Card Spotlight: 12-12-08

1955 Topps #104 - Jack Harshman

Straight from the back of the card.

Jack believes, "If at First You Don't Succeed... Try Pitching." And he did just that by swapping his 1st Baseman's mitt for the mound in '52, to become one of the top Sox hurlers! Jack was a powerhouse at bat in the Minors, twice winning his League's Homer title, before turning to pitching. In '53 he won 23 games for Nashville after having 3 short trials with the New York Giants.

I love these vintage cards! There's nothing quite like learning history through the rose-tinted glasses of Topps writers. The "powerhouse" first baseman hit .250 for the Giants in 1948. That was the high water mark for his career. In 1958, while playing for the Orioles, he even played in center field for one game.

To put it in modern terms, with have a reverse Rick Ankiel going on here. Jack's best records were with the White Sox. After the Sox, he bounced around the league until landing on three different teams in 1959.

This card hits smack dab in the middle of his best years. I'm grateful that I was able to find a 1955 card in wonderful condition. I'm fortunate that it is a White Sox player and that it was under $5. Sometimes it's a blessing that the Sox teams were "almost there" for all those years.