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Harry James Bright
Chicago Cubs
Infield-Outfield-Catcher
Born: September 22, 1929, Kansas City, MO
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1958-1960; Washington Senators 1961-1962; Cincinnati Reds 1963; New York Yankees 1963-1964; Chicago Cubs 1965
Died: March 13, 2000, Sacramento, CA (age 70)
Harry Bright's best seasons came in the minor leagues, and he can attribute his longevity in professional baseball to his ability to play multiple positions. Originally drafted by the Yankees, he was extremely well-traveled between 1946 and 1957, playing for 14 different minor league teams before making his debut with the Pirates in 1958. Mostly pinch-hitting for the Pirates during several stints with the club over three seasons, his best year came in 1960 while with the Salt Lake City Bees. Bright batted .314 that season with 27 home runs and 119 RBIs. With the Senators in 1962, he'd appear in a career-best 113 games, batting .273 as their most frequently used first baseman. Moving on again to the Yankees, Bright was a member of 1963 American League Champions, although his team was swept by the Dodgers in the World Series. Bright made two pinch-hitting appearances in the Series, striking out both times. His first strike out was Sandy Koufax's (#300) 15th in Game 1, which set a record at the time for most strikeouts in a World Series game.
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #543
The Card / Cubs Team Set
This is the first (and only?) triple hyphenated position card in the set, with the versatile Bright having every available position except pitcher listed for him. By the time this card was issued, Topps could have just gone with "PH" for Bright and that would have been appropriate. For his big league career, he caught 11 games in 1961 and 1962, played five games in the outfield between 1959 and 1963, and spent the rest of his time at second base (two games), third base (63 games) and first base (136 games).
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #543
This is the 59th of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March. We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room. Having wandered aimlessly among the dealer tables looking for binders with vintage commons, I decided to check to see if Uncle Dick's had refreshed their inventory following the December show, during which I had wiped out both their 1965 Topps binders. Much to my pleasant surprise, they had.
This Bright card was $8 and was one of 49 commons and semi-stars purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.
Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up on this blog by mid-October. It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.
The Card / Cubs Team Set
This is the first (and only?) triple hyphenated position card in the set, with the versatile Bright having every available position except pitcher listed for him. By the time this card was issued, Topps could have just gone with "PH" for Bright and that would have been appropriate. For his big league career, he caught 11 games in 1961 and 1962, played five games in the outfield between 1959 and 1963, and spent the rest of his time at second base (two games), third base (63 games) and first base (136 games).
Bright is hatless and wearing a Yankees jersey in this photo. The back of the card highlights Bright's versatility along with his veteran status in the game, and this is his last appearance in a Topps flagship set.
1965 Season
Bright signed with the Cubs in March and made the opening day roster strictly as a right-handed bat off the bench. He pinch-hit in 27 games, batting a respectable .280 (7 for 25) with four RBIs. I guess the Cubs couldn't afford the luxury of a pure pinch-hitter on their roster for the entire season, and Bright was sent down to the minors one final time in early July. He'd bat .270 in 39 games for Salt Lake City.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #523
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1959-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #214
28 - Bright non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/31/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
1965 Season
Bright signed with the Cubs in March and made the opening day roster strictly as a right-handed bat off the bench. He pinch-hit in 27 games, batting a respectable .280 (7 for 25) with four RBIs. I guess the Cubs couldn't afford the luxury of a pure pinch-hitter on their roster for the entire season, and Bright was sent down to the minors one final time in early July. He'd bat .270 in 39 games for Salt Lake City.
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First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #523
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1959-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #214
28 - Bright non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/31/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #583 Wes Covington - Philadelphia Phillies
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Next Card: #585 Hank Fischer - Milwaukee Braves
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