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Card #49 - Jim Greengrass - Outfield: Cincinnati Redlegs

 Jim Greengrass' card is our first encounter with one of the more notable printing irregularities Bowman had with the 1955 set. 



This is one of the "Light Wood" cards which make up the first 64 cards of the 320 card set. If you look at the Bill Klaus card I shared before, you can clearly see the difference. There has never been a reason I've found for the color shift.

Jim Greengrass was first signed by the New York Yankees at the age of 16 in 1944. He spent the next 7 seasons bouncing around in the Yankees farm system (mostly in A level ball) as well as spending two years in the military. It would seem that it was challenging to break into an outfield that had Joe DiMaggio or Mickey Mantle. 

Finally, in 1952, he got his break. He was traded with three other players and $35,000 to the Cincinnati Reds (going by Redlegs at this time to ease fears during the "Red Scare") for Ewell Blackwell. Considering Blackwell only pitched in 13 games over the two seasons he was with the Yankees, I think the Reds won this deal.

In 1953, Greengrass got the starting left field job for the Reds, and he made the most of it. He hit .285 with 20 home runs and 100 RBI as a rookie. I find it a bit hard to believe with those numbers that he only finished 6th in Rookie of the Year voting.

In 1954 Greengrass hit 27 home runs with 95 RBIs. This would really be the last good season of his career, sadly. In 1955 he started having issues with phlebitis, a painful inflammation of a vein usually in the leg. This limited his playing time, and also helped rob him of some of the power he was really beginning to show.

After playing just 13 games for the Reds (and hitting a paltry .103), he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He had a decent rest of 1955 for the Phillies as a part-time player, batting .272 with 12 home runs. However, in1956 he hit just .205 in 86 games, and that was the end of his major league career. 

His career stats in 5 seasons were: 505 games, .269 batting average, 69 home runs (Nice), and 282 runs batted in.

In 1957, his contract was purchased by the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League. Despite the issues with his leg, he hung around (and bounced around to at least four different organizations) the minors until finally retiring in 1961. 

So what was his biggest thrill in baseball? Let's find out!


That grand slam came off Johnny Rutherford. I have no idea who "AC" is/was, but I have their card now! MUAHAHAHA. 

I found that after his playing days were over, he spent some time as a scout for the Houston Colt .45's (now Astros). He then moved to Georgia where he worked for Lockheed for 17 years and became a Deputy Sheriff in Cobb County for another 17 years. Greengrass passed away at the age of 91 in 2019.

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