Monday, April 4, 2016

FANTASY COACH CARD: 1971 NELLIE FOX

After completing what was to be a Hall of Fame career as a player, Nellie Fox put in some time as a coach for both the Houston Astros and Washington Senators/Texas Rangers.
So I decided to whip up a 1971 “Fantasy Coach” card for him:


After coaching in Houston between 1965 and 1967 he moved on to Washington where he seemed to be in line to take over managerial duties after Jim Lemon stepped down. But after the great Ted Williams was hired to take over at the helm, Fox stayed on and moved with the organization to Texas when they became the Rangers.
Sadly, Fox was diagnosed with skin cancer in 1973, and after a two year battle he passed away in December of 1975 at the very young age of 47.
Though he just missed being elected to the Hall by the BBWA in 1985, garnering 74.7% of the vote, he was finally (and justly) elected by the Veteran’s committee in 1997, capping off a tremendous career that saw him collect over 2600 hits, score over 1200 runs and take home an MVP Award in 1959 while sparking the “Go-Go” White Sox to an American League pennant.

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