Random Topps Card of the Day: 1959 Topps #199 Leo Kiely

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, May 23, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1959 Topps #199.
• Player Name, position, team: Leo Kiely, pitcher, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: June 27, 1951 .
• Last Line of Statistics: 1958 stats (Red Sox): 47 G, 81 IP, 5-2, .714 PCT, 26 SO, 18 BB, 3.00 ERA.
• Any special information about player: Signed by the Red Sox as a Free Agent before the 1948 season. Bats: left, Throws: left.
• Any special information about this specific card: Kiely's fourth regular Topps card (his rookie card). The 1959 Topps set is easily recognized because of the circular player pictures, housed in a very colorful frame, along with the player's name in lower-case letters, and the facsimile autograph. What a way to end the 50's. Kiely was a relief pitcher, and apparently a very good one at that. The blurb on the back of his card reads that he only allowed three home runs in 1958. The year before, with San Francisco of the PCL, he boasted a 21-6 record, leading the league in wins that year. There is a cartoon above the stats to the right of the blurb of a cat in a baseball uniform. The caption reads "Leo is nicknamed The Black Cat." Baseball Reference has his nickname listed as "Kiki."
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $2.00-$4.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM.

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH3. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama