1952 Bowman: Billy Johnson

The 1952 Bowman is perhaps my favorite baseball card set of all time.

Its design is simple vintage--no logos, no gold stamping, no refractoring. Just the player and his autograph.

Each card is a colorful work of art, a portrait of baseball from a bygone era.

I first started collecting them in 1999. So far, I have eight out of 14 Cardinals cards to complete the set. Here are the ones I still need:

• #30 Red Schoendienst
• #62 Joe Presko
• #107 Del Rice
• #160 Eddie Stanky
• #196 Stan Musial
• #232 Enos Slaughter

Wow--three Hall of Famers, including Stan the Man. Presko, Rice, and Stanky are doable. But Red, Stan, and "Country" will take some saving and looking for the right deal on eBay. Still, it would be a great set to have in my album! Another card-collecting goal for 2012.

Happy Birthday, Hal Rice

Today's Cardinals birthday is Hal Rice, who was born 88 years ago today in 1924 in Morganette, West Virginia.

Rice spent six seasons with the Cardinals from 1948 to 1953. As an outfielder on a club with future Hall of Fame outfielders Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter, it was difficult for him to be an everyday player. In 1952, with Musial at first base, Rice played in a career-high 98 games for St. Louis, batting .288 with seven homers and 45 RBIs. The following season, with Musial back in left field and having played just eight games, Rice was traded with cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for third baseman Pete Castiglione. A lifetime .260 hitter, he played his last major-league season in 1954 with the Pirates and Chicago Cubs. Rice passed away on December 22, 1997 in Bloomington, Indiana, and as a World War II veteran, he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.