Bubba Church

#138 Bubba Church- Another interesting nickname from the past. As a child, I remember Bubba Smith when he was with the Colts promoting Power House Candy Bars. Being easily influenced, for about a year, along with my card purchases from the corner liquor store, Power House candy bars with a 16 oz bottle of RC Cola were a food staple. Now back to Bubba Church:

You would think there would be a cool story about his nickname but apparently it was the closest his older brother could get to saying "brother". Bubba's promising career was cut short by injuries, including a line drive by Ted Kluszewski off his head. But is Bubba the person responsible for Joe Namath continuing his college football career at Alabama ?

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#139 Pete Runnels A versatile player who won two batting titles, had an above OBP, and finished with a .291 batting average. The bottom of the card isn't damaged or altered, I don't know why it scanned as it appears; perhaps it has to do with the penny sleeve.

Pete Runnels

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Used to be a Runnells but became a Runnels

Alpha Brazle

Played entire career with Cardinals and finished 97-64 with a 3.31 ERA. Starter early and reliever later. Side arm sinkerballer after injuries. Fan favorite with his Ichabod Crane looks and called Boots and Saddles for his dependability by sportswriter Bob Broeg

#140 Al Brazle The use of shadow or chiaroscuro gives Brazle's image an otherworldliness as the shot was taken slightly upward giving it the effect that he emerged from the darkness.

#141 Frank Shea- Nicknamed "Spec" due to that he had freckles. He was known for his humor, snappy responses, and willingness to talk to anyone.

Frank Shea

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The Naugatuck Nugget finished 3d for Rookie of the year in 1947 behind Jackie Robinson and Larry Jensen, both in the NL. That was before there were two separate awards for each league. He was also a pitching and hitting tutor for Robert Redford when he was gearing up for The Natural

Larry Miggins

#142 Larry Miggins

Cardinals got Larry from the Yankees with the idea he would some day replace Musial. He ended you with only 100ABs in 48 and 52. Never came to the plate in 53. He is now 97

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#143 Al Lopez

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Al Lopez

Like Bob, he played a lot of cards too

#144 Warren Hacker

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Only 22 people separated Warren from the NL MVP award in 1952

Warren Hacker

George Shuba

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Average ballplayer who played with some of the games greats and was one of the Boys Of Summer

#145 George "Shotgun" Shuba His nickname came about for the line drives. He was also noted for being photographed shaking Jackie Robinson's hand after he (Robinson) belted a homerun, it was a big deal at the time (1946) as it was the first interracial photo of players shaking hands.

#146 Early Wynn

Early Wynn

Gus was a feared headhunter who once said the plate was his office and he did not like it crowded. He also said he would throw at his own mother if she crowded the plate. His trade from Cleveland to Chicago in 1957 was not popular at first because the Sox had to give up Minnie Minoso

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Clem Koshorek

#147 Clem Koshorek This card represents some of the frustrations in assembling a higher-grade set for the following reasons: it is often found off-centered; the clarity of the image sometimes appears to be rather blurry, and if the card escapes either of these maladies, it will probably have some sort of wear (mine has soft corners). If Clem escapes any of these maladies, be prepared to spend some funds to purchase it, or enjoy what you already have.

Clem never played in 54. Played in only one game in 53

#148 Billy Goodman

Billy Goodman

Won the AL batting title in 1951 ( and had higher average than the NL leader, Musial) despite missing a month to injuries and the fact he never had a set position. He substituted all season long at 5 different positions for injured or slumping teammates

#149 Al Corwin My first 53 Bowman Color card was an Al Corwin similar to this some 50 years ago, except that copy had a horizontal crease extending through its middle.

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Al Corwin

As mentioned in the 54 Gallery thread, Al was ok as a ballplayer but a superstar faucet salesman

Carl Scheib

As noted in the 54 Gallery thread his appearance at age 16 is still the youngest for an AL player. Joe Nuxhall at 15 is the youngest for NL

We are now in the home stretch- nine more cards and the display of our 1953 Bowman Color Baseball cards comes to an end. As we venture towards the end, I don't remember seeing any other additional related 53 Bowman Color Baseball items: a display box, wrappers, salesman samples, advertising, and the test cards that never mad it into production. Hopefully, someone who has been following this thread can provide some additional images before we reach #160 Cal Abrams.

Now #150 Carl Sheib