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Harvey Kuenn was one of the top hitters in baseball during the 1950s. He earned the Rookie of the Year Award in ’53, reached eight straight All Star games, and led the league in hits four times. In the final year of the decade he hit .353 to win the batting championship. By the time he retired, Kuenn amassed 2,092 hits and a .303 lifetime batting average.

Kuenn has three interesting links to Dodger great Sandy Koufax. The last out in two of the lefty’s no hitters – one a perfect game – Kuenn also faced Koufax in his final big league at bat. Revenge was sweet for Kuenn who laced a single to left and called it a career.

In the collection is 1963 contract between Kuenn and Picture Pal. That season Kuenn saw his numbers drop from 148 hits, 10 homers, and 68 RBI in 1962 to 121 hits, 6 homers, and 31 RB in ’63. Kuenn would play three more years, his statistics declining each season.

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Harvey Kuenn singled in his last big league at bat off of none other than The Left Arm of God, Sandy Koufax. Though Kuenn was proud of that moment, it was another Koufax encounter that remains vivid in the minds of many baseball fans.

That came on September 9, 1965 when Kuenn was in the twilight of his career and Koufax was at his apex. The Dodger lefty retired 25 straight batters before Cubs skipper Lou Klein summoned Kuenn to take the on-deck circle. From there Harvey watched teammate Joe Amalfitano become the fifth consecutive Chicago batter to go down on strikes. As Amalfitano walked back to the dugout he told Kuenn, “Watch out, Harv. He’s really humming.”

Kuenn, who came into the game hitting .224 replied prophetically, “Wait here, Joe. I’ll be right back.” When the former batting champ swung and missed on a 2-2 fastball, Koufax completed the finest performance of his career, a 14- strikeout perfect game.

The image above shows the reverse of the 1963 contract between Picture Pal and Kuenn who has affixed his signature at the bottom. So how did Kuenn actually fare against Koufax during his career? He had more strikeouts than hits and tallied a .114 average in 70 lifetime at bats.

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In April, 1960 the Indians and the Tigers shocked the baseball world with a blockbuster trade. Cleveland sent fan favorite and reigning American League home run champ Rocky Colavito to the Motor City. Their return was Harvey Kuenn, the reigning AL batting champ

The deal horrified Cleveland fans. Colavito was just 26 years old and had slugged 83 home runs the last two seasons. He finished in the top-5 in MVP voting each year.

To his credit, Kuenn – then 29 – was coming off a pretty good run himself. An All Star in each of the preceding 7 seasons, he earned the batting crown in ’59. Kuenn hit .353, twenty-six points ahead of runner-up and teammate Al Kaline.

Things didn’t go as well for Kuenn after the trade. Though he hit .308 and made the All Star team for the Tribe, Kuenn spent just one year in Cleveland. He then spent six more lackluster years in the majors and topped the .300 mark just once in that span.

Colavito spent the rest of his 20s in Detroit. Twice an All Star for the Tigers, he slammed 139 homers and drove in 408 runs in his quartet of seasons in Detroit. Colavito played 9 more seasons after the trade and averaged 27 dingers per year after leaving Cleveland. The Indians inducted Colavito into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2006.

The trade of the league’s reining batting champ for the reining home run leader remains the only one of its kind in baseball history.

In the collection is this government postcard signed by Colavito in 1959, the year of the famous trade. That season he joined Lou Gehrig as the only men in American League history to homer in four straight at bats in a nine-inning game. Colavito also hit a homer in the ’59 All Star game and led the junior circuit with 42 clouts. More on Colavito can been seen by clicking here.

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Harvey Kuenn’s time with the Tigers included the 1953 Rookie of the Year Award, seven All Star appearances, and the 1959 batting crown. In April of 1960 Detroit traded him to Cleveland.

Though he represented the Indians in the 1960 All Star Game and hit .308 on the year, Kuenn’s career was on the decline. An All Star in 8 of his first 9 campaigns, Kuenn was a career .313 hitter through his age-30 season. After that Kuenn topped the .300 mark just one in his remaining 6 years in the bigs. Never again an All Star, Kuenn hit .278 the rest of the way – a drop of 35 points.

After 9 years in the Motor City, Kuenn spent one in Cleveland, four and a half seasons in San Francisco, parts of two years in Chicago, before ending his career with 86 games in Philadelphia.

Shown here is a 1963 Topps baseball card autographed by Harvey Kuenn.