Orioles Card "O" the Day

An intersection of two of my passions: baseball cards and the Baltimore Orioles. Updated daily?

Friday, February 18, 2011

Vintage Fridays: Lenny Green, 1959 Topps #209

This is a pretty 1959-intensive week on this blog. I know I usually do the legwork around here, but I'm wondering if anyone else can tell me what that giant tower-like structure is behind Lenny Green. Is it the Space Needle? An exceptionally tall windmill? I just don't know. What I do know is that Lenny was a talented young player who had a solid career, but never put it all together during his time in Baltimore. In 1956, he led the single-A Sally League with a .318 average and 92 runs scored, and followed up with a .311 average at Vancouver the next year. In parts of four seasons with the O's, he had a .225 average and drove in 12 runs in 169 at-bats. He hit just two home runs as an Oriole, but one of those was an inside-the-park two-run homer that gave the Birds a 2-1 lead over the Yankees. It was April 26, 1959, and the O's eventually won 3-2 on the strength of a Hoyt Wilhelm five-hitter.

As long as we're talking about '59 Topps, I would humbly suggest that you follow one of the newest card blogs on the scene. Fellow Orioles fan Bob (a.k.a. Commish), who has commented frequently here,  has nearly completed the 1959 Topps set and is blogging about each and every card. He offers some of his own memories about the players, highlights of their careers, and his opinions about the cards. It's a quick entertaining read, so check out '59 Topps: One F/G Card at a Time. Oh, and have a good long weekend!

2 comments:

Commishbob said...

Kevin, I'd always thought that was the right half of the old 'two legged' light tower being the right field bleachers at Memorial Stadium. The stands themselves look like the top of those sections. The first pic I googled is this one. but I bet there are tons of others around.

And thanks for the shout out. I've stumbled a bit with a post or two but I'm working on my blogging skills.

Kevin said...

Bob - That makes sense! Shows you how little I remember about Memorial Stadium.