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Virgil Trucks pitched for five teams during his 17-year big league career that spanned from 1941-1958. The fourth of 13 children, Trucks grew up in Alabama and took to baseball at an early age. An infielder and outfielder with a strong arm, Trucks played on “company teams” after high school and attracted the interest of the Tigers who signed him in 1937.

Before his first pro season he switched to the mound and found immediate success. Trucks garnered national attention in 1938 in Class D Andalusia going 25-6 with an astounding 420 strikeouts, 1.25 ERA, and two no-hitters to boot.

After moving up the ranks in the minor leagues, Trucks reached the bigs in 1941 and was there to stay the next year. In his second start in the majors – on his 25th birthday – Trucks earned his first big league win. The following season the Tigers rotation featured Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser and Tommy Bridges, an all star in seven of the previous nine seasons. Trucks led the team with 14 wins, solidifying his place in the major leagues.

Among his career highlights are two All Star appearances, a 20-win season, and a victory in Game 2 of the 1945 Fall Classic. In 1952 he became the third Major Leaguer in history to toss two no-hitters in a single season.

Statistically speaking, his ’52 season was a strange one. Despite his two gems, he won only 5 games. Four of his five wins were complete games, three of them shutouts. In his victories he allowed only 2 runs on 9 hits in 43 2/3 innings.

In the collection is this government postcard from 1949 signed neatly by the 177-game winner.

 

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Government postcards offer collectors context to the signature. This one comes with a postmark date of July 29, 1949, two weeks after Virgil Trucks’ first All Star appearance.

Sent from Philadelphia at 7pm, the card was mailed just after Trucks’ Tigers dropped the first game of a three-game set against Connie Mack’s Athletics.

The next day Trucks took the hill for his 200th career appearance. Trucks was magnificent. Backed by 11 runs, he allowed just five hits en route to a his 11th career shutout an 59th complete game.

A willing signer via the mail throughout his life, Trucks enjoyed interacting with all fans who wrote to his home. One of the nicest men in the game, Trucks even included his own signed postcard to autograph seekers. Though his signature is plentiful, autographs like this one from his playing days more than a half-century ago remain highly sought-after.

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Two years after he broke baseball’s color barrier, Jackie Robinson became one of a quartet of men to break the same barrier for the All Star Game. That 1949 contest featured Jackie as a starter at second base.

Dodger teammates catcher Roy Campanella and pitcher Don Newcombe also made the National League squad. The American League’s trailblazer was outfielder Larry Doby.

Doby’s Junior Circuit club prevailed in high-scoring 11-7 affair. Joe and Dom DiMaggio each had a double and a single while combining for four RBI and 3 runs scored.

For the losing side, Stan Musial and Ralph Kiner each hit homers in front of the Brooklyn faithful at Ebbets Field.

The AL victory was it’s 12th win in the first 16 All Star contests. Virgil Trucks got the victory despite giving up two runs on three hits in his two innings of work.

Shown here is a 14-karat gold wristwatch given to American League President William Harridge. The inscription on the back of the watch reads, “All Star Game Brooklyn, July 12, 1949”.

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Virgil Trucks gained a win and a save in two All Star appearances. Along the way he faced Dodger legend Jackie Robinson, Cardinals great Stan Musial, and other Hall of Famers.

How did he fare against the five NL Cooperstown men he faced? Those batters went 2-for-5 with two walks.

Trucks was lucky enough to get the win in 1949 though he gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in two innings of work.

The Detroit righty was better in the ’54 contest. He entered the game in the top of the 9th inning with the host AL squad leading 11-9. After walking Dodger centerfielder Duke Snider, Trucks retired Musial, Gil Hodges, and Ransom Jackson to close the game and earn the save.

In the collection is this letter from Hall of Fame National League President Warren Giles. Dated three days after the All Star Game, the letter is to Hall of Fame shortstop Pee Wee Reese.

“It was a great show for the fans who were present and the millions who saw it on T.V. and the only thing I regret is that we lost,” Giles writes.

One can only image the thrill of seeing the greatest players of the 1950s play in the Mid Summer Classic.