A Special 1955 Bowman 100th Birthday: Bobby Shantz

After a long hiatus, this is the 6th installment of my series featuring players from the 1955 Bowman set that would have turned 100 this year. Players featured thus far:

• Red Schoendienst - February 2, 2023
• Jim Hughes - March 21, 2023
• Solly Hemus - April 17, 2023
• Bob Kuzava - May 28, 2023
• Marion Fricano - July 15, 2023

While I was away, I missed many 100th birthdays, including Gil Hodges in April 2024 and Yogi Berra in May of this year. 

I decided to return briefly because today's featured player is still with us. Bobby Shantz turns 100 today! He is featured on two cards in the set, #139 (with his brother Billy) and his own card, #140. 

Here are my actual cards of Mr. Shantz. I needed a set upgrade for the first card, and this signed card was approximately the same price as unsigned copies, so that's how I ended up with the signed copy of Bobby with his brother Billy. The second is a card I sent to Bobby through the mail several years ago and he signed it for his very reasonable $5 fee. 

Date of Birth: 

September 26, 1925

First Year in Organized Baseball:

1948 with the Lincoln (NE) A's, a Class A affiliate of the Philadelphia Athletics.

Ticket stub from an apparent exhibition game between the Lincoln A's and the parent club.
Courtesy: https://www.nebaseballhistory.com/lincoln1948.html 

Link to a Really Old Baseball Guy:

Shantz's first manager in the majors was the legendary Connie Mack, who was born in 1862 and began his major league managerial career in 1894! (You may have already spotted him on the ticket stub above.)

1911 Pinkerton Cabinets #505 - Connie Mack

Link to a Much Younger Baseball Guy:

In 1964, Shantz's final year in the majors, he played for three different National League teams, the Cardinals, Cubs, and Phillies. A fellow member of the Phillies' pitching staff was Rick Wise, who ended his career in 1982 with the San Diego Padres.

1982 Donruss #170 - Rick Wise

Other interesting facts about Bobby Shantz: 

• Shantz was one of the players sent to the Cubs as part of the 1964 trade that sent Lou Brock to the Cardinals. 
• Shantz was voted the 1952 AL Most Valuable Player, winning 24 games for the 4th place Philadelphia A's team. 
• When he graduated from high school, Shantz was not quite 5 feet tall, but he eventually grew to 5'6". Once he reached the 5-foot mark, he was able to join the U.S. Army in December 1944. He went on to serve briefly in the Philippines during World War II and received an honorable discharge in 1946.

Happy Birthday Bobby Shantz!

Sources:

https://www.nebaseballhistory.com/lincoln1948.html

Bobby Shantz – Society for American Baseball Research

MLB Stats, Scores, History, & Records | Baseball-Reference.com

1955 Bowman Autographs - Only a Few Still Possible

In late 2021, I had the late Frank Thomas (the Original One), sign my 1955 Bowman card of him. You can see that card and others from Mr. Thomas here. My favorite players to send to during my TTM binge of late 2021 were the old-timers, as well as the really old-timers. It's sad that many of the baseball heroes of the 1950s have passed away, but there was still time to make a connection with a few of them via their 1955 Bowman cards. So, just after the calendar turned to 2023, I set out to do just that. I believe this is a comprehensive list of players from the 1955 Bowman set who are both still alive and still signing their cards through the mail:

• Joe Amalfitano (age 89)
• Carl Erskine (age 96)
• Hobie Landrith (age 92)
• Bobby Shantz (age 97)
• Vern Law (age 92)

I actually had sent to both Amalfitano and Shantz back in 2021 due to their Cubs connections. In January, I sent to them again, as well as sending Hobie Landrith's card to him. They all came back signed beautifully. 

I just sent out Carl Erskine's card to him about a week ago, and still need to get Vern Law's in the mail. If I can get those back, I will have six signed cards in the set, which I think is pretty neat. I don't typically like buying autographed cards, so that will probably be all that I collect for this set. It's kind of crazy to get cards signed that came out 68 years ago. I appreciate these gentlemen graciously returning them to me.