1960 Topps Deron Johnson

Another individual Rookie Star card from the random Number generator. I've come across quite a few players who have had multiple rookie cards but this is the first time I've had a player on three different single-player rookie cards.  Deron Johnson was part of Topps "Rookie Stars of 1959" set and also had a designated rookie card in the 1961 set. Topps even re-used the same photo. ALL. THREE. TIMES.

Although he was designated as a Yankees "Rookie Star" in 1959, 1960 and 1961, he never actually played for the Yankees until September of 1960.  Even then he played in just 19 games for New York in 1960 and 61 before being traded for veteran pitcher Bud Daley.

Johnson struggled in Kansas City spending most of 1962 in the minors. In 1963 he was purchased by the Reds and spent that year in the minors as well. In 1964 he returned to the big leagues and hit 21 homers for Cincinnati. In 1965 he led the league with 130 RBIs.  

He came into the league as a outfielder/third baseman but spent most of his years playing first base. In 1973 when the American League adopted the designated hitter, it seemed made for him. He played most of his final years from 1973-1976 playing DH for the A's, Brewers, White Sox and Red Sox.

Deron Johnson had Topps cards cards in nearly every year from 1959-1976. He didn't have a card in 1963 when he spent the entire season in the minors.  He was also missing a card in 1975. He spent most of the 1975 season with the White Sox as a DH and back up first baseman before being dealt to Boston in September. So I made this Card That Never Was to fill the void between his 1974 card with the A's and his 1976 card with the Red Sox.

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Personally, I think that the three rookie cards using the exact same picture would look great on a page in a binder. But that is just me. For most it might not be "Binder Worthy" but I gotta give this card at least a 6 for "Guilty Pleasure".

1959 Topps Chuck Coles

The Topps 1959 Rookie Stars series is notorious for being loaded with player who never made an impact. Chuck Coles is no exception. Chuck Coles was a journeyman minor leaguer. Between 1950 and 1963, he spent 12 seasons on 12 different minor league teams. The only time not spent playing in the minors, was 1953 and 1954 for military duty and the 5 games he played for Cincinnati in 1958.

 He was a career .293 hitter playing first base and the outfield as a minor leaguer. Although he was listed as a first baseman on his 1959 Topps card, he played the outfield in all 29 defensive innings for the 1958 Cincinnati Redlegs. That is why I created this 1958 Hires Root Beer card listing him as an outfielder.

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Just another bust from Topps inaugural rookie class. I tried but I could not find any reason to save this one from the spokes. I give it a 1. 

1959 Topps Joe Shipley

After just posting a 4-player rookie card, the random number generator took it easy on me and gave me a single player rookie card from 1959.

Joe Shipley pitched 39.1 innings for the Giants from 1958-1960 but logged nearly 1500 innings as a minor leaguer from 1953-1965. In 1963 the White Sox took another chance on Shipley at the age of 28. He appeared in 3 games gave up 3 runs and logged his only MLB decision. It was a loss. 

Since I could only find one photo of Shipley in a Sox uniform I had to go with the 1963 Fleer format for his Card That Never Was.

Like most of the 1959 Topps Rookie Stars, Shipley never lived up to expectations. So I've graded his Rookie Card a 2, "Good For Flipping".