The Bonus Baby Designated Hitter Rookie Card
It may not be who you're thinking of!
1956 Topps Bob Powell (#144) - Card of the Day
Everybody knows that Herb Washington was the greatest designated runner in the history of Major League Baseball.
But could it be he wasn’t actually the first designated runner?
Well, consider the case of Robert Leroy Powell, who shows up on his 1956 Topps baseball card as “Leroy” but in the record books as “Bob.”
The White Sox signed Powell as a bonus baby out of Michigan State in 1955, a move that compelled them to put him on the major league roster and keep him there for two full seasons.
So Powell went from East Lansing to Comiskey Park and parked himself on the bench.
Except…
Manager Marty Marion brought Powell in to pinch run for Ron Northey in the top of the seventh inning of a loss to the A’s on September 16, 1955. Northey, pinch hitting for pitcher Virgil Trucks, had walked against Tom Gorman. The next batter, Minnie Miñoso, grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Al Papai came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh, taking Powell’s spot in the lineup.
Then it was back to the bench for the rest of 1955…and all of 1956…and the start of 1957.
While he was “resting” in 1956, though, he did appear on the Topps rookie card you see above. So, you know, he was building his case with the youngsters.
And then, on April 20, 1957, manager Al Lopez called on Powell to run for Walt Dropo, who had singled against Gene Host of the Kansas City Athletics in the bottom of the second. Dropo was pinch hitting for reliever Jim McDonald.
Singles by Luis Aparicio and Nellie Fox brought Powell home, cutting the A’s lead to 6-3 (Chicago eventually won, 11-7). Gerry Staley came in to pitch the next frame for the White Sox, and Powell was done in the majors.
With their commitment to the bonus baby fulfilled, Chicago finally sent the youngster to the minor leagues for some seasoning. Things went OK, but not gangbusters: .291, eight home runs, 33 RBI in 85 games with the Single-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox across 1957 and 1958.
Powell gave pitching a shot in Colorado, too, and ended up with a 6-7 record and 5.03 ERA in those two summers combined. That was the end of the line for Bob/Leroy in baseball.
So, does a guy whose entire major league career consisted of pinch-running duties count as a designated runner? Hey, a rose by any other name is still a guy whose last moments on the diamond were propelled by two future Hall of Famers.
And, oh, by the way…
Powell, who passed away in 2014, was born on this date in 1933.
Underrated Cardboard Masterpiece
You know who else was born on this date? Jim Gilliam, back in 1928.
Not only was “Junior” the guy who succeeded Jackie Robinson at second base for the great Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the mid-1950s, he managed to quietly put together a star-level career that doesn’t get the sort of recognition today you might expect from a member of those teams.
In 14 seasons with the Dodgers (in both Brooklyn and L.A.), Gilliam picked up 1885 hits, including 304 doubles and 71 triples. He also got on base at a .360 clip and stole 203 bases while playing a top-notch keystone.
Gilliam also happened to be the subject of one of the most gorgeous baseball cards of all time (says me). I spend a few hundred words on that beauty once upon a time, right here.
—
One thing that bugs me about the Gilliam card is that it’s a Dodgers card. I’m a Reds fan.
If you don’t see the problem with that, it’s stuff like this:
And it’s not just the Gilliam card. There have been several Dodgers cards that just won’t leave me alone over the years. Even a few Cardinals cards. It’s a problem.
How about you? Any baseball cards of hated rivals that you just can’t seem to resist?
No pressure, though. I understand if you want to keep your Joe Pepitone or Dwight Gooden or Ellis Burks or Bob Dernier obsession to yourself.
Either way, thanks for reading.
—Adam
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It was ABSOLUTELY the wrong summer for this to happen … but those day game action shots on the 1978 Topps Yankees cards were amazing. Meanwhile, most of the Sawx cards in that same set were posed or portraits … taken on some series of dreary, overcast days. I grudgingly admired them in the moment, with more than a twinge of jealousy. I can say now, with the passage of the years, and the end of a certain so-called curse, that I actually kinda like them.