Unpossible Autograph Friday- Bob Alexander

Continuing to show the tough Orioles autographs I recently purchased from a friendly ebay seller, like the cards from last Friday and yesterday, here is Bob Alexander. He is special to my collection because his name was at the top of my alphabetized need list for a long time, an honor that is now bestowed to John Anderson, who I am guessing will be there for an even longer time since he virtually disappeared after his playing career ended.

As far as I know, this Crown card is the only card produced of Bob during his career, which is understandable since he only pitched in 9 MLB games over two seasons in the mid to late 1950's. But as far as picture quality goes, this could be the worst in the set. It's defintely in the top 5.

I know that I've complained about how other cards in this set show players wearing other team's caps, but that would be an upgrade over this picture. Baseball-Reference.com has a pretty nice head shot of Bob in an Indians hat that puts this photo to shame. This picture looks like Bob is wearing a jersey but the focus seems to be on his hair and forehead. And what is he looking at?!? Oh well, at least it looks a lot better since it's signed.

Bob pitched in four games for the '55 O's and five games for the '57 Indians; that was it for his time in the Bigs. The most interesting thing I found about his playing career was the outlandish names of some of the minor league teams he played for over his 18 seasons in the minors. He played for the Rugmakers, Tars, Triplets and Exporters, among others. Crazy, right?

I also felt that I should mention that Bob served in the military during WWII but did not deploy before the war ended. Thanks for your service and RIP Bob.