the cardinal

Q: What began as a giant undertaking, sprouted a halo, slapped on some war paint, learned to sing like a bird, showed promise as a brewmeister before developing a fondness for hibernating, became the final number one in Philadelphia and moved into a giant apple before retiring as a king? Oh yeah, and is also cousin of Bert Campaneris?

A: Jose Cardenal

The fleet-footed outfielder moved so fast that he managed to play with nine different major league clubs over a period of eighteen years. Following his retirement as a player, Cardenal went on to coach first base for approximately half as many major league clubs as he played for. Fortunately, Jose has slowed down enough to respond to my request for an autograph thru the mail.

Jose Cardenal (1975 Topps no. 15)

While reading about Cardenal online, you are bound to stumble over the fact that his contract was once sold by the Phillies to the Mets between games of a doubleheader. While that is all fine, well and good, it is worth pointing out that although Jose wore the winning uniform for both games of that split on August 2, 1979, he did not appear in either game. Sometimes life is funny like that.

Also of interest is that Cardenal is credited for having developed the cupped bat.

– Kris

Tags: 75 Topps, autographing, autographs, Kris, Topps Baseball Cards, ttm