1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Casey Stengel

"In three seasons as manager of the Yankees, Casey has won three pennants and three World Championships.
He began in baseball in 1910. He saw major league action as an outfielder with the Dodgers, Pirates, Phillies, Giants and Braves."

-1952 Bowman No. 217

"One of baseball's most humorous and colorful men, as well as one of its ablest. In his three seasons as manager of the Yankees, 1949, 1950 and 1951, he has won three American League pennants and three World Championships.
His baseball career goes back to 1910. An outfielder, he played for five major league teams. Managing since 1925, he also led the Dodgers and Braves."

-1952 Red Man No. AL-1

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Charlie Silvera

"Charlie is the Yankees' No. 2 receiver, backing up the iron man Yogi Berra. In 18 games during the 1951 campaign, with a .275 average, he had 14 hits- and made them count, driving in seven runs.
He's been in baseball since 1942, and with the Yankees since the closing days of the 1948 season."

-1952 Bowman No. 197

"Although Charlie could be the No. 1 catcher on almost any team in the majors, on the Yanks he has Yogi Berra ahead of him. A fine receiver with peppery style, he came up to the Yanks at the end of the 1948 season.
In '48 at Portland, Charlie hit .301 and led all Pacific Coast League catchers in fielding. He was one of two Yanks to hit over .300 in 1949, batting .315 in 58 games.
A war veteran, he's been in pro baseball since 1942."

-1952 Topps No. 168

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Frank Shea and Jim Blackburn (Kansas City Blues)

FRANK SHEA
"Players and fans alike were happy to see Frank make a comeback with the Yankees in 1951.
In 1947, his rookie year, Spec won 14 against five losses during the season. Plagued by arm trouble after '47, he had a 9-10 mark in 1948 and went to Newark in the middle of 1949. In 1950, Frank pitched for Kansas City.
A war veteran, he started in pro ball in 1940."

-1952 Topps No. 248


JIM BLACKBURN (Kansas City Blues)

"Jim started the 1948 season with the Reds' Columbia farm team and had a record of 10-8 with a 2.51 ERA and 96 strikeouts when the Reds called him up to the majors. He appeared in 16 games for Cincinnati and had an 0-2 record.

In 1947 with a Columbia team that was last in the standings and last in fielding, he had a 7-11 record and a 3.43 ERA.

He spent two years in military service."

-1949 Bowman No. 160

"Jim is on the comeback trail after being forced to quit by a sore arm. He entered military service in 1943 and served in the Army's Seventh Armored Division which fought through France, Belgium, Holland and into Germany. Jim was taken prisoner and liberated by the 69th Division.
Back in baseball in 1946, he won 10 and lost 8 for Columbus. With Tulsa in 1950, Jim won 21, lost 7 and had an earned run average of 2.74."

-1951 Bowman No. 287 (Bowman Gum, Inc.)

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Johnny Schmitz

"Johnny had 10 wins and 16 losses in 1950. He did mound duty 39 times.
He became a major leaguer at the end of the 1941 season, winning two games for the Cubs. He was in military service for three years.
A glance at 1948 will give an idea of what Johnny can do on the mound. With a cellar ball club, his record was 18-13. His earned run average, 2.64, was the fourth lowest in the National League. In 1949, he had an 11-13 record."

-1951 Bowman No. 69 (Bowman Gum, Inc.)

"Johnny pitched some nice ball for the Dodgers early in the 1952 season. He was acquired by Brooklyn early in the 1951 campaign after spending six full seasons with the Chicago Cubs. He was in 24 games in '51, winning two and losing six.
Johnny's best season was 1948 when his record for the Cubs was 18-13."

-1952 Bowman No. 224

"Johnny was traded to the Dodgers in 1951 after beating them 18 times since he became a Cub hurler in 1941.
The Cubs got him from Milwaukee at the end of the '41 season and after 1942, he went into military service for three years. Back in 1946, Johnny had an 11-11 record and led the National League in strikeouts with 135. His best year in the majors was 1948, when he won 18, lost 13 and fanned 100.
In 1949, Johnny had 11 wins and won 10 in 1950."

-1952 Topps No. 136

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Ray Scarborough

"After two and a half seasons in the minors, Ray joined the Senators in 1942 and won 2 while losing 1 for them. The next year his record read 4-4 and the following two seasons were spent in military service.

Last season with the Senators was his best. He appeared in 31 games, won 15 and lost 8 and had a 2.82 earned run average."

-1949 Bowman No. 140

"Ray won 13 games for the Senators in 1949 and lost 11. In 1948 he won 15 and lost 8- his earned run average that year was 2.82.

He joined the Washington club in 1942 after two and a half years in the minors. In his rookie year he won 2 and lost 1. In 1943 his record was even at 4 and 4. Ray spent the next two campaigns in military service."

-1950 Bowman No. 108

"Ray was always rough on the Red Sox when he was with the Senators and White Sox. Boston, which procured him in a winter trade, hopes he will be as rough in 1951 on the Beantown's seven American League competitors. Ray had a 13-18 record in 1950, divided between Washington and Chicago.
He came to them in 1942 and remained with them until the Chisox trade. He was in military service for two years."

-1951 Bowman No. 39 (Bowman Gum, Inc.)

"Ray won 12 games and lost nine for the Red Sox in 1951. He appeared in 37 contests, pitching 184 innings, and compiled 71 strikeouts against 61 walks.
In baseball since 1940, Ray began with Chattanooga. He joined the Senators in 1942, was traded to the White Sox in May 1950, and to the Red Sox for 1951."

