1953 Topps Project - Post #3

#65 - Earl Harrist - St. Louis Browns

Well, Earl "Irish" Harrist's life appears to have been as bland as his career in Major League Baseball was brief. He appeared in 132 games over his 5 year career for 5 different teams. Earl was an average pitcher for the most part, the only notable stat I can find is that he led the American League in hit batsmen in 1952 with 10.

I only have a couple of observations about this particular card. First, Earl appears either to be constipated, or incredibly confused on the front of the card. He didn't pitch in the majors at all during 1949, 1950, or 1951 so maybe the expression was a result of his realization that despite 36 appearances in 1952, he was clearly on the back 9 of his brief career. The other thing I like about the card is that on the back it says "Earl was used almost entirely in relief roles for the Brownies in '52". I had no idea that the St. Louis Browns were referred to as the "Brownies". For some reason, this makes me snicker. I learned something new today.

If anyone knows what Earl did with himself between his retirement from baseball and his death in 1998 please leave a comment, I'd be interested to hear it...