MISSING IN ACTION- 1978 JERRY HAIRSTON

Here’s a “missing” 1978 card for Jerry Hairston, who is part of a rare three-generation Major League baseball family:

Hairston appeared in 64 games during the 1977 season, split between the Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates.
As a matter of fact the 51 games he suited up for Pittsburgh in ‘77 would be the only games outside of a White Sox uniform he would play during his 14-year career that spanned 17 years between 1973 and 1989.
During that 1977 season Hairston batted a combined .231 with 18 hits in 78 at-bats while playing all three outfield positions and a single game at second base.
He would end up playing in the Mexican League between 1978 and 1980, making his return to the Majors in 1981, back with the White Sox, and for whom he would play out the rest of his career as a guy off the bench, especially for pinch-hitting duties.
He would finish his career with a .258 average based on 438 hits in 1699 at-bats over 859 games.
It’s also worth mentioning that Hairston’s father Sam was a big league ballplayer in 1951 with the White Sox, playing in four games, while also putting together a career in the Negro Leagues.
On top of that, Hairston Sr’s two sons, Jerry Jr and Scott, as well as his own brother John would also be Major League players to various degrees, giving us an expanded three generation baseball family.

MISSING IN ACTION-1977 JERRY HAIRSTON

Here’s a “missing” 1977 Topps card for long time “player off the bench” Jerry Hairston:

Hairston played in 44 games for the Chicago White Sox during the 1976 season, good for a .227 batting average based on his 27 hits in 119 official at-bats.
He was just in his fourth of what would end up being 14 years in the Major Leagues, with a three year gap between 1978 and 1980 before playing out the next nine years with the White Sox after a short stint with the Pittsburgh Pirates at the tail end of 1977.
Though never a full-time player I always remember him as a solid guy off the bench in a pinch-hitting role with the Sox in the early ‘80’s.
In his 14 years as a big leaguer, the most games he appeared in was 115 in 1984, and the most plate appearances he ever collected in any one campaign was 274 back in 1975.
Also, for those of you not familiar, Hairston was part of some true family baseball lineage, as his father Sam, brother John and two sons Scott and Jerry Jr were all also Major League ball players. Pretty amazing stuff.