Card of the Week: 1955 Topps #17 Bobby Hofman
Posted by Andy on July 10, 2010
Starting next week, Card of the Week moves to Wednesdays.
(Click on images for larger versions)
Here we have one of the classic sets, 1955 Topps. So much has been said about this set in other places, I don't feel I have much to add. See the end of the post for some links to other sites that talk about the set.
One interesting thing, for total card newbies, is you'll notice that the picture on the front is a drawing and not a photograph. That's the way virtually all card sets before the 1960s were, I assume because of the cost and technical limitations of photography at the time.
Another thing to love about this set is the use of multiple pictures, in the sense that the drawing features both a headshot and an action shot. The illustration along with the simple but bold name banner, the background color fade, and the crisp back of the card make this set simply wonderful.
Bobby Hofman makes an interesting list of players since 1901 to play at least 10 games at both catcher and second base in the same season:
| Rk | Player | Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Pos | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Hemond | 1994 | 28 | OAK | AL | 91 | 216 | 198 | 23 | 44 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 16 | 51 | .222 | .280 | .323 | .604 | 245/379 |
| 2 | Tom Satriano | 1968 | 27 | CAL | AL | 111 | 335 | 297 | 20 | 75 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 35 | 37 | 44 | .253 | .337 | .364 | .701 | *245/3 |
| 3 | Marty Martinez | 1968 | 26 | ATL | NL | 113 | 395 | 356 | 34 | 82 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 29 | 28 | .230 | .291 | .261 | .552 | 6542 |
| 4 | Tom Satriano | 1967 | 26 | CAL | AL | 90 | 230 | 201 | 13 | 45 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 28 | 25 | .224 | .319 | .318 | .637 | 524/3 |
| 5 | Don Zimmer | 1965 | 34 | WSA | AL | 95 | 258 | 226 | 20 | 45 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 26 | 59 | .199 | .284 | .252 | .536 | 254 |
| 6 | Tom Satriano | 1965 | 24 | CAL | AL | 47 | 89 | 79 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 10 | .165 | .258 | .228 | .486 | 542/3 |
| 7 | Bobby Hofman | 1955 | 29 | NYG | NL | 96 | 232 | 207 | 32 | 55 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 28 | 22 | 31 | .266 | .336 | .464 | .800 | 342/5 |
| 8 | Moe Berg | 1927 | 25 | CHW | AL | 35 | 77 | 69 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | .246 | .288 | .304 | .592 | 42/65 |
| 9 | Grover Hartley | 1914 | 25 | SLM | FL | 86 | 233 | 212 | 24 | 61 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 12 | 26 | .288 | .329 | .382 | .711 | 24/358 |
| 10 | Roger Bresnahan | 1914 | 35 | CHC | NL | 101 | 311 | 248 | 42 | 69 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 49 | 20 | .278 | .401 | .351 | .752 | *24/8 |
| 11 | Heinie Peitz | 1902 | 31 | CIN | NL | 112 | 428 | 387 | 54 | 122 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 60 | 24 | 0 | .315 | .369 | .406 | .775 | 42/35 |
| 12 | Heinie Peitz | 1901 | 30 | CIN | NL | 82 | 296 | 269 | 24 | 82 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 24 | 23 | 0 | .305 | .364 | .401 | .765 | *24/53 |
In 1955 Hoffman actually played 19 each at catcher and second base, another 24 at first base, and 5 at third base. Over the course of his career, he played a bunch at all 4 positions, including more than 40 games at 1B, 2B, and 3B.
Hoffman had some serious power, it would seem. In 1953 he hit 12 HR with 34 RBI in just 182 plate appearances. At the moment, his most similar batters list includes Ian Stewart and Ben Zobrist. That's because Hofman didn't hit or play much in 1956 and 1957 and didn't play in the majors again. He finished his career with a little over a full season's plate appearances (755) with 32 HR and 101 RBI.
Take a peek down at the back of the card. You gotta love the Puzzlers trivia question, along with the graphic showing 3 players wearing collars.
I don't know if the 1908 Cardinals still hold the record for most times getting shutout. Doing a quick Team Batting Game Finder search for runs = 0 reveals this list:
| Rk | Tm | Year | #Matching | W | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NYM | 1963 | 30 | 0 | 30 | Ind. Games |
| 2 | TEX | 1972 | 27 | 0 | 27 | Ind. Games |
| 3 | NYM | 1967 | 26 | 0 | 26 | Ind. Games |
| 4 | WSH | 1955 | 24 | 0 | 24 | Ind. Games |
| 5 | ATL | 1978 | 24 | 0 | 24 | Ind. Games |
| 6 | SDP | 1976 | 23 | 0 | 23 | Ind. Games |
| 7 | SDP | 1969 | 23 | 0 | 23 | Ind. Games |
| 8 | LAD | 1968 | 23 | 0 | 23 | Ind. Games |
| 9 | HOU | 1963 | 23 | 0 | 23 | Ind. Games |
| 10 | CIN | 1920 | 23 | 0 | 22 | Ind. Games |
| 11 | CHW | 1968 | 23 | 0 | 23 | Ind. Games |
| 12 | CAL | 1971 | 23 | 0 | 23 | Ind. Games |
The search covers 1920-1939 and 1952-present. Since the '08 Cards held the record as of 1954 (when this Hofman card was printed) and the search covers back to 1952, I presume that team still holds the record.
Further reading:
July 10th, 2010 at 8:40 am
I have my cards packed away, but one of my favorites was from 1974. On the back of the card, there was a cartoon and a 'fun fact' about the player. On either Fritz Peterson's card or Mike Kekich's card, the 'fun fact' was that he swapped wives with the other player. What a funny thing to put on a baseball card.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:48 am
That's a well-known (but indeed very strange) story. They also swapped kids, in the sense that the kids continued to live with their own mothers. Peterson ended up marrying Kekich's wife while the romance between Kekich and Peterson's wife didn't work out. I don't know if Peterson and the former Mrs. Kekich are still married today.
July 10th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
This set and the 1953 Bowman Color set were my two favorites of the 50's. Both were nicely designed, clean sets.
Looking at Hofman's career fielding stats, it doesn't seem that he was overly great at any one position, but the Giants realized he had a good stick. It's too bad for him that he didn't come around twenty years later, where he could have been a DH.
July 10th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
I was surprised not to see Biggio on this list.... but looking at his page, he seems to have just switched between seasons...
July 10th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
@1,2 Peterson is still with his wife. Supposedly the story is going to be made into a movie with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
July 10th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Also, it wasn't a wife/family swap--it was a life trade!!!
July 10th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
I'm always amazed at the quality of the illustrations on these 1950's Topps' cards. They're just beautiful looking cards.
There's a bunch of really nice illustrations on the 1953 set. The one of Jackie Robinson with the elevated train in the background is one of my favorites.
July 11th, 2010 at 12:43 am
Thanks for the Kekich/Peterson info....I would definitely love to see a movie about that.
I will always love the 1974 baseball cards, because that is the year when I started collecting.
July 11th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Instead of using Play Index, use Situational Records under Team Games Reports. The 1908 Cardinals do indeed have the record for taking the collar, while the 1963 Mets tied the 1909 Senators for second at 30. The Senators lost only 29 of those 30 shutouts, so I guess there was a scoreless tie in there.