"The Athletics acquired Jim from the Yankees' Kansas City farm in a big pre-1954 deal. A catcher, he can also play second base and shortstop.
He spent three and a half years at Bradley University before signing with the Yankees in 1949. His father was athletic director and a coach at Bradley.
Jim was sent to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and got in 44 games his first season in baseball. With Binghamton of the Eastern League in 1952, he was in 117 games and hit .303."
-1954 Bowman No. 211
"Jim came to the Athletics in a winter trade with the Yankees. He divided the 1953 campaign between Syracuse (.264 in 28 games) and Kansas City (.278 in 77 games).
He never hit below .290 in three previous full seasons as a Yankee farmhand, batting .295 at Quincy in 1950, .290 at Muskegon in '51 and .303 at Binghamton in '52.
At 12, Jim ran a basketball class for kids in Peoria, Illinois. He starred in basketball and football as well as baseball. The son of a coach at Bradley University, Jim is a tumbling instructor and can turn a neat cartwheel or a backflip."
-1954 Topps No. 149
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