1955 Bowman: #119 Joe Astroth - Kansas City Athletics

Joseph Henry Astroth / Kansas City Athletics / Catcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'9" Weight: 187
Born: September 1, 1922, East Alton, IL
Signed: Signed by the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent before 1945 season
As a Player: Philadelphia Athletics 1945-46, 1949-54; Kansas City Athletics 1955-56
Died: May 3, 2013, Boca Raton, FL (90)

After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II, Joe Astroth spent his entire big league career with the Philadelphia and Kansas City Athletics. Known for his defense, his throwing arm and as a favorite receiver to many pitchers, Astroth was a career .254 hitter with 13 home runs and 156 RBIs over 544 games. He spent the bulk of his early A's career as a back-up catcher to Mike Guerra in 1949 and 1950 and Joe Tipton in 1951. In 1952 he appeared in a career high 104 games and that year's American League MVP, Bobby Shantz (#140), credited Astroth for helping him win 27 games. In 1953, he led all American League catchers in caught stealing percentage (72.1%) and double plays turned (13).

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

1955 Season / Kansas City Athletics

From his SABR biography, written by Robert Cole:

In 1955, the Athletics franchise, forever linked to Philadelphia and Connie Mack, moved halfway across the country to Kansas City with a new manager, Lou Boudreau (#89). Astroth and Wilmer Shantz (#175) shared the catching duties. Astroth caught 100 games, but drove in only 23 runs while hitting .252, virtually matching his career batting average of .254.

Astroth started and caught the final game for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954, and was behind the plate for opening day for the Kansas City Athletics in 1955.

Building the Set / Card #5

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ / Original 17 from the Magic Box

Last fully retold with the Al Dark (#2) post, this Astroth card was one of the 17 cards from the 1955 Bowman set contained within the Magic Box.

The Card / Bowman Exclusive / Bio on Back / Athletics Team Set

Astroth appeared in both Bowman and Topps sets in 1953, before going exclusively to Bowman in 1954 and 1955. He'd have one final mainstream baseball card appearance in the 1956 Topps set. His card features his biography on the back, highlighting his career to date and mentioning Philadelphia as the former home of the now Kansas City Athletics, twice.