Gambo and T_Wil1 Photopack

[BklynJace]

Not a lot of good color shots of Labine with the '62 Mets, so I snapped this one up from eBay seller budsportscardsfl.

[Merkle923]

With only five major league games under his belt, the late Walter (Billy) Pierce was a member of a World's Championship team - the 1945 Detroit Tigers. He didn't pitch in the seven-game victory over the Cubs, but he could have. And though his major league career would stretch through 1964 as ten franchises moved or were created, he'd never be on another Series winner (though twice he was on losing teams, in 1959 and 1962).

Pierce's career accomplishments seem to have slipped through the cracks. His WAR of 53.2 puts him ahead of such Hall of Fame pitchers with careers of similar length like Chief Bender, Burleigh Grimes, and Waite Hoyt. He started three All-Star Games (in a four-year span, no less), and won in double figures thirteen times in a 14-year stretch.

But Pierce's finest hour has been almost completely erased from history because we have such spotty memories of the special playoffs that used to decide ties for the National League pennant. In 1962, Pierce almost personally put the Giants in the World Series. After the Giants tied the Dodgers in the last days of the regular season, Pierce promptly three-hit Los Angeles in the first playoff game at Candlestick Park. Two days later, after the infamous Stan Williams meltdown gave the Giants four runs in the ninth and a 6-4 lead in the third and decisive game at Dodger Stadium, it was Pierce to whom the Giants turned to punch the World Series ticket. He retired Maury Wills, Jim Gilliam, and Lee Walls in order.

10 innings of three-hit ball, a complete game win and a save, in a best two-out-of-three playoff series, for the Giants over the Dodgers? If that happened this October, Billy Pierce would have gotten himself a TV Truck Commercial.

The following two images are so seldom seen, that the eBay seller I got them from didn't know what they were. The first shows Pierce congratulated by his teammates after the shutout in Game One of the special '62 playoffs (he's in the middle, just getting his jacket on), and the second shows him as he left the field after putting the Giants in the World Series in Game Three.

[cheech411]

dyar miller mets has a 1982 fleer needs a good scan of that card anything color scan would be nice harry spilman reds tv THANKS

[FatJack]

Louis Dormand postcard (circa '53-'55)

[KenRaffensberger16]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

But Pierce's finest hour has been almost completely erased from history because we have such spotty memories of the special playoffs that used to decide ties for the National League pennant. In 1962, Pierce almost personally put the Giants in the World Series.

The 1962 Three-game Giants vs. Dodgers playoff series:


Game One: Pierce gets a Complete Game Win over Sandy Koufax.
Game Three: Pierce gets the Save in the pennant-deciding game.


You can't get much better and more clutch than that!


At the start of his career Pierce was signed to start his pro career by the Tigers shortly after going to New York to play in a high school all-star game. A high school all-star teammate of Pierce (also signed shortly afterwards) was Richie Ashburn..

[rico43]

Here are a few Topps archives:

[tnfoto]

Originally Posted by cheech411

dyar miller mets has a 1982 fleer needs a good scan of that card anything color scan would be nice harry spilman reds tv THANKS

Here are a few Miller/Mets options. TV Spilman can be found here and here.

[bobb49]

Two more with the Giants

[cheech411]

[ATTACH][/ATTACH] from e bay

[KenRaffensberger16]

By 1954, Billy Pierce had already
been an all-star once and his best
years still lay ahead of him
.

[Merkle923]

Here's my "namesake" in an image taken by the famous Horner Studios in Boston, in 1907 or 1908.

Merkle, of course, is the victim of the greatest oversimplification in baseball history, to say nothing of the last guy who had the rules changed on him in the middle of a game.

[Amazin69]

From 1951, I'm guessing, because of the sleeve patch. Brightened to show the face.

[cinemaodyssey]

Pierce is one of my favorites for eventual enshrinement in the HOF. He definitely was one of the top pitchers in the 1950s and his numbers match up well with guys like Bob Lemon and Early Wynn.

[rico43]

In trying up a couple of threads, one of which we thought was gone, a couple of lingering problems need to be handed over to the supreme court, as it were.

This image, GC 228, is paired with a reverse image, and run close to a couple of images of a very similar looking guy, Padres minor leaguer, John McAllen, who in turn was next to another obscure Padre farmhand, Galen McFadden. There is nothing we can find that shows McAllen ever went to camp with the Angels. So...help, please.



This one, GA 724, has simply been overlooked. Merkle wrote about a whole bunch of these shots of LA caps and Spokane jerseys, so I am hopeful he can pin down this gentleman.



Here's another Dodger I know I should know, from BC 652 ...



And the last two from Folder EM ... EM 651 ...



and ... EM 657 ... These few should close out 3 Folders! THANKS

[KenRaffensberger16]

Can members post photos of Mike Hessman, the new career minor league home runs champ (433 home runs) and post photos of the man whose record he broke Buzz Arlett (432 HRs). Hessman's record-breaking HR came yesterday for Detroit Tigers' AAA affiliate, Toledo..
Hessman has played five partial seasons in the majors (2003-2004 Atlanta; 2007-2008 Detroit; 2010 NY Mets. where hit hit .188 with 14 home runs. He spent all or part of 19 of the last 20 seasons in the Minor leagues: 1996-2010 & 2012-2015; with 2011 in the Japanese Lgs.
Hessman is 37 and has been in pro ball since he was 18 and plays 1B, 3B and OF..


Arlett was a 1B/OF and played in the minors 17 years, 1918-1925; 1928-1930; & 1932-1937.(Apparently he was out of pro ball in 1926 & 1927). He played one full season in the majors with the 1931 Phillies where he hit well (131 hits in 121 games, with 18 HR, 72 RBI, and a .313 batting average. I'm guessing he was an atrocious fielder if he could hit like that, but couldn't stay in the big leagues.

[Merkle923]

A two-game veteran of the Brewers a scant 41 seasons ago, just posted by Topps Vault.

[Merkle923]

The man who was on both last-year Washington Senators, shown in the uniform of the second of them in 1971.

[Merkle923]

At the end, with the '72 A's.

[Merkle923]

From the top:

The Angel is Tom Chevolek
The Dodger in the Spokane shirt is Gus Sposito
The capless Dodger is Carl Erskine
The Phillie is Ted Kazanski
The Oriole - I'm not 100% on this - appears to be Arnold Portocarerro.

[FatJack]

Not that you can't find an image of Milner. But, here, he's wearing a number in the high eighties. Looks like it might even be 89. Nowadays, people get cute with numbers (Turk Wendell wore #99, for example). Back in the day, if you had #89, that meant there was no way you were making the team. "Consider yourself lucky to even be hanging out with us, Rook."