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