Random Topps Card of the Day: 1956 Topps #63 Roger Craig

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, October 7, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1956 Topps #63.
• Player Name, position, team: Roger Craig, pitcher, Brooklyn Dodgers.
• Major League Debut: July 17, 1955.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1955 stats (Dodgers): 21 G, 91 Innings, 5-3, .625 Pct., 81 Hits, 37 Runs, 28 E.R., 48 S.O., 43 Walks, 2.77 E.R.Avg..
• Any special information about player: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as a Free Agent before the 1950 season. Bats: right. Throws: right.
• Number of regular Topps Cards (includes regular and traded cards only): 20 (ten as a player, two as a coach, eight as a manager). This is his first card.
• Blurb on the back: "Rog joined Brooklyn in July '55 after a 10-2 mark at Montréal.  He became a top Brooklyn Reliefer (SIC)  Rog started and won the 5th game in the '55 World Series"
• Commentary: The 1956 Topps set was the second of two sets in a row that was horizontally-oriented and the third of three designs that utilized a second "action" picture with the primary "headshot."  While it draws comparisons with last year's design, the 1956 set is unique because it uses pictures with an actual background instead of a fully colored one.  Most of us born after 1976 know Craig as the long-time manager of the San Francisco Giants.  But for Brooklyn Dodger fans everywhere, he will always be known as one of "Dem Bums" who helped take the team to the promised land.  A rookie pitcher asked to start a pivotal Game 5 in the 1955 World Series, Craig pitched six innings of 4-hit, 2-run ball, and gave the Dodgers a chance to win their third game-in-a-row against a mighty Yankees lineup, and send the series back to Manhattan with a 3-2 lead.  After following with the team to Los Angeles, Roger was selected as 6th pick in the 1961 expansion draft by the New York Mets.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $25.00-$40.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 9 cards (as manager).

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: 1992 Topps #421. 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