The Jack Cusick Baseball Card Doesn't Exist

Oh yes it does

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1952 Bowman John Cusick (#192) - Card of the Day

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How does a player both appear on a baseball card and never appear on a baseball card?

Well, it’s a delicate balance that only a select few men have been able to pull off.

First, you have to play in the major leagues for a limited amount of time, like Jack Cusick did.

Originally signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent before the 1946 season, Cusick spent three years in the low minors for Philly. Then, in November of 1948, the Cardinals selected him in the minor league draft.

After parts of two seasons in the Cards’ system, they waived him in May of 1950. The Yankees plucked him off the wire and he finished the campaign at Double-A Beaumont.

All along the way, Cusick honed his skills at shortstop and hit .270 or better most years (though he slid to .233 in 1950).

The Yanks left him unprotected that fall, and the Cubs decided to grab him in the Rule 5 draft. That meant Cusick would spend the next year on the Chicago roster, and so he did.

Debuting on April 24, 1951, Cusick appeared in 65 games for the Cubs, including 48 starts at short. The 23-year-old hit just .177, but he did chip in two home runs and 16 RBI while also scoring 16 times.

A highlight of his summer had to be the Cubs’ doubleheader against the Giants in New York on August 16, which was Jack Cusick Day at the Polo Grounds — an honor arranged by the Weehawken Elks to celebrate the local boy’s homecoming (Cusick was born in Weehawken, New Jersey).

Alas, Cusick did not start either game, but he did play a couple of late innings in the field during the first game.

Then, on October 11, the Cubs traded Cusick to the Boston Braves in exchange for outfielder Bob Addis.

And that brings us to the second criteria for appearing on a card but not appearing on a card — you have to have playing prospects for an upcoming season.

The Braves got very little offense from their shortstops in 1951, as Buddy Kerr hit .186, while Johnny Logan chipped in a .219 mark. They also combined for one home run and 34 RBI.

So it seemed reasonable to think that Cusick might get some playing time with his new team. Bowman thought so and slotted Cusick at card #192 in their 1952 set. And, thanks to their every-card-is-a-painting design, they even got him in his new uniform.

And so, Cusick had his baseball card.

But he also didn’t.

Because, as you can see from the facsimile autograph on the front of the card, and from the card back…

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…this is a John Cusick baseball card.

But, as you can see from Cusick’s entries in various record books, and on sites like Baseball Reference and Wikipedia, and from his “day” at the Polo Grounds, he was Jack.

And that’s the third step in having a card without having a card: have a card that uses the wrong(ish) name.

Ah, but Cusick was just getting started, right?

Well, in life, yes. But not so much in baseball.

Cusick did spend all of 1952 with the Braves, but he also hit just .167 in 49 games. And when the season was done, he found no takers for his diamond services.

So the young shortstop rode off into the sunset to become a New Jersey State Police officer for a few decades, thus completing the still-hanging Step 1 from above: play in the major leagues for a limited amount of time.

With a major league batting line of .174 with two home runs and 22 RBI, and with no team to call his own, Cusick was probably an easy name to drop from 1953 checklists for both Topps and Bowman. So they did.

And so ended Cusick’s baseball and baseball card career.

So you see, Jack Cusick never appeared on a baseball card. But John Cusick did.

And so did John Cusack, you might recall:

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But, of course that’s also sort of the same deal, since that’s Buck Weaver. And it’s also John Cusack.

And all this matters more than ever today, because the late John Jack Peter Cusick was born on June 12, 1928.

1954 Johnston Cookies Eddie Mathews Still a Special Treat

Cusick’s final major league appearance came as a pinch hitter against the Dodgers on September 28, 1952, a contest that ended in a 5-5 tie after 12 innings.

The Braves’ hero in that one was slugging third baseman Eddie Mathews, who doubled home none other than Johnny Logan in the top of the ninth to tie the game. Of course, Mathews spent decades being a treat to Braves fans, and his likeness was included with some sweet treats in 1954.

Read all about it right here.