Today's Success #2 of 3--Carroll Hardy--MLB

Carroll signed our 1959 Topps TTM in 17 days.

A third-round pick in the 1955 NFL Draft, Hardy chose baseball over football after one year in the National Football League (NFL). He caught 12 passes—four for touchdowns— while he played halfback with the San Francisco 49ers in 1955, but his biggest claim to fame will always be related to baseball, even though he was named the Hula Bowl MVP that year.

As a 49er, he shared the field with Pro Football Hall of Famers Y. A. Tittle, Joe Perry and Hugh McElhenny.

MLB debut
April 15, 1958, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
September 27, 1967, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
Batting average	.225
Home runs	17
Runs batted in	113
Teams
Cleveland Indians (1958–1960) Boston Red Sox (1960–1962) Houston Colt .45's (1963–1964) Minnesota Twins (1967)

Most diehard baseball fans know that Hardy has the honor of being the only player ever to pinch-hit for Ted Williams, but few know that his pinch-hit résumé goes well beyond this claim to immortality: he was the only player to pinch-hit for Carl Yastrzemski, Williams's replacement in left field, and also pinch-hit for Roger Maris.