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One of a handful of cards with a vertical orientation, both Gordon and Keller appear on other cards in the Double Play set as well and lengthier notes on them can be found elsewhere in is work and are linked here. Both had cool nicknames…Joe Gordon’s handle was “Flash” after the popular comic book character of the time and Charlie Keller’s was “King Kong” after the popular 1933 film. Though the nickname was intended as a compliment to his size and strength, Keller despised it.

Both players were key cogs for a very good team. The

A neat dual hall of famer card…quite possibly the most aesthetically pleasing card of the set.

The second appearance in the set of the Hall of Famer, Mel Ott played 22 seasons with the New York Giants and slugged an impressive 511 home runs. He broke in as a boy wonder with he was only 17 years old.

Both appear on other cards included in this project. During a late season call-up in the 1933 season, Hal Trosky enjoyed a brush with baseball royalty. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Yankees, Trosky was playing deep behind first base when Babe Ruth hit a screaming line drive down the line that carried the novice

Things got a little harry on this card. Like all vertical cards, both players appear on other cards in the set. Harry Danning was a darn good player, twice finishing in the top ten in MVP voting. In our “enlightened” times, it seems alien that such things could happened so relatively recently, but in 1934 during spring training, a Florida hotel refused to lodge Danning and fellow Jew Phil Weintraub. Giants manager and All-Star first baseman Bill Terry threatened to take the entire World Champion team to another hotel unless his Jewish players were given lodging. The hotel’s management backed down.

Harry Gumbert was a good pitcher whose notable achievements included leading the NL in appearances and saves (1948) and earning a World Championship ring with the Cardinals in 1942.

Babe Young was a solid first baseman for the Giants for a relatively short period of time. He garnered some minimal support for MVP in both the 1940 and 1941 seasons. Like many players, his career was interrupted by the Second World War and he was never the same player after returning from the conflict. Prior to signing with the Giants, he played baseball and basketball at Fordham University and was also a pretty good billiards player, winning a couple of local championships. He worked as a social worker later in his life.

Cliff Melton was a member of the 1937 National League Champion Giants as a rookie sensation. He pestered Carl Hubbell relentlessly to teach him to throw the screwball, a difficult to control pitch that puts unnatural pressure on the arm.

My friend Steve Brandenburg had this vertical card for me in Philadelphia. Jimmy Ripple played in three World Series, two with the Giants and one with the Reds. He had a decent big league career and even longer minor league career (12 years) and is a member of the International League Hall of Fame.

Bucky Walters was the subject of a previous post. He was the 1939 National League MVP and had a very solid, borderline Hall of Fame career. I have never quite made up my mind as to whether I like the verticals or not, but they certainly add an interesting aspect to the set.

Stan Hack was signed by William Veeck, Sr. in 1931. Over the next few years, he worked his way through the minors, into the majors and established himself as both a star and one of the most popular Cubs players of all time. Nicknamed Smilin’ Stan for his pleasant demeanor, 21-year-old Bill Veeck (the son William Veeck, Sr.) came up with a “Smile With Stan” promotion where fans were given mirrors that had Hack’s picture on the reverse. However, in proof that the Wrigley faithful sometimes use giveaways in ways not necessarily intended (this is why Cubs rooters can’t have nice things), fans instead used the mirrors to reflect sunlight into the opposing batters’ eyes, and the umpires threatened to force the Cubs to forfeit the game if the fans didn’t stop. Similar promotions were banned in the future.

After baseball, Bob Klinger drove a concrete truck for Pacific Readymix, eventually becoming owner/operator of his own one-truck firm, Eureka Readymix. He worked at this for about 15 years until retiring in 1964. In retirement, he took up golf, a sport at which he was pretty good, recording six holes in one.

Johnny Mize and Danny Litwhiler are both subjects of other cards and entries in the blog. Mize was a whale of a hitter with a fine batting eye. Mize holds the Major League record for the most times hitting three homers in one game, a feat he performed six times. He also was one of a handful of players (also including Babe Ruth) to do it in both leagues