1954 Topps Joe Garagiola

1926-2016

Joe Garagiola passed away yesterday at he age of 90. A St. Louis native who spent most of his career with the Cardinals. He also played for Pittsburgh and ended his career with the New York Giants in 1954. He came to the Cubs in 1953 in a trade that also brought Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. Athough he appeared on Bowman cards from 1951-1954 his only Topps card was in 1952. So here is my tribute to him representing my hometown team in 1954.

After baseball, Garagiola went into broadcasting. But his skills went beyond just calling the plays or providing color. He was on the Today Show, hosted several game shows and even guest-hosted for Johnny Carson. During that time his business card was actually a Topps-made 1973 style baseball card. There are several of these floating around out there, many of them signed by Garagiola himself.