in 95 runs.  Johnson spent parts of 7 of his 9 MLB seasons as Yankee (winning four World Series Rings) before retiring with the Cardinals following the '53 season.  He finished with 882 career hits and as a .271 hitter

"That's Not a Knife" - It's the last surviving member of the 1943 World Champion New York Yankees.  Johnson worked as a shipping supervisor in Augusta, Georgia following his playing days.  When he passed in 2006 he was the last living member of the '43 Yankees. 

"More of a love bite really..." - The corner on the lower right is a little dinged, but this card is otherwise more or less flawless as far as I can tell.

"Down Under" - Johnson is card #83 in the 1952 set. Typically I prefer the quasi "action" shot like the one on Johnson's '52 to the generic portrait like on his '53, but in this instance I prefer the '53.   I find the coloring on the '52 a bit odd.  That stretches the '53 set's lead to 28-25-7.

"At the Oscars"

All-Star ('47)

4x World Series Champion

Led AL in Games '43

4th AL MVP Voting '43

3rd AL RBI's '43

5th AL RBI's '47

5th AL Hits '43

10th AL Triples '47

 

#218 Les Fusselman

#218 Les Fusselman

73 of 274

26.6% complete

"His Walk About" - In his two big league seasons Les appeared in 43 games, all with the Cardinals, in 1952 and 1953.  He had 12 hits and one home run while batting .169 as a hitter. 

"That's Not a Knife" - It's a 31 year old rookie.  Fusselman spent a decade, seven years in the minors and three in WWII, before making his debut with the Cardinals in 1952.

"More of a love bite really..." - The corners are bit soft, and the card may be slightly off-centered vertically, but it's in more than acceptable shape.

"Down Under" - Les is card #378 in the 1952 set.  That's another high number that I don't own.  These cards are nearly identical, but if I have to make a choice, I slightly prefer the '52.  They're both pretty forgettable, though I'm sure the Fussleman family was pretty stoked that his 43 games in two seasons resulted in two Topps cards.  That cuts the '53 set's lead down to 25-23-7.

"At the Oscars"

*Signed as a Free Agent by the Cardinals prior to 1942 season

(Not much to work with here)

#193 Mike Clark

#193 Mike Clark

56 of 274

20.4% complete

"His Walk About" - Clark labored for seventeen seasons in the minors, but "only" played for two seasons in the majors  ("only" feels like a silly word to use when describing anyone's major league career). Clark finally made his debut at the age of 30 for the Cardinals in 1952.  During '52 and '53 he'd appear in 35 games and make 6 starts.  He posted a career record of 3-0 and recorded a save while posting a 5.31 ERA.

"That's Not a Knife" - It's two decades in the minor leagues.  Clark played in the minors from 1940 to 1959 (with three years missed to military service).  Depending on where you look he won somewhere between 159 and 162 games in the minors.

"More of a love bite really..." - This card is significantly off-centered, to the point that it almost effects the text on the back.  I also wouldn't be shocked to learn that it may have been trimmed at somepoint, though I'm not sure why anyone would make the effort to "improve" an off-centered Mike Clark card.  More likely, I'm just not used to seeing sharp corners on these cards and it looks unnatural to my eye.

"Down Under" - Clark doesn't have a card in the '52 set. That keeps the '53 set's lead at 25-18-7.

"At the Oscars"

9th on Cardinals in games as a pitcher in '52

(There wasn't much to go with)

#190 Dixie Walker

#190 Dixie Walker

55 of 274

20.1% complete

"His Walk About" - Dixie hit .306 and collected 2,064 hits over the course of 18 MLB seasons split between five different clubs.  He spent 9 years as a Brooklyn Dodger, 5 seasons as a Yankee and also did stints with the White Sox, Tigers, and Pirates.  You may notice this card of him as a Cardinal is as a "Coach," as Dixie retired following the 1949 season.  A 5x All-Star as a member of the Dodgers, Dixie recieved MVP votes in seven different seasons, finishing as high as 3rd (1944) and 2nd (1946).

"That's Not a Knife" - It's a guy from Alabama nicked named "Dixie" petitioning to keep Jackie Robinson from integrating baseball.  That's one way to ruin what would otherwise be a pretty decent legacy as a player.

"More of a love bite really..." - This card is slightly off-centered and has some well rounded corners, but no major flaws.  It's a perfectly acceptable copy.

"Down Under" - Walker is not featured in the '52 set. That keeps the '53 set's lead at 25-18-6.

"At the Oscars"

5x All-Star

NL Batting Champion '44

NL RBI Champion '45

Led NL Triples '37

2nd NL MVP Voting '46

3rd NL MVP Voting '44

6th NL MVP Voting '40

3rd NL Batting Avg. '46

6th NL Batting Avg. 48

2nd NL RBI's '46

2nd NL Hits '46

4th NL Hits '44

5th NL Hits '45

7th NL Home Runs '33

#172 Rip Repulski

#172 Rip Repulski

52 of 274

19% complete

"His Walk About" - A .269 hitter over the course of nine MLB seasons, Rip collected 830 hits, 106 home runs and made an all-star team before hanging up his cleats in 1961.  A journey man, Rip split his time with four clubs spending his first four seasons with the Cardinals, then two with the Phillies and a parts of two each with the Dodgers and Red Sox.  His first five seasons were his best, as he averaged 17 home runs a year from 1953-57 and made his only All-Star team.

"That's Not a Knife" - It's a foul pop up to the catcher.  Rip, in what would be his only All-Star game appearance in 1956 with the Cardinals, faced Whitey Ford and was retired on a foul pop up to the catcher. Still, there are worse stories to tell than the time you faced Whitey Ford in an All-Star game, regardless of the result.

"More of a love bite really..." - This card has some serious edge wear, and not just at the corners, as well as a sort of over-all dirty look to it.  The scans don't show it, but there's also a good amount of creasing.  I'm not complaining, but I'm not going to sit here and insists it's in beautiful condition either

"Down Under" - Rip has no card in the 1952 set.  He was a rookie in '53 and was probably lucky to be included in this set given his lack of major league experience.  That keeps the score at 24-18-4 in favor of the 53's.

"At the Oscars"

All-Star '56

World Series Ring '59

4th NL Rookie of the Year '53

2nd NL Doubles '54

10th NL Runs Scored '54