Okay continuing the baseball stories of Philadelphia A’s through baseball cards chat, I present another card and another A – Gus Zernial. I just love these old school baseball cards. I love the attention to detail. I love the stats on the back of the card. And I loved learning more about this legendary baseball player and in particular, his legendary 1951 season. This is the 1951 season Gus Zernial Topps Baseball card.
From the back of the card, let’s take a deep dive into his 1951 season. Led the American League in Home Runs, RBIs, and Outfield Assists. A triple crown of sorts. The MVP in the American League in 1951, you ask? Yogi Berra. However, Gus Zernial’s 33 HR’s bested Berra’s 27. And Zernial’s 133 RBI bested the next best RBI man that year, a guy from the Boston Red Sox named Ted Williams. For his efforts, Zernial finished 20th in the 1951 MVP race. Over parts of 11 years in the Major Leagues, Gus Zernial played for 3 teams – Chicago White Sox, Kansas City/Philadelphia A’s, Detroit Tigers.
According to his bio online, Gus Zernial was a multi sport athlete growing up in Beaumont, Texas. He served several years in the United States Navy in World War II. After his 11 year MLB career, Zernial tried his hand in a number of career spots including television commercials, sports anchoring, and is credited for helping to bring minor league baseball to Fresno, California. Gus Zernial lived to the ripe old age of 87, passing away in 2011. Pretty awesome career pre-MLB, as a Navy man, during his MLB years, and post-MLB as a commercial actor and sports anchor. What a joy learning about Gus Zernial. Next card up, next story up is Henry Majeski.
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