Tuesday, November 24, 2009

#13) JOHN STEPHENSON

John Stephenson was signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent on May 30, 1963. He made his major league debut in a Mets uniform facing the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium on April 14, 1964. Primarily a catcher, John would also be used at third base and the outfield in his three seasons in New York. Stephenson was sent to the Chicago Cubs on June 17, 1967 to complete an earlier trade. He would return to the Mets to serve as their bullpen catcher in 1992.

John was born in South Portsmouth, Kentucky, but is featured on a 16 foot mural wearing his Mets uniform in Portsmouth, Ohio. In 1993, artist Robert Dafford began painting murals of Portsmouth's history on the city's floodwalls. Most of the mural project was finished around 2003, and the baseball mural honoring local baseball heroes was completed in 2006. Obviously he was confused about Johnny's hometown.

John Stephenson's entry in the set was created on November 24, 2009 from an autographed index card given to me by my friend Jessie.

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