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Russell Eugene Nixon
Chicago White Sox
Catcher
Born: February 19, 1935, Cleves, OH
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1957-60; Boston Red Sox 1960-65; Minnesota Twins 1966-67; Boston Red Sox 1968
As a Manager: Cincinnati Reds 1982-83; Atlanta Braves 1988-90
Died: November 9, 2016, Las Vegas, NV (age 81)
For 12 seasons in the majors, Russ Nixon served one of two roles during his 906 games - back-up catcher or left-handed pinch-hitter. His Appearances summary on his Baseball Reference page is very clean, showing 722 appearances behind the plate and 235 pinch-hitting appearances with nary a cameo at any other position. His best season came during his first full year in the majors, with the Indians in 1958, when he batted .301 with career highs in home runs (9) and RBIs (46). Nixon was a lifetime .268 batter with 27 home runs and 266 RBIs, and he was in the top ten for catcher's fielding percentage in the American League twice (1958, 1960).
Nixon managed the Single-A Tampa Tarpons in the Reds' system between 1971 and 1975, before joining the Reds' big league coaching staff under Sparky Anderson to start the 1976 season. He remained a coach with the Reds until 1982 when he was promoted to manager after the team fired John McNamara. After last place finishes in 1982 and 1983, Nixon was fired and moved on as a coach for the Expos (1984-85) and then the Braves (1986-87). In 1988 he was managing the Braves' Double-A team in Greenville when he took over as manager in Atlanta when Chuck Tanner was fired. Nixon managed the Braves through one of the worst stretches in franchise history, piloting the team to a 130-216 record between 1988 and 1990. He stayed in baseball until 2008, returning to the majors only once in 1992 as the Mariners' bench coach, and last serving as a roving minor instructor for the Rangers in 2008.
Died: November 9, 2016, Las Vegas, NV (age 81)
For 12 seasons in the majors, Russ Nixon served one of two roles during his 906 games - back-up catcher or left-handed pinch-hitter. His Appearances summary on his Baseball Reference page is very clean, showing 722 appearances behind the plate and 235 pinch-hitting appearances with nary a cameo at any other position. His best season came during his first full year in the majors, with the Indians in 1958, when he batted .301 with career highs in home runs (9) and RBIs (46). Nixon was a lifetime .268 batter with 27 home runs and 266 RBIs, and he was in the top ten for catcher's fielding percentage in the American League twice (1958, 1960).
Nixon managed the Single-A Tampa Tarpons in the Reds' system between 1971 and 1975, before joining the Reds' big league coaching staff under Sparky Anderson to start the 1976 season. He remained a coach with the Reds until 1982 when he was promoted to manager after the team fired John McNamara. After last place finishes in 1982 and 1983, Nixon was fired and moved on as a coach for the Expos (1984-85) and then the Braves (1986-87). In 1988 he was managing the Braves' Double-A team in Greenville when he took over as manager in Atlanta when Chuck Tanner was fired. Nixon managed the Braves through one of the worst stretches in franchise history, piloting the team to a 130-216 record between 1988 and 1990. He stayed in baseball until 2008, returning to the majors only once in 1992 as the Mariners' bench coach, and last serving as a roving minor instructor for the Rangers in 2008.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #340
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index -16
1969 Season
On December 2, 1968, Nixon was drafted by the White Sox from the Red Sox in the annual rule 5 draft. He must not have had a great spring training, as he was released on April 5th, and as the Red Sox declined to take him back he became a free agent. Nixon was out of baseball for the year, and was hired as a minor league catching instructor for the Reds on February 14, 1970.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #133
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1958-69, 1983-84, 1988-90
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Fleer ProCards #883
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 78 in the Beckett online database as of 7/7/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 48th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me less than $1.
The Card / White Sox Team Set / Accuracy Index -16
Nixon never played for the White Sox (see below) and the photo used here dates from his Red Sox days between 1963 and 1965. Those are the seasons he wore #5 with the club, and you can see the number peaking through on the back of his jersey. The cartoon on the back mentions Nixon breeding Arabian horses during the offseason, and his SABR biography notes he went back to his 52-acre farm and his horses following his firing by the Reds in 1983. This has to be one of the more unique cartoons in the entire set.
Accuracy Index: Nixon's card loses points all over the place as the catcher didn't play with the White Sox in 1969 (-2) or ever (-6), he's wearing a Red Sox jersey (-5) and his hat is logo-less (-3).
1969 Season
On December 2, 1968, Nixon was drafted by the White Sox from the Red Sox in the annual rule 5 draft. He must not have had a great spring training, as he was released on April 5th, and as the Red Sox declined to take him back he became a free agent. Nixon was out of baseball for the year, and was hired as a minor league catching instructor for the Reds on February 14, 1970.
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #133
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1958-69, 1983-84, 1988-90
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Fleer ProCards #883
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 78 in the Beckett online database as of 7/7/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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