-1952 Bowman No. 140

"The Red Sox finally landed Ray for 1951 after he ruined their pennant bids by beating them in crucial games in 1949 as a Senator and in 1950 as a White Sox hurler.
A pickle salesman in the off-season, Ray taught high school after graduating from Wake Forest. The Senators brought him up in 1942 after he had a winning record at Selma and at Chattanooga. A Navy Lieutenant during World War II, his best year was 1948 when he won 15."

-1952 Topps No. 43

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Johnny Sain

"When the Yankees needed an experienced pitcher for the last month of the 1951 pennant drive, they bought Johnny Sain from the Boston Braves. He paid off with a 5-hit win in his first start.
He broke into the Big Leagues with the Braves in 1942 and spent the next three years in Service. On his return in 1946, he won 20 games and went on to take 21 in 1947, 24 in 1948 and 20 in 1950. In the '48 World Series, John won the opening game 1-0."

-1952 Topps No. 49

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Phil Rizzuto

"Phil is one of the game's most popular players. A spark plug for the Yankees, for whom he appeared in 144 games during the 1951 campaign, he batted .274. Good at bunting, Phil had 26 sacrifice hits to his credit and drove in 43 runs.
Phil worked his way up through the Yankee farm system."

-1952 Bowman No. 52

"The Giants and Dodgers both turned the Scooter down as 'too small' at tryouts before he caught the eye of a Yankee scout. In 1950, Phil was named the Most Valuable Player in the American League and with Kansas City in 1940, he was the Minor League Player of the Year. He's been with the Yanks since 1941 except for three years in the Navy.
Phil set the American League record for shortstops by playing 58 games without an error."

-1952 Topps No. 11

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Allie Reynolds

"The Chief pitched two no-hit, no-run games in 1951 to become the second man in the history of baseball to accomplish this feat.
A football star at Oklahoma A & M, Allie came up to the majors with Cleveland in 1942. In '43, he led the American League in strikeouts with 151. Traded to the Yanks after the '46 season, he had a 19-8 record in 1947, 16-7 in '48, 17-6 in '49 and 16-12 in '50. He had seven shutouts in 1951."

-1952 Topps No. 67

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Vic Raschi

"Vic had a 21-10 record in 1951, led the American League in strikeouts with 164 and compiled an earned run average of 3.28. In 35 games, he hurled 258 innings and walked 103 batters.
He has had four complete seasons with the Yankees. The 1951 campaign was Vic's third straight in which he won 21 games."

-1952 Bowman No. 37

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Mickey Owen (Kansas City Blues) and Joe Page

MICKEY OWEN

"Mickey Owen, a youth of 23, bore the brunt of the catching for the St. Louis Cardinals last year- and the Cardinals were just nosed out for the National League pennant.

His ability to handle pitchers has been one of the bright spots for the Cards and defensively there are few catchers who top him. His fielding percentage in 131 games was .984, which comes close to being perfect.

Although his batting is still far below the promise he showed in the American Association, Mickey chipped in with 89 hits, 23 of them for extra bases, and stole six bases, which is something catchers rarely do."

-1940 Play Ball No. 111

"Mickey returned to organized baseball in 1949 when his five-year banishment for jumping to Mexico was lifted. He was recognized as the outstanding catcher in the league when he left the Dodgers for south of the border. He was out of the majors for four seasons.

Back in the fold, Mickey was traded to the Cubs, for whom he hit .273 in 62 games. He began in the majors with the Cardinals in 1937."

-1950 Bowman No. 78

"Mickey was recognized as one of the top backstoppers of the National League when leaving the Dodgers for the Mexican League. He was traded by the Dodgers to the Cubs on his return to north-of-the-border ball in 1949.

He was in 62 games that season, batting .273. He caught 86 games in 1950, hitting .243.

Mickey's playing career began in 1935. After two seasons in the minors he joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1937, then to the Dodgers in 1941."

-1951 Bowman No. 174 (Bowman Gum, Inc.)

JOE PAGE

"The ace Yankee relief pitcher since 1947, Joe spent the 1951 season at Kansas City and San Francisco. In 1948 and 1949, he went to the mound more times than any pitcher in the American League. He had a 14-8 record in 1947 and a 13-8 record in 1949 when he was chosen to the Major League All-Star Team.
Bothered by a bad arm in '51, Joe expects to come up again."

-1952 Topps No. 48

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Stubby Overmire

"Stubby was always tough on the Yankees so they got him from the Browns in 1951 and used him in relief.
A graduate of Western Michigan College, he started in the minors in 1941. After winning 26 while losing 15 in two years, the Tigers brought him up. Stubby pitched for the Tigers through 1949 and went to the Browns on waivers in 1950. His best big league record was 11-5 in 1947.
During the winter he works for a paint manufacturing company."

-1952 Topps No. 155

1952 Back-O'-The-Card: Joe Ostrowski and Dave Madison

JOE OSTROWSKI

"Called 'Professor' by his teammates, Joe is a Scranton University graduate and teaches school during the off-season.
The ace of the Yankee relief corps, he worked in more games than any other Yankee in 1951, except Allie Reynolds. The Yanks got Joe in June 1950 in a trade with the Browns.
He came up to the majors with the Browns in the middle of the 1948 season after spending two years in the minors and three years in military service.
Joe is a competent basketball referee."

-1952 Topps No. 206

DAVE MADISON

"Dave came to the Browns from the Yankees in April of 1952.

He's been in organized ball since 1947 when he appeared in 12 games for Denver of the Western League. In '48, '49 and '50 Dave pitched for Kansas City of the American Association. He compiled 14-9, 11-10 and 6-15 records during those seasons, being used in relief a great deal. He was in military service during the 1951 season."

-1952 Topps No. 366