Mailbox Joys: 2 Bills Are Better Than One

Another day, another great find in the mail! A 1958 Billy Pierce and a 1958 Bill Fischer. I'm about a third of the way through my 1958 White Sox set. Both were won on separate eBay auctions by the same seller for around a dollar each. While they aren't mint, (there's a slight corner softening) they are very nice looking. The only blemish is a little residue on the back.

The stats for Bill Fischer claim his lively fast ball is tough to hit! It also says that he "toiled 7 years in the Minors". Then he "sharpened up his control" to post an 80-80 mark. From the sound of that, it appears someone might have figured out a way to hit that fast ball. He was traded with Tito Francona to the Tigers for Ray Boone and Bob Shaw. He bounced around from team to team and played his last game for the Twins in 1964. He was picked up by the White Sox five days after he was released from the Twins in 1965 and stayed with the Sox until his final release in 1968, but never made it to the parent club during that time.

Billy Pierce, on the other hand, is a White Sox legend. He played all but five of his eighteen year career with the White Sox. He started in 1945 with the Tigers and ended with the Giants in 1964. Billy was a seven time All-Star and led the league in wins in 1957. His uniform number 19 was retired in 1987 by the Sox. In 2000, he was named to the Sox Team of the Century. In 2007, he was honored with a statue in the center field concourse of US Cellular Field. Not yet a Hall of Famer, his 186 wins for the White Sox place him fourth all-time in club history.

Two Bills on the White Sox who ended their major league careers in 1964 with different teams. Not bad for a couple of bucks.