Hero in a cardboard box

[LuckyLarry]

I went to a couple of card shows yesterday, and picked up some extra 1955 Bowman umpire cards for $2 each. As I was upgrading the cards in my set, I read the back of #313 A.J. Donatelli.
August "Augie" Donatelli enjoyed a 14 game minor league career as player. Flew 18 combat missions in a B-17 as a tail gunner and was shot down during the first daylight raid on Berlin. Suffered a broken ankle, and held 15 months as a POW. Noted for his dramatic ejection gestures. A primary force in creating the first umpires union in 1964, he immediately lost his crew chief position courtesy NL President Giles.
Augie Donatelli died in his sleep in 1990 age 75.

[Kurri17]

Interesting. It's funny, back in the day we actually did read the backs of the cards.

A tip of the cap to Augie.

[Vintagevault13]

Great card and story. I absolutely love reading the backs of cards, especially from the early-mid 50's. I would argue that the backs were as important as the pictures on the fronts to the manufacturers in the 50's. The cards were truly meant to educate the young collectors. Some of my best memories are reading and absorbing the info on the backs of 1974 Topps cards (the year I began collecting). In those pre-ESPN/Internet days, that was about the only way for a 9-year-old kid to learn about the players.


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[Jdoggs]

Fantastic story thanks for sharing!

[brian1961]

Thanks for sharing about Augie, Larry. I would read the backs of the cards, too. However, I never owned this card. I salute you and your memory, Mr. Donatelli. I well recall my years of watching the Cubs play on WGN TV channel 9. Cubs announcer Jack Brickhouse would have the cameraman introduce each Cub starting the game that afternoon as they were warming up, and afterwards would do the same for each of the umpires. Augie Donatelli's name became very familiar in just a year, and a respected umpire at that. Now I have something all the more important to respect him for.

Thanks again, Larry. Long live ice hockey, as that is what I seem to recall you always posting about!

Regards, Brian Powell

[tjv815]

That's a great story on the back of the 55 bowman. When I first started collecting cards, I always read the backs. It was the way I learned about the history of baseball and football. There wasn't much hoops or hockey available for sale. I guess that's why I lack some knowledge in th history of those sports. I still enjoy erasing the backs, checking the stats,
Good stuff.
TJ

[egri]

Great find, Larry. I'm noticing in my project that almost everyone in the set was in either World War II or Korea, and several of them are/were combat veterans. The card backs mention that Cubs pitcher Turk Lown was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge, Senators infielder Wayne Terwilliger served with the Marines on Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima, and Athletics pitcher Joe Coleman was a US Navy aviator. Then there are a lot of guys who don't have stat lines for the previous season because they had been in the military. On of the tougher cards, that I'm on the lookout for, is Senators catcher Mickey Grasso, who was captured at the Battle of Kasserine Pass in 1943. He spent the rest of the war as a POW, and it contributed to his early death at the age of 55 in 1975.

[Volod]

Nice find Larry. It's always great to read about guys who both played and sacrificed without fanfare. Link to some enjoyable reads on major leaguers who participated in the Battle of the Bulge, including well-known players like Murry Dickson, Ralph Houk, Steve Souchock, Warren Spahn and others: http://www.baseballinwartime.com/bulge.htm

[swarmee]

1991 Face to Face: The Famous Celebrity Guessing Game Cards #HEWI - Henry Winkler
Courtesy of COMC.com
Seeing that card always reminds me of The Fonz.

[JTysver]

The only thing I remember about him was the blown call at home plate in game 2 of the '73 series. My understanding was that he was a really good umpire.

[whitehse]

My cousin married Augie Donatelli's son who,like his father has also passed away. I never got too many stories out of the family because there were issues in the home with Augie being a very strict parent and some childhood rebellion happening. Sadly, they had no memorabilia from his days in MLB.