Old school help
 

Hello baseball community I have a question that maybe someone may be able to help me with. I work with one of the nicest ladies in the world and has talked about her Father who played in the MLB a long time ago. She has heard before from others that there have actually been cards of his made but she has never been able to locate one. My goal is to help make that happen hopefully with some of yours help.

What I know of him
Name Jack Christensen (Correct Spelling)
Has also been called John or had his last name spelled incorrectly also.
Was a Left Handed Pitcher.
Played between years 1936-1947
Teams Milwaukee Braves, Philadelphia Phillies
Also played in Minors for a bit.
Possibly also pitched a no hitter.

Any help on any info would be greatly appreciated.

Have also been pointed towards this link which sounds like him.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/r...d=christ003joh

I would absolutely love to be able help you hit pay dirt in your quest, but I think the Christensen you've already identified may be the best match.

No one with the name Christensen appeared for either Phillies or Braves during the years you cite. I went deeper and found out that only 4 men bearing that last name have ever appeared in a major league game: Bruce in 1971, Cuckoo in 1926-1927, John 84-88, and McKay 99-02.

The Jack Christensen you cite did play in the Phillies minor league system and did play for a minor league club in Milwaukee, so....

I really wish I could report something more positive.

I just checked and Cuckoo's real name was Walter. He was an outfielder who played for the Reds.

I feel like a bum for this, but no pitcher named Jack Christensen threw a no-hitter in the minors between 1940-1949:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/b...ters_1940-1949

I think your best bet might be a team photo or a program...and even those would be tough.

My initial reaction is the same. If you linked the correct player, which seems likely, note that he played mostly during the WWII years; in fact, it looks as if he served 1943-45. There very few baseball card issues from this period, in part due to paper rationing that began in 1940.

Thank you and I also went to the link and was able to see all his stats which I will check on Monday to verify is the correct person from the Minors. He may not have made the majors but looks like he still had a nice run in the minor league system.

Not a problem at all for all I know he may have thrown it in high school just going off what she thought she could remember.

Do you know if he is deceased or still alive? Baseball Reference has him still alive at the age of 96, but I'm guessing that might be because they don't have any official record of him possibly passing away?

Unfortunately, a lot of older folks embellish their playing careers and came nowhere near the big leagues. I've had no less than 3 men swear to my face they played in the majors and spun some great yarns about their accomplishments. They never even played in the minors!

Like the Oldest Living Chicago Cub in Field of Dreams.

Jack Christiansen was inducted into the pro football hall of fame in 1970.

He was small and focused on track in college, and did not play collegiate football.

He is included in the 1955 Bowman Football Set and probably others.

What's he got to do, got to do with it?

Frank is prone to the Tiny Turning of facts.

Brian

Brian,

If old timers cannot accurately remember whether they were in the major leagues or not, it seems reasonable that they might also have forgotten the shape of the ball. If Jack was a leather head, perhaps a concussion was a factor in his memory loss as well. The OP wanted information about the existence of any of Jack’s trading cards and I have put forth his 1955 Football Card as one plausible example in an honest effort to help. Perhaps I am prone to be a helpful member of this board. Shame on you.:D

All I can say is...Ikes!

Brian

Now the question would be where do you think the best place to try and locate one of these eBay?

Today's equivalent to fake news. But Frank did help which is more than I can say for.............me