Manufacturer: Bowman
Set: 1951 Bowman Baseball ➡️
Player Name: Forrest “Smoky” Burgess
Position/Team: Catcher for Cubs
Card #: 317
Card Size: 2-1/16” x 3-1/8”
Card Values: See Pricing Table Below
Forrest Harrill “Smoky” Burgess (1927–1991) was a durable left-handed hitting catcher who played for 18 seasons (1949–1967) in Major League Baseball. He was highly valued for his powerful bat and discipline at the plate, eventually becoming the sport’s greatest pinch hitter of his era.
Burgess was a tremendous minor league hitter before the majors and consistently maintained a high batting average throughout his MLB career. He was a six-time All-Star (1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1964). Due to two All-Star Games being played annually from 1959–1962, he was on the NL All-Star team a total of nine times.
Later in his career, he transitioned into an extremely successful pinch-hitting specialist, particularly with the White Sox. He retired holding the Major League career record for Pinch Hits with 145. He was the starting catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates team that defeated the New York Yankees in the dramatic seven-game World Series in 1960. He batted a solid .333 in that series.
Burgess was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1975.
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Pricing Data For This Rookie Card
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