Wednesday, October 29, 2014

'59 Topps set build #5/572 Nellie Fox

This is the first opportunity I've had to write a little bit about a Hall of Fame player.  I've heard the name Nellie Fox over the years, but have had little opportunity to learn about his playing career.


How many cards do you think in 2015 will feature a player with a cheek full of chaw?  (Assuming that is what his left cheek is full of). 

Fox's selection to the '59 All Star team was his 9th consecutive honor, and the selection was well earned.  By the All-Star break he had amassed 30 multi-hit games, including a 5 for 7 effort on opening day against the Tigers.  Nellie was hitting .330 at the break, and had struck out a total of 7 times in 369 plate appearances. 

I remember hearing on a documentary a few years back about Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak.  The narrator put the streak in perspective, saying that Joe D had a hit each day for 2 months straight.

As a guy who is a fan of players who seldom strike out, the back of the Fox card really caught my eye.  That 98 game streak lasted 3 months and 5 days during the '58 season, and spanned 451 plate appearances.  It took a hall of fame pitcher to end this incredible run, as Whitey Ford struck out Fox in his first at bat on 8/23/58.

Outside of the centering, this card is in really nice shape.  The corners are good and there's no random pen marks or any other indicators of a 55 year old card.   I won the card on eBay, and if I remember correctly the price I paid for the lot was quite reasonable ($10), and included the "Destruction Crew" card of Minoso, Colavito and Doby.

thanks for reading, Robert

4 comments:

  1. Most of the Fox cards I've seen feature him with a hunk of chaw in his cheek. Looks like this one continues the trend!

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  2. In the Astrodome when Fox was on the Astros' coaching staff his habit of spitting chaw juice on the Astroturf around first base supposedly bothered Judge Hofheinz, the owner. He sent word for Fox to stop.

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  3. Great card. One of those guys I was a fan of as a teenager (long after he was done playing, of course), for no other reason than the name and the chaw.

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  4. great-looking win at a bargain price! Pf-tooey.

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