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Robert Charles Christian
Chicago White Sox
Outfield
Born: October 17, 1945, Chicago, IL
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1964 season
Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1968; Chicago White Sox 1969-1970
Died: February 20, 1974, San Diego, CA (age 28)
Gerald Smith Nyman
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher
Born: November 23, 1942, Logan, UT
Signed: Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1965 season
Major League Teams: Chicago White Sox 1968-1969; San Diego Padres 1970
Bob Christian played for four seasons in the Tigers' minor league system before earning a September call-up and making his big league debut with the soon to be World Champions. Christian appeared in three games for the Tigers and was sold to the White Sox on September 30, 1968, a few days before the start of the World Series match-up against the Cardinals. With the White Sox, Christian appeared in 51 games over two seasons, batting .222 with four home runs. He'd spend two seasons in Japan playing for the Toei Flyers before retiring from baseball. He batted .263 with 27 home runs and 90 RBIs during the 1971 and 1972 seasons in Japan. Sadly, Christian lost his battle with leukemia in 1974 at the way too young age of 28.
Jerry Nyman (Jerry with a "J" according to Baseball Reference), pitched in parts of three seasons with the White Sox and Padres. In his first big league start on August 28, 1968 against the Yankees, Nyman threw a four-hit, complete game shutout. He'd pitch fairly well through the rest of the 1968 season, finishing with a 2-1 record and a 2.01 ERA in eight games and 40 1/3 innings pitched. He'd falter somewhat in 1969, going 4-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 20 games overall, including 10 starts. Nyman's final big league action came in a pair of starts with the Padres in 1970. For his career, Nyman was 6-7 with a 4.57 ERA in 30 games pitched. Following his pitching days, and into the early 2010s, Nyman served as a long-time minor league coach and manager.
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the 114th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing a little less than a dollar.
The Card / White Sox Team Set / Christian Accuracy Index -8 / Nyman Accuracy Index +5
This is the rookie card for both pitchers. Christian is wearing a Tigers uniform here, which you can see more clearly on his 1970 Topps card. Nyman is actually wearing a White Sox uniform, and given his success in late 1968, it's surprising Topps didn't give him his own card.
Accuracy Index: The Tigers uniform (-5) and the hat without a logo (-3) drops Christian to a -8. Nyman scores a solid +5, which is rare for a Rookie Stars card appearance.
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Christian
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #173
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2): 1969-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1970 Topps #51
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 7 in the Beckett online database as of 11/22/23.
Sources - Christian:
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Nyman
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #173
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3): 1969-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JN
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 20 in the Beckett online database as of 11/22/23.
Sources - Nyman:
1969 Season - Christian
With the Tucson Toros, Christian appeared in 49 games, batting .240 with a home run and 17 RBIs. With the White Sox, he played in 39 games in late June, August and September. He hit his first big league home run on June 14th against Orioles' pitcher and future Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer (#573). Christian batted .217 with the White Sox with three home runs and 16 RBIs.
With the Tucson Toros, Christian appeared in 49 games, batting .240 with a home run and 17 RBIs. With the White Sox, he played in 39 games in late June, August and September. He hit his first big league home run on June 14th against Orioles' pitcher and future Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer (#573). Christian batted .217 with the White Sox with three home runs and 16 RBIs.
1969 Season - 2nd Name
Similar to his first start of the 1968 season, Nyman threw a complete game shutout in his first start of the 1969 season. It was largely downhill from there, and Nyman moved to the bullpen as the summer progressed. In his final start with the White Sox on September 27th, Nyman threw a complete game win against the Royals, giving up only one run in the eighth inning. On March 30, 1970, Nyman was dealt to the Padres in exchange for Tommie Sisk (#152).
Similar to his first start of the 1968 season, Nyman threw a complete game shutout in his first start of the 1969 season. It was largely downhill from there, and Nyman moved to the bullpen as the summer progressed. In his final start with the White Sox on September 27th, Nyman threw a complete game win against the Royals, giving up only one run in the eighth inning. On March 30, 1970, Nyman was dealt to the Padres in exchange for Tommie Sisk (#152).
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Other Notable Baseball Cards - Christian
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #173
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2): 1969-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1970 Topps #51
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 7 in the Beckett online database as of 11/22/23.
Sources - Christian:
Other Notable Baseball Cards - Nyman
First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #173
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3): 1969-1971
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JN
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 20 in the Beckett online database as of 11/22/23.
Sources - Nyman:
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