---

Ferris Fain broke into professional baseball at age 18 with the Double-A San Francisco Seals in 1939. A great defensive first baseman from the get-go, Fain eventually blossomed into a force at the plate.

World War II interrupted his minor league career and took him away from baseball from ages 22 to 24. While in the military, Sergeant Fain played on one of the strongest service teams that featured three future Hall of Famers – Joe DiMaggio, Red Ruffing, and Joe Gordon.

According to his SABR biography, Fain said of the experience, “I believe that playing service ball made the difference in me going to the major leagues. That’s because I got a chance to play against and with all these guys.”

When Fain returned to the PCL Seals in ’46 he was a 26-year old at a crossroads. Either he’d make the big leagues soon or accept that he was a career minor leaguer.

Fain responded with by hitting .301 with a .423 on-base percentage and 111 runs batted in. After the season, the Philadelphia Athletics selected Fain via the Rule 5 draft.

The first big league game he ever saw was his own debut. That came on April 15, 1947 at Yankee Stadium – the same day Jackie Robinson broke the color line across town in Brooklyn.

When given a shot at the majors, Fain immediately proved he belonged.

The 5’11”, 180-pounder hit .291 with a .414 on-base percentage and a 132 OPS+. Fain finished four in Rookie of the Year balloting and 19th in the MVP vote.

Known for his drinking and combative nature, Fain continually produced at the plate, performed with the leather. He was widely considered the best defensive first baseman of his time. At the plate he reached base at a historic rate.

Though knee injuries limited his career to nine seasons, Fain made the most of his time. He made the All Star team five consecutive years from 1950-54. During that period he hit .302 with a .427 on-base percentage. Along the way Fain won two batting crowns and led the league in doubles and on-base percentage one season each.

In 7 of his 9 years at baseball’s top level Fain recorded 90 or more walks. Five of those campaigns included 105 or more free passes.

Fain reached base at a clip of .400 or better in every season he played at least 70 games. In 1954, the lone year he didn’t reach the benchmark, Fain finished at .399. Only 14 men in the history of the game have a higher career on-base percentage than his .424 mark.

When he left the game in 1955, Fain’s career marks included 1,139 hits and 904 walks in 9 big league seasons. With only one year with as many as 30 strikeouts, Fain totaled just 261 whiffs in 4,905 plate appearances.

Once out of the game, Fain moved to California where he worked construction. He was arrested twice in the 1980s for growing marijuana and served 18 months after his second conviction.

Later in life, Fain suffered from a number of ailments. He passed away at age 80 in Georgetown, California.

In the collection is this government postcard signed by Fain in 1953.

---

Shown here is the back of the government postcard signed by Ferris Fain. The postmark is from New York city on June 24, 1953.

That day Fain returned to Yankee Stadium – the site of his big league debut – as a member of the White Sox. A glance at the box score shows that Fain walked and scored two of Chicago’s runs in the 8-4 victory over New York.

The ’53 season saw Fain’s fourth of five consecutive All Star campaigns. It was also his final year with triple digit hit or walk totals.

Though signatures of Fain are by no means rare, vintage examples from the 1950s remain highly desired.