Cards That Never Were #29

1951 Bowman - Eddie Gaedel

On August 19, 1951, Bill Veeck pulled off a publicity stunt that people are still talking about today. He signed and played a three foot, seven inch, twenty-six year old, Eddie Gaedel. Being so short, Eddie had virtually no strike zone and promptly walked on four pitches before being replaced at first by a pinch runner. Gaedel's uniform number was 1/8.

Two days later, Eddie's contract was voided and he never played in the majors again. Initially, Eddie's appearance was stricken from the MLB record book, but within a year, Gaedel was placed back in.

Eddie continued to gain employment from Bill Veeck, although always in a non-playing role. One memorable promotion in 1959, with the White Sox, included Gaedel and others dressed as spacemen who presented ray guns to Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio.

During the last year of his life, 1961, Eddie was employed as a vendor at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Veeck hired dwarves and midgets as vendors so the view wouldn't be blocked for fans in the stands.

I've always thought that Eddie deserved a card for his playing time, so here it is. A Bowman card from the year that he played.

I did toy with the idea of a 1952 card, but ultimately decided on the 1951 for two reasons.

1. Eddie's contract was voided and his appearance was stricken from the record on August 21, 1951. It wouldn't be reinstated until roughly a year later.

2. Card companies at that time were known not to include players if they retired the season before. Topps even scrapped a 1952 Joe DiMaggio card because he retired before the 1952 season.

To illustrate to the Topps Company how a card should look, take a gander at the 1951 Bowman card above. Now feast your eyes on how a card should not look.
The only acceptable reason for this 1986 Topps mock up of Eddie Gaedel to exist would be if this card was released in 1986. In 2010, when I made this 1986 Topps card of Gaedel, there is absolutely no logical reason for this to exist. There is no connection to 1986 whatsoever.

The 1951 card makes sense because Gaedel played in 1951. A 1961 card would even make sense, because that was the year Eddie passed away. While the '86 card may look cool, it is an eyesore that does not associate Gaedel with any time period, and creates more confusion than anything else.