#67 Joe Ginsberg

New York-born Joe Ginsberg was raised in Detroit and signed with the Tigers in 1944 at the age of 17. He soon found himself in the Army and playing service ball in the Philippines. After WWII he returned to the Tigers and debuted with them with a ten-game trial late in the 1948 season.

In 1950 he made the team for good and went on to spend thirteen seasons in the majors with seven different clubs. Except for a couple of years as the lead backstop in a platoon situation for Detroit, he played mostly as a backup catcher.

Ginsberg played his last big league game as an Original Met in 1962. He started their home opener in the Polo Grounds but mostly sat on the bench after that as was released around the first of May. He had a brief whirl in the minors later that season but soon retired to work as a sales rep for the Jack Daniels distillery.

He died in 2012 at the age of 86.

#57 Tim Thompson

Tim Thompson was a US Navy vet who signed with the Dodgers in 1947 and hit well in the minors. His problem was that, in 1949 and 1950 as he was probably ready to make the big league club (he batted .293 in '49), he was roadblocked by some guy named Roy Campanella.

Thompson got a taste of the big leagues in 1954 and was finally, after half a decade of waiting patiently at the AAA level, dealt to the A's on the eve of the 1956 season. He spent two years as a platoon catcher in Kansas City, a handful of games with the '58 Tigers, and a couple more minor league seasons before retiring from the ballfield. Over his 14-year minor league career, he had a .293 batting average.

He went on to a long career as a minor league coach, scout, and head of scouting for the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Orioles. He is credited as being the first NL backstop to wear glasses while playing. I like how much the cartoon depiction resembles him.

#46 Lou Sleater

It's kind of cool that lefty hurler Lou Sleater's life paralleled his career. He was born in St Louis and made his debut with the Browns but he was raised in Baltimore and finished his career with the Orioles.

Along the way, he pitched for just about every team this side of the House of David. He threw a knuckleball and his biggest claim to fame is probably the fact that he was the guy who stopped Walt Dropo's streak of 12 consecutive hits when he struck out the big first baseman in July of 1952. Here is Sleater's baseball journey, based on the teams and organizations he toiled for:

Boston Braves->Chicago Cubs->New York Giants->St. Louis Browns-> Washington Senators->New York Yankees->Kansas City Athletics->Milwaukee Braves->Detroit Tigers->Baltimore Orioles.

At one time or another, he was signed, released, traded, waived, purchased and drafted. Overall he pitched for seven seasons and won 12 games. His busiest time was in  '51-'52 when he totaled 19 starts for the Browns and Senators. He wasn't a bad hitter, either. In 1957 he had three homers for the Tigers and hit over .200 for his career. 

#40 George Kell

Hall of Famer George Kell was a ten-time All-Star who played 15 big league seasons. He played about half his career with the Tigers and the rest with the Phils A's (his first club), the White Sox, Red Sox and, finally, the Orioles in 1956/57. He won the AL batting crown (.343) in 1949 by a whisper over Ted Williams. But his best year came right after that. In 1950 he hit .340, led the league in hits (218) and doubles (56) and drove in 101 runs with only eight dingers.

Kell finished his career with a .306 batting average and was a pretty slick glove guy as well. He led the AL third basemen in fielding on seven occasions and in assists four times. He was the Orioles regular at 3rd before the spot was claimed by Brooks Robinson. In Kell's final season, 1957, he hit .297 in 345 at bats.

After he retired as a player he opened a car dealership (still open in Arkansas) and was a popular broadcaster for the Tigers for 37 seasons. He was elected to the Hall by the Veterans' Committee in 1983.

#32 J.W. Porter

J.W. Porter (the J.W. doesn't stand for anything, btw) had already been traded to Cleveland when this 1st Series card was issued in 1958. Porter was a hotshot baseball prospect who signed a contract with the Browns in 1951. On a side note...the scout that nabbed Porter spotted Frank Robinson in the same games and signed him to a smaller bonus(!).

Porter played for several clubs as a catcher and general utility guy through the 1959 season, never getting more than 140 at-bats. In a way, his career came 'full circle' when he finished it in the same city he had started it in, St. Louis. But his second stint in the Gateway City came with the Cardinals.

After his playing days, he managed in the minors. Here is a great mini-interview, and some cool pics, published in November by a site devoted to catchers.

