Saturday, November 21, 2009

1951 Bowman #149 Emory "Bubba" Church

This is the second of a trio of '51 Bowman Phillies cards received from my Dad for my birthday a few weeks back.

From 1950 until the beginning of the 1952 season, Bubba Church pitched in 71 games for the Phillies, splitting his time as a starter and a reliever. On September 15, 1950, his rookie season was cut prematurely short when a Ted Kluszewski line drive hit Bubba square in the face and landed in right field. The back of this Bowman card makes mention of the injury, "which required an operation," and caused Bubba to miss the 1950 World Series.

He was traded to the Reds in May 1952 for Kent Peterson and Johnny Wyrostek. Bubba played with the Reds for a few seasons (1952-1953) and finished his career with the Chicago Cubs (1953-1955).

Did You Know?: Bubba pitched a one-hitter in 1951 against the Pirates. The Pirates' lone hit came on a bloop single from Ralph Kiner which just eluded the glove of Phillies' first baseman Dick Sisler.

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