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Player: Silvera, Al

Card: 1956 Topps #137

Position: LF

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Aaron Albert Silvera (b. August 26, 1935 in San Diego, CA – d. July 24, 2002 in Los Angeles, CA) was an outfielder who played parts of two seasons for the Cincinnati Redlegs of Major League Baseball in 1955–1956.

Silvera was born in San Diego, California, to Albert and Victoria Silvera and was of Jewish and Italian descent on his paternal side and of Syrian Jewish descent on his maternal side. He was the nephew of former Major League pitcher "Subway" Sam Nahem).

He was a high school star at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, CA. Before college, he played in the local Western League in Los Angeles in 1952, where he was named to the First Team. In 1953 and 1954 he was again in the Western League and named Player of the Year both times. In 1955, he went to college, and after being named Freshman Player of the Year, the Redlegs offered him $50,000 and a car to sign with them. Al's career was another example of the "Bonus Baby" rule negatively impacting a player's career.

Al was on the roster of the Redlegs for two years, 1955 and 1956 but he suffered an injury and didn't appear in many games. After baseball, he worked in Los Angeles for a manufacturer. He coached Little League for 15 years and was active in the Jewish community in L.A. He died in 2003 after a 25-year struggle with brain cancer.

He was named in 2003 to the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. A resident of Beverly Hills, California, Silvera died in Los Angeles at age 66. He was buried at the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in nearby Culver City, California.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)

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al silvera, Cincinnati reds
Image from Cincinnativiews.net

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Al is part of the Cincinnati Reds Player Tour – Go to the Next Stop


See Al’s baseball cards at TCDB


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