1961 Topps #12, Moe Thacker

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Moe Thacker's 1961 Topps card #12 is shown here,
both front and back:

http://home.triad.rr.com/ovis/images/012_Thacker-a.jpg

http://home.triad.rr.com/ovis/images/012_Thacker-b.jpg

I truly love these cartoons. Especially the ones on
the cards of players who really haven't done anything
positive you can write about.

The first cartoon about being in the Yankee farm
system is just meaningless, and the second one is a
hoot. Topps had a way of going to the glove when
they were faced with a player who couldn't hit, and
that's what they did here.

And Moe Thacker couldn't hit!!

Except for his first year, 1958, when he only had 24
at bats before being sent back down to the minors,
Moe didn't ever threaten the Mendoza line!! (usually
considered to be .200, although Mario Mendoza
actually ended up with a .215 career batting average.)

Moe's career batting average was a wonderfully bad
..177.

In 1961, the year of this card, Moe was the third
catcher on the Cubs team, behind Dick Bertell, and
Sammy Taylor. Even though his batting average was
only .171, he did get walked 11 times in 47 plate
appearances, which gave him an on-base percentage
of .383, but that was a fluke year.

Moe came up for 11 games early in 1958, before
being sent back to the minors. He came back up in
1960 and was with the Cubs until he was sent, at the
end of the 1962 season, to St. Louis, in a fairly
important trade, which sent Moe, Don Cardwell, and
George Altman to the Cards, for starter Larry Jackson,
reliever Lindy McDaniel, and catcher Jimmie Schaffer.

He only appeared in 3 games for St. Louis in 1963,
his last year.

Unfortunately, Moe passed away in November, 1997,
at the age of 63.
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John Wade