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1957 Topps Lyle Luttrell (#386) - Card of the Day
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If you were going to try to break into the major leagues in the 1950s as a relative unknown, the Washington Senators would have been as good a target as any team.
After all, the Senators posted losing records every summer from 1946 through 1951, barely squeaked over .500 in 1952, and broke even in 1953.
The team wouldn’t break above .500 again until 1962. By that time, they were the Minnesota Twins, having gone west and north (young men) before the 1961 season.
In between the winning years, Lyle Luttrell took his shot.
Originally signed by the Senators out of Illinois Wesleyan University before the 1951 season, Luttrell stepped right into a full-time role with the Class-D Orlando Senators that summer.
Luttrell hit .267 with a single home run, but he did manage to drive in 79 runs. He also stole 40 bases, giving him an early leg up on joining the club of prototypical light-hitting, fast-moving 1950s shortstops.
From there, Luttrell moved up to the Class-A Charlotte Hornets (1954), then the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (1955). He began 1956 back in Charlotte and got off to a strong start before getting the call to Washington.
Luttrell spent about a month in the majors, from mid-May through mid-June, then went back down to the bushes. He got another shot late in the season, coming back up for the last three weeks or so of the season.
All told, Luttrell hit .189 in 38 games, though he did hit a couple of long balls and stole five bases. His minor league numbers were more than solid, though: .324 with three dingers, 48 RBI, 27 doubles, nine triples, and seven stolen bases.
That up-and-down mixture got Luttrell another 19-game look with the Senators the next spring, along with a spiffy new 1957 Topps rookie card.
After hitting .200 in 48 plate appearances, though, Luttrell was back in the minors. About that same time, the Senators claimed Rocky Bridges off waivers from the Reds, and that locked up their shortstop position.
Luttrell split time between minor league stops with the Senators, Reds, and Phillies through 1959, then retired. Sadly, he passed away from a heart attack at just 54 years of age in July of 1984.
But today would have been Lyle Luttrell’s 84th birthday, and he left us with a sweet “birthday card” and some 1950s nostalgia to celebrate.
1957 Kahn’s Roy McMillan
Card sets were few and far between in 1957 when Luttrell was gracing collectors with his rookie card. Topps was the only game in town most of the time.
But kids (and adults) in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh had the chance to avail themselves of some meaty additions to their collections, courtesy of Kahn’s. Yes, the wiener the world awaited.
This 29-card issue was the third straight set from the Cincy-based meat-maker, and the first time they expanded beyond Reds players.
Had Luttrell made it to the majors in 1957, McMillan is the guy he would have been fighting for playing time at short. That would have been a stiff order, considering that McMillan garnered his second All-Star selection and first of three Gold Glove awards that season.
These cards are tough to find in decent shape and not all that easy to come by at all. Still, you can usually find a variety of 1950s Kahn’s cards in a wide range of conditions, with prices ranging from under $10 to several hundred dollars or more.
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That’s all for now.
But you should probably check your hot dog package when you’re chowing down at lunch or dinner tonight. You know, just in case you have some leftover 1950s wieners and the shot a meat-drenched baseball card.
Thanks for reading.
—Adam