#106 Billy Gardner

Billy Gardner  Baltimore Orioles

Career: Gardner played 19 seasons in the bigs, five as a regular and four of those with the Orioles thru the late 1950s. He had a career .237 average and his best season came in 1957 when he led the AL with 36 doubles (as well as in at-bats and plate appearances). He played with two Series-winning clubs, the Giants in 1954 (his rookie year) and the 1961 Yankees. He did not appear in the '54 Series but he made the box score in the '61 Series with one AB. 

He later spent five seasons managing the Twins and a short stint as a replacement for Dick Howser in Kansas City when Howser had to undergo cancer treatment.


In 1960: He was traded to the Senators early in April and hit .257  with a career-high 56 RBIs in what would be his last season as a regular.

Off The Charts: His son, Billy Gardner Jr, has been involved in baseball as well and is, at last look, working as the roving coordinator for the Nationals.

The Card: There's that yellow, orange, black and white pattern again. Looks as good with the Orioles as it does with the Pirates.

#105 Larry Sherry

Larry Sherry  Los Angeles Dodgers

Career: Larry Sherry came up thru the Dodgers' chain as a starting pitcher but was converted to relief when he made the majors and became a front line player in 1959. His older brother Norn was a catcher with the Dodgers for much of Larry's tenure. Larry pitched in four of the six World Series games in '59 as the Dodgers beat the White Sox. He allowed only one earned run in his 12+ innings and recorded two saves and two wins. Needless to say, he was named Series MVP. After six years with the Dodgers, he was dealt to the Tigers where he continued his role as stopper. He finished his career with the Astros and a brief stop with the Angels in 1968. He was a pitching coach and minor league manager after his playing days.

In 1960: Coming off his sterling Series showing Sherry had one of his better seasons, winning 14 games and garnering some MVP votes.

Off The Charts: On May 7, 1960, Norm Sherry hit a home run to give Larry a win over Philadelphia.

The Card: Yellow, pink, black, and white looks better than it sounds as a card color combo. I get a Wrigley vibe from the bit of background in this shot. I wouldn't bet on it though.

#104 Dick Schofield

Dick Schofield  Pittsburgh Pirates

Career: Known as 'Ducky' he played 19 years for seven clubs. He spent most of his career as a utility infielder but was the regular shortstop for the Pirates and Giants from 1963 thru 1965. He was a part of two NL championship teams, the Pirates in 1960 and the Cards in 1964. His son, also 'Dick' played for 14 years in the majors and his grandson, Jason Werth, played for 15. All three of them were with the Dodgers at some point in their career.

In 1960: Schofield had a career-high .333 average over 65 games and 102 at-bats. He also hit .333 in the '60 Series by getting a hit in three trips. His tally was a pinch single in the second game.

Off The Charts: The Schofield/Werth family is one of five to have three generations play in the majors. The others are the Bells, Boones, Colemans, and Hairstons. John Schofield, Ducky's father, played minor league ball through the 1930s.

The Card: I really like the color combo here. It complements the Pirates' colors.

#103 Dick Farrell

Dick Farrell  Philadelphia Phillies

Career: Turk Farrell was a four-time NL All-Star who pitched for 13 seasons, mostly in Philadelphia and Houston. He spent part of the 1961 season with the Dodgers. Of his nearly 600 appearances 134 were starts, mostly coming with the Colt 45s/Astros. He had a reputaion as a 'hard living' guy. He moved to England after he retired to work on an offshore rig. At 43 he was killed when his motorcycle was hit by a drunk driver.

In 1960: He won 10 games and had 11 saves for the Phils and racked up a very fine 2.70 ERA.

Off The Charts: In 1962 Farrell became one of eight pitchers selected to the All-Star squad while going on to 20 losses in the same season

The Card: Red seats, pinstripes...it's Connie Mack Stadium. That appears to be #28 behind Farrell which would be Curt Simmons.  I wondered why a vet wouldn't get a 'Season's Highlights' list but checking his stats shows that 1959 was an off-year for him after pitching pretty well in 1957-58. He did get what appears to be a Jack Davis cartoon though.

#102 Kent Hadley

Kent Hadley  New York Yankees

Career: Hadley was originally signed by the Tigers and was dealt to Kansas City in 1957. In 1959 he was the Athletics primary first baseman and hit .253 with 11 homers. He was then traded to the Yankees in the deal that brought Roger Maris to the Bronx. Hadley spent a season in NY, a year in the White Sox chain and then headed to Japan to continue his career.

He played for six seasons for the Nankai Hawks and was a well respected player, the first American to be voted into a Japanese League All Star Game.
 
In 1960: He spent all but the final month of the season with the Yanks and played in 55 games, mostly as a pinch hitter and late-inning replacement at first base. He hit .203 with 4 homers. He was sent to the minors late in August when Casey Stengel decided he wanted a veteran bat off the bench (Dale Long of the Giants) and was not with the club for the Series that season.

Off The Charts: Wikipedia sez...Hadley became the first foreigner to homer in his first at-bat in Japan. For the Nankai Hawks, Kent went deep off of Junichi Nakajima on May 1, 1962, in Heiwadai Stadium.

The Card: He's pitched as an Athletic since Topps didn't have time to scrub his logos. They did add the traded line to his highlights and there's that terrific cartoon