A 1955 Bowman 100th Birthday: Solly Hemus

Welcome to the third 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
• Jim Hughes - March 21

Today's featured player is Solly Hemus (card #107), who I'm spotlighting on what would have been his 100th birthday. 

My actual 1955 Bowman card of Solly Hemus:

Date of Birth: 

April 17, 1923 (card incorrectly says 1924)

First Year in Organized Baseball:

1946 with the Pocatello (ID) Cardinals, a Class C team for the St. Louis Cardinals organization. 

Link to a Really Old Baseball Guy:

Hemus played with 36-year-old Joe "Ducky" Medwick on the 1948 Double-A Houston Buffaloes. Medwick began his pro career in 1930 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1968.

1934-36 National Chicle Diamond Stars (R327) #66 - Joe "Ducky" Medwick

Link to a Much Younger Guy:

Hemus played with Tim McCarver on the 1959 St. Louis Cardinals, when McCarver was a 17-year-old rookie. McCarver retired after the 1980 season.

1981 Fleer - Tim McCarver

Interesting Facts: 

• Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
• Acted as player-manager for the 1959 Cardinals, and also managed the team in 1960 and 1961.
• Hemus died October 2, 2017, at the age of 94.

A 1955 Bowman Birthday: Red Schoendienst (A New Series)

Boosted by a Christmas gift card boom, I have been adding to my 1955 Bowman set build. Between eBay, COMC, and TCDB, I have added a big chunk of cards in the last couple of months. I'm now at 242 out of the 320 card set. Recent notable additions include:

Nellie Fox

Lou Boudreau

Bobby Thomson

Bobby Shantz

Enos Slaughter

Gil McDougald

Phil Cavarretta

Roy Campanella 

Carl Erskine

Bob Lemon

Carl Furillo

Early Wynn

There were some high number acquisitions along with a few commons, too. But today's featured card is another recent find, card #29 Al "Red" Schoendienst, another Hall of Famer. Why am I featuring this card today? Well, today would have been Red's 100th birthday. I plan to feature all the cards I have of players that would have turned 100 this year. This gets a little tricky, though, because a not insignificant number of cards have the wrong birth year for the player. But some cross-referencing never bothered me. In fact, it will be necessary for this series, as I try to provide some interesting info about the players.

Here's my actual card of Red Schoendienst:

Date of Birth: 

February 2, 1923

First Year in Organized Baseball:

1942 with the Albany (GA) Cardinals and the Union City (TN) Greyhounds, both Class D teams in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. 

Link to a Really Old Baseball Guy:

Schoendienst's manager in his first MLB season (1945) was Hall of Famer Billy Southworth, who was born in 1893 and began his minor league playing career in 1912.

Definitely not a card I own.

Link to a Much Younger Guy:

Managed Ray Lankford on the 1990 Cardinals. 

1990 Upper Deck - Ray Lankford

Interesting Facts: 

• Red was actually inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1989 by the Veterans Committee. Most people still around today would better remember him as a manager. He managed a total of 14 years in MLB, leading the Cardinals to the World Series title in 1967. His managerial success no doubt boosted his Hall of Fame case. 
• 10-time All-Star
• Played or managed in the Cardinals organization in 32 separate seasons.
• Died June 6, 2018 at the age of 95.

There appears to be 11 more 100th birthdays from the 1955 Bowman set to celebrate this year (pending double-checks of their birth years). Quick math tells us these players would have been either 31 or 32 during the 1955 season. As a result, no coach cards or umpire cards will be featured. I'll try to get to those in other posts.