I just read where Johnny Callison passed away this weekend. I beleive I was in High School when we brought him up. He was the classic "Can't Miss" prospect. Of course, we brought him up a year too early, he struggled a bit, and then we mde what was arguably the worst trade in franchise history. We traded him to the Phillies for an over the hill Gene Freese. I believe it was 1959, right after we won the pennant.

 

Callison proved to be a notch below Hall of Fame calibre, but he was a great ballplayer. Super defensive in Right and a solid hitter. I don't know his life time stats. Maybe one of you guys can post it. He was not far below the ability of Al Kaline, for example.

 

Bill Veeck pulled the trigger on that trade. I know he got a lot of credit for a lot of good things he did in baseball, but that trade was awful, right from the beginning.

 

Johnny was only 67. R.I.P.

The Norm Cash trade was worse even if it did get the Sox Minoso.

 

RIP Johnny

Edited October 16, 200619 yr by knightni

Johnny Callison:

 

3 time all-star

Lifetime .264 BA

.331 OBP

.441 SLG

840 RBI

226 HR

 

In 1964, he finished 2nd in MVP voting behind Ken Boyer.

Dont forget Earl Battey for an aging Roy Sievers-all 3 of those trades were awful. I think the Callison trade was worst

RIP Johnny Callison!

The Norm Cash trade was worse even if it did get the Sox Minoso.

 

RIP Johnny

Cash and Minoso weren't involved in a trade for each other. We gave Cash to the Tigers, also after the 1959 season. We got Minoso in 1951, I beleive, and it was from the Indians. We later traded Minoso and Fred Hatfield for Al Smith and Early Wynn ( early 1959).

 

Cash had a solid career with Detroit, hitting something like .360 one year. I've heard rumors about his using corked bats that year. I have no idea if it's true.

Cash and Minoso weren't involved in a trade for each other. We gave Cash to the Tigers, also after the 1959 season. We got Minoso in 1951, I beleive, and it was from the Indians. We later traded Minoso and Fred Hatfield for Al Smith and Early Wynn ( early 1959).

 

Cash had a solid career with Detroit, hitting something like .360 one year. I've heard rumors about his using corked bats that year. I have no idea if it's true.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cashno01.shtml#TRANS

 

December 6, 1959: Traded by the Chicago White Sox with Bubba Phillips and Johnny Romano to the Cleveland Indians for Minnie Minoso, Dick Brown, Don Ferrarese, and Jake Striker.

let's not forget trading away Brian Downing.

 

Or Goose Gossage.

 

Or Terry Forster.

 

Or Bobby Bonilla for Jose DeLeon.

 

Or Don Buford.

 

we've made a bunch of bad trades -- like most teams.

 

trading Forster and Gossage to the Pirages for Richie Zisk and Silvio Martinez pretty bad.

 

trading Looie Aparicio and Al Smth to Balty for Hansen, Ward, Nicholson and Wilhelm was questionable.

Or Bobby Bonilla for Jose DeLeon.

 

 

I still remember that one. An up-and-coming slugger on house money for someone who held the single-season record for losses in a season. Anthony Young, IIRC, tied it in a disastrous Mets season a few years back and then the next year the Cubs picked him up.

I dunno, in hindsight, it was not completely horrendous. Bonilla obviously turned into a very, very good ballplayer down the line, but DeLeon had a very solid year and a half with the Sox and then he was traded to St. Louis for One-Dog, Ricky Horton(who was later dealt for the immortal Shawn Hillegas), and cash.

 

I dunno, I guess I've just seen worse trades than that. Not saying it's good by any stretch of the imagination, but it's no Brock for Broglio(or more recently, AJP for God, Moses, and Nathan)

Didn't Johnny Callison play for the Cub at the end?

He was a pretty good player. Remember in those days pitching dominated, too.