#23 Bill Tuttle

Bill Tuttle played fourteen seasons as a big league centerfielder, primarily with the Tigers and Athletics. His hitting was run-of-the-mill but his speed, glovework and throwing arm stood out and kept him in the lineup even in an age of big sluggers.

Two things I always think of when I hear his name...the fact that he never seemed to smile on any of his cards and that he always had that big chaw of tobacco in his cheek.  That chewing habit ended up killing him through mouth and throat cancer. But in his later life, he used his own medical issues to help stem the use of the products that eventually ended his life. This page tells his story and a few others.

I always like card backs with cartoons showing players engaged in other sports. Tuttle's card references his days as a college hoops star at Bradley.

#13 Billy Hoeft

Billy Hoeft pitched for numerous clubs over a 15 year period. The high water mark came in 1955 when he was 16-7 with a sterling 2.99 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He made his only All-Star team that year.

He had 20 wins the following year but his other numbers dropped off and show the error of basing one's evaluation of pitching on wins. (Guilty as charged). He had an outstanding year for the Orioles in 1961 as a swingman making 12 starts among 35 appearances. He had a 2.01 ERA and a 1.167 WHIP. 

In September of 1953, he became the ninth pitcher in history to record an 'immaculate inning'...three strikeouts on nine pitches. The game has changed a bit since as this occurred eight times in 2017 alone. 

The best thing about the back of the card is Topps referring to the Tigers as the 'Bengals'. When I hear that I think of sitting on our front steps and scanning old Sporting News headlines on Saturday afternoons as a kid. Old school.

#70 Al Kaline

The impossibly youthful-looking Al Kaline was in the fifth full season of his Hall of Fame career in 1958. He was still just 23 years old. Here is the list of career accomplishments found on Kaline's BR Bullpen Wiki page:

Notable Achievements:
15-time AL All-Star (1955-1967, 1971 & 1974)
10-time Gold Glove Winner (1957/ML-RF, 1958/AL-RF, 1959/AL-CF & 1961-1967/AL-OF)
AL Batting Average Leader (1955)
AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1959)
AL OPS Leader (1959)
AL Hits Leader (1955)
AL Total Bases Leader (1955)
AL Doubles Leader (1961)
20-Home Run Seasons: 9 (1955-1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967 & 1969)
100 RBI Seasons: 3 (1955, 1956 & 1963)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1955 & 1961)
200 Hits Seasons: 1 (1955)
Won a World Series with the Detroit Tigers in 1968
Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1980

And with all that Kaline has always seemingly been a gentleman of the highest order. He won the very first Roberto Clemente Award.

In the year this card was issued Kaline's power production took a slight dip, falling from 23 homers to 18. And his RBIs were down a bit but he hit .313 and made the AL All Star team. He entered the game in left field as a sub for Ted Williams in the ninth inning.

This is a decent card in terms of condition, about average for the star cards I've put together for this set build. Like me and Babe Ruth, Kaline was born in Baltimore. I'm third in that trio when it comes to career numbers.

#185 Ray Boone

Ray Boone, father of one big leaguer and grandfather of two more, began his pro career in 1942 with a productive season in the Indians' chain. He then spent three years in the military and the same in the minors on his return before getting a shot in Cleveland in 1948.

He took over as the Indians third baseman in '49 and held that job until he was traded to Detroit in 1953. It's not often that a guy traded in June ends up with a Top Ten MVP finish but Boone slashed 26/114/.296/.390 that season. With the Tigers he had some outstanding seasons including 1955 when he led the league with 116 RBI. he made the AL All Star team in '54 and '56.

In June of 1958 Boone was traded by the Detroit Tigers with Bob Shaw to the Chicago White Sox for Bill Fischer and Tito Francona. He was hitting just .237 at that point and the trade to Chicago didn't help improve that much. He finished at .242 with 13 homers. That trade was just the first of three straight 'in-season' deals he was a part of. He bounced to Milwaukee and Boston before retirement after the 1960 season.

This card has a couple of fun cartoons on the back and gets bonus points for the red background. It was part of my original lot purchase. A second copy I bought that looked nice in an eBay picture (better corners, nicer color) turned out not to be in lesser condition so this one remains in the binder.

#365 Tom Morgan

For a relatively unknown guy Tom Morgan had a very serviceable career. He pitched for 12 seasons from 1951 through 1962 and finished with a 67-47 record and a 3.61 ERA for five different AL clubs.

