Friday, June 3, 2011

Unpossible Autograph Friday- Bobby Young


Bobby Young was the very first second baseman in Baltimore Orioles history, as well as the final 2B for the St. Louis Browns. He spent five of his eight MLB seasons with the Browns/O's franchise and was technically the first player to sign with the Orioles when they made the move to Baltimore in 1954. So I guess he was the first Oriole! I had no idea until today.

I really enjoy learning some of these things as I do research for my posts, especially about these old school players whose playing careers started before even my parents were born. Quite a few of my friends enjoy the ridiculous knowledge I occasionally drop on them about old-timey Orioles players and it's all really thanks to my collection and blog! But there's still so much more to learn about these guys.

Bobby also played for the Cardinals, Indians and Phillies during his time in the big leagues between 1948-58. 
He was actually born in nearby Howard County, MD, so playing in Baltimore was a homecoming for him. After his playing career ended he operated a janitorial business and also did some work in construction. on January 28, 1985, he had a heart attack and passed away just past his 60th birthday. RIP Bobby.

The signature on the card is pretty faint, but I was happy to find it for a very reasonable price. I do feel obligated to mention that Bobby's visage is slightly intimidating, especially since it's so prominently featured.

4 comments:

Commishbob said...

Young played for the '49/50 Oriolrs in the International League, too. So 1954 was the 'second coming' of Bobby Young!

Sort of ;-)

Orioles Magic said...

Wow Commish, I had no idea! Thanks for the info.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Orioles Magic said...

Jesse-that is a really cool connection. But it took me a while to track down a signed card of Bobby's so unfortunately this one is not currently available. I'm sure that you could track down a cheap unsigned copy though!