Today's entry for the Dugoutdug Sports Blog is Herman Franks, manager of the San Francisco Giants. I mailed this card to Mr. Franks on December 11, 2008 and 11 days later, I received it back through the mail with a beautiful blue sharpie signature. He was 94 years old at that time and unfortunately on March 30, 2009, Mr. Franks passed away at age 95 of natural causes. I felt honored that he signed this card of me and I will value it in my collection.
Card number 116 out of 609 in the 1967 Topps Baseball set and one of my early successes collecting autograph for my 1967 Topps Autographed set.
Herman Franks started his career as a catcher and spent parts of 11 years from 1939 to 1949 playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Athletics and New York Giants. He spent 3 1/2 years serving our country in World War II in the middle of his playing days and we all should be very grateful. He also managed the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs at the major league level.
His career stats are not very note worhty, .199 batting average, 3 career home runs and 43 career rbis. However, his impact on the sport relates more to the players he scouted and signed as well as coached throughout his career. Players like Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, and many others. Always the intense competitor, Herman would do whatever it takes to find that advantage over the opposing team. To learn more about Herman Franks, go to his biography at wikipedia.com.
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