1951 Back-O'-The-Card: Yankees Minor Leaguers

KANSAS CITY BLUES

GEORGE SELKIRK (Manager)

"George Selkirk, Yankees, a Canadian by birth, drew the unenviable task of replacing Babe Ruth when the latter finished his  Yankee career in 1934 and went to join the Boston Braves. Although he fell short of equaling the great slugging feats of the immortal Bam, he hit the respectable figure of .312 in his first year as a major league regular and, with Ben Chapman and Roy Johnson, gives the Yankees a heavy-hitting, sharp fielding outfield and restores some of the old glory of 'Murderers Row,' as the batting order of the club was known when Combs, Koenig, Ruth, Gehrig, Meusel and Lazzeri made up the leading end of the list."

-Austen Lake, Boston American (1936 National Chicle Diamond Stars No. 88) 

"Born in Huntsville, Ontario, on January 4, 1908, George bats left and throws right. He is of Scotch-Irish extraction.

George batted .355 for Newark in 1934. His career [highlight] came one afternoon in 1935 when he blasted in eight runs against the Athletics."

-1936 World Wide Gum No. 11

"The only Canadian in the Big Leagues, George was born in Huntsville, Ontario, January 4, 1908. He played professional ball in the Eastern League in 1927. He was brought to New York in 1934 to replace Babe Ruth.

His batting average for three years is .310. George played in the 1936 World Series, where he had a very fine average of .333.

George throws right and bats left. He is six feet tall and weighs 182 pounds."

-1937 O-Pee-Chee Batter Ups No. 108

"George Selkirk was given the task of filling the right field position for the New York Yankees when Babe Ruth left. Even though not the home run hitter the Babe was, he accounts for many of the Yankee runs, being a consistent hitter.

He started his baseball career with Rochester of the International League in 1927. After seven years of playing with minor league clubs, Selkirk was acquired by the Yankees in 1934 and since being with them has batted below .300 only one year. He has taken part in three World Series, batting .333 in 1936. His five-year major league record shows that he has taken part in 488 games, getting 329 hits for a batting average of .302."

-1939 Play Ball No. 26

"After a dismal year in 1938, George Selkirk made a brilliant comeback last year. He batted .306, drove in 100 runs, scored 103, and poled out 21 homers. His fielding percentage of .989 was tops among the regular outfielders in the league.

This is Selkirk's seventh year with the Yankees and in that time he has compiled a batting average of .303. Selkirk is one of the fastest outfielders in the league and he carries his speed to the basepaths as well. He stole 12 bases last year.

His greatest feat was hitting five homers in four consecutive games in August 1938."

-1940 Play Ball No. 8

ROY PARTEE

"After four seasons of minor league ball, Roy hit the majors with the Boston Red Sox in 1943, when he caught 96 games and hit .281. In 1946, after returning from a year of military service, he batted .315 for the Bosox.

After the 1947 season, Roy was traded to the St. Louis Browns in the deal that brought Vern Stephens and Jack Kramer to Boston. He'll spend the 1949 season as a Yankee."

-1949 Bowman No. 149

HANK WYSE

"In only his second big league season, Hank emerged as the top winner on the Cubs' staff in 1944. Used primarily as a starter after spending most of his rookie season in the bullpen, Hank posted a 16-15 record with a 3.15 ERA in 41 games. He gave up more hits (277) than any other pitcher in the National League but his 257 1/3 innings pitched ranked among the league leaders. Hank also demonstrated pinpoint control by walking only 57 batters.

Hank gave an inkling of things to come in his rookie campaign of 1943 when he posted a 9-7 record with a 2.94 ERA and five saves."

-1944 Play Ball No. 34 (1983 TCMA)

"Hank is having his second fling at the majors and his first in the American League. He entered baseball in 1940 and came up to the Cubs at the end of the 1942 season. He remained with the Baby Bruins through 1947, then spent some in the minors.
With the Philadelphia Athletics in 1950, Hank won 9, lost 14. He began 1951 with the A's but was switched on May 16 to the Washington Senators."

-1951 Bowman No. 192 (Bowman Gum, Inc.)