He began as a starter in the Yankees system in 1949 and had a very impressive two plus seasons which earned him a call-up to a stacked Yankees staff. Over the next five seasons in the Bronx he pitched very well as he spent a year in the military and was transitioned into a reliever. He pitched in three World Series in pinstripes, winning two rings. He lost his only Series decision in Game Two of the 1956 Classic versus the Dodgers. In a wild 12-6 Dodger win Morgan was knocked around in two innings of middle relief. But also in that game he got a hit (and score a run) in his only career World Series at bat so he will forever hold a 1.000 post-season batting average.

With a drop off in his numbers in '56 the Yanks dealt him to the Athletics for 1957 and he was moved to Detroit as part of a 12 player deal a year later. He went on to pitch for the Senators and Angels until 1963. He was so effective out of the pen for LA in 1961 (8-2 2.36 10 saves) that he earned some MVP votes.

In 1958 Morgan served as a middle reliever for the Tigers. His 2-8 record doesn't reflect his otherwise solid statistics.

I love pink cards and this set has 'em. Morgan is wearing what surely is his Yankee uni with an airbrushed cap.

Below I have a Morgan montage. I've snipped his '52, '58 and '53 Topps cards. I think are all variations of the same original photo. Anyone want to weigh in?

#304 Tigers' Big Bats

Two of the better hitters in the American League for the decade of the Fifties grace this special. Al Kaline is of course an all-time great.

But Harvey Kuenn is often lost in the conversation but he was an All Star for eight consecutive seasons beginning with his Rookie of the Year 1953 campaign.

I love knowing where card photos were taken but this one had me a bit bewildered. These are Tigers road unis of the era. I knew that the lack of bunting meant it wasn't an All Star game. So I searched through all the vintage shots of AL parks I have saved. The 'windows' looked a bit like those in Fenway but the girders didn't match.

I finally came up with these two pics that I'm sure were from the same photo shoot. Note the fact that Kuenn is wearing a collared jacket under his jersey in all these as well as on the card:

I finally dug around Getty images long enough to find this entry for one of the same shots. If the link doesn't work I'm posting the cut line:

LAKELAND, FL - 1950's: (L to R) Infielder Harvey Kuenn and outfielder Al Kaline, of the Detroit Tigers pose for a portrait in the dugout during Spring Training during the 1950's in Lakeland, Florida. (Photo by: Kidwiler Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)

So there ya go. Joker Marchant Field in beautiful Lakeland. It makes sense because the background sort of looks as if it's not a full fledged big league park. Why they are wearing road unis is anyone's guess. I was there a couple of springs ago and thought it was a wonderful old park. I bought the best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had at a kiosk behind the third base stands. Guy also sold made-from-scratch tomato soup. Said he sold out every game no matter how warm the weather got. I believed him.

I'm glad I solved this. At my age it's the little things that mean a lot. I'm passing on a spring training trip this year although the invite to the opening of the new Nats/Astros complex in West Palm Beach was mighty tempting. I'll head over there next year I hope.

And no, I don't know who 'Ray Tisler' is! Look at the scan of the card back to see what I'm talking about. I actually found a guy by that name in a White Pages search who's age would be about right. I was tempted to call him and ask him if he remembers stamping 1958 Topps cards with his name. But I figured that would be kind of awkward.

EDIT:
In a comment Jon points out how young Kaline looks on this card. Assuming it was taken in 1957 he was 22 years old. But he could pass for a high schooler. Kuenn OTOH would be 26. He looks 35. Must be the tobacco chaw. 

#107 Ozzie Virgil

By the time this card was being pulled from Topps packs in 1958 Ozzie Virgil was a member of the Detroit Tigers. He'd been dealt to Detroit in January. His '56/'57 stint with the New York Giants was his first of two as he cycled back to the team in 1966. He had a final at bat for them in 1969. During his career he made numerous trips back and forth between the big leagues and the minors.

In nine scattered big league seasons he played every infield position, the outfield and even did some catching. Along the way Virgil also played for the A's and Pirates as well as a one plate appearance for the Orioles in 1962. That was news to me! He also spent time in the Senators and Braves' systems.

In 1958 he got about 200 at bats for the Tigers and hit .244 which was a career high.

His son, also named Ozzie, was a two time All Star catcher during the 1980s.