I had never heard of pitcher Doyle Lade, and it turns out that I have two of his cards. The one on the top is a Bowman reprint from the 1949 set. It looks like they took a black and white photo and colored it. And it wasn't a very good coloring job: the C in the Cubs logo was painted blue, instead of it's actual color, red.
The second card is a reprint from the 1951 set. Bowman started with the same photo that they did in '49, but used the photo to creating a painting. And this time they left the background in, the beautiful brick wall at Wrigley Field. Plus, this time they got the logo coloring right.
Doyle Lade pitched for the Cubs for five seasons, from 1946 (just three games) to 1950. Most of his career was as a swing man, mostly relieving but getting an occasional spot start. His best season was 1947, his first full season in the majors. He had career highs in starts (25) and wins (11). But his career ERA was high, 4.39, and he didn't make the team in 1951. Instead, he spent the next four years back in the minors. He never did return to the major leagues.
Andy Varga saw very limited time with the Cubs in 1951 wearing #23. Neither Topps or Bowman issued a card for him.
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