SAN FRANCISCO SEALS

LEFTY O'DOUL (Manager)

"Long-distance hitters like O'Doul know the value of powerful wrists, which give the ball the last extra ounce of drive that sends it over the fence. Many boys who begin with weak wrists develop into strong hitters by constant exercise. One method practiced by major league players is to carry small rubber balls in each side pocket (handballs usually) which they continually squeeze as they sit in their hotel rooms or walk along the streets. In time this exercise develops the wrists to the proper degree of strength and allows them to swing a bat with increasing force."

-Austen Lake, Baseball Editor, Boston Transcript (1933 DeLong No. 10)

"Lefty twice led the National League in batting, in 1929 and 1932. Last year he hit .368 in 148 games.

He first came to the Big League with the Yankees as a pitcher. He failed to make the grade and was sent back to the minors. Lefty won a berth with the Giants in 1928 as an outfielder, was traded to the Phillies the next year and joined Brooklyn in 1931.

Born in San Francisco in 1897, Lefty is six feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. He bats and throws left-handed.

Last winter O'Doul went to Japan and taught batting to the University of Tokyo players. He likes to play golf and does it well."

-1933 Goudey No. 58

"O'Doul appeared in only one game of the 1933 World Series, pinch-hitting in the 6th inning of the second game, but his hit drove in the first two Giant runs to give his team a 2 to 1 lead. The Giants scored six runs in this inning and won the game 6 to 1.

O'Doul was secured by the Giants from the Brooklyn Dodgers during the season of 1933. He is 36 years old, an outfielder, six feet tall, bats and throws left-handed and weighs 180 pounds.

O'Doul led the National League in batting in 1929 and 1932."

-1933 Goudey No. 232

EDDIE LAKE

"Eddie first hit the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals at the end of the 1939 season. He spent parts of 1940 and 1941 with the Cards and then was with Sacramento in 1942.

The next three seasons were spent with the Red Sox. He was traded to the Tigers for the 1946 season. Last season he hit .263 in 64 games with the Tigers."

-1949 Bowman No. 107

"Eddie began in organized baseball in 1937. He first struck the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals at the end of the 1939 season and spent parts of 1940 and 1941 with the Cards.

He was with Sacramento in 1942, then came three seasons with the Red Sox. He was traded to the Tigers for the 1946 season.

Eddie ran into bad luck in August 1948. He broke a finger and was out for the rest of the year."

-1950 Bowman No. 240

"In organized baseball since 1937, Eddie has played second, short and third. He hit the majors at the end of the 1939 season with the Browns. He was with them, and with the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League, through 1942.

Eddie was acquired by the Red Sox for the 1943 season and remained with Boston until traded to the Detroit Tigers during the winter of 1946. He was with the Tigers through 1950 and is now with San Francisco."

-1951 Bowman No. 140 (Bowman Gum, Inc.)

BEAUMONT ROUGHNECKS

HARRY CRAFT (Manager)

"Harry Craft, one of the greatest grid stars in the history of Mississippi State College, started his professional career with the Monessen club in 1935, with whom he had a batting average of .317. After two more years in the minor leagues, he was acquired by the Cincinnati Reds in 1937, with whom he played 10 games, getting 13 hits for an average of .310.

Harry played his first full season with the Reds last year, driving in 83 runs with 165 hits. His two-year major league batting average for 161 games is .272."

-1939 Play Ball No. 65

"Defensively, there are few outfielders in the National League better than Harry Craft. Craft, whose brother Tom is a Southwestern scout for the Cincinnati Reds, is one of the fastest men in the league and covers an amazing amount of ground in center field.

His batting average is deceiving, for although he hit only .257 last year, he brought in 67 runs. He hit 13 homers, seven triples and 20 two-baggers.

At Mississippi State College, which he attended for three and a half years, Craft was one of the outstanding football players in the history of the college."

-1940 Play Ball No. 79

FORD GARRISON

"The Athletics obtained Ford from the Boston Red Sox in the first month of the 1944 campaign, and he became the A's regular left fielder. Appearing in 121 games for the A's, Ford hit .269 with four home runs and 37 RBIs. He also scored 63 runs and stole 10 bases.

Ford broke into the major leagues with the Red Sox in 1943 and hit .279 in 36 games."

-1944 Play Ball No. 14 (1983 TCMA)