#290 Jerry Lumpe

 

Jerry Lumpe  Kansas City Athletics

Career: Jerry Lumpe was a Yankee prospect who put up impressive minor league numbers but wasn't quite good enough to carve out a spot in their packed lineup in the second half of the 1950s. He spent the early 50s climbing their ladder and serving Uncle Sam. 

Lumpe was a utility infielder on the solid Yankee clubs that played the Braves in the 1957 and 1958 Series and won a ring. Like so many 'close, but not quite good enough' Yankees he found himself shipped to Kansas City in 1959. There he established himself as an everyday player and had a good career with the Athletics and Tigers. He was an All-Star in 1964 and from 1959 through his last season (1967) Lumpe hit nearly .270. 

Lumpe was a coach for the Athletics (under Dick Williams) in 1971 and then went into the banking and insurance businesses. 

In 1960: His numbers were close to his career norms as he had 8 homers and 53 BRI to go along with a .272 average.

Off The Charts: In 1994 Lumpe was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall Of fame. The ballfield in Warsaw, Missouri is named in his honor.

The Card: The cartoon shows Lumpe combing his two off-season hobbies, fishing and golf. Clever.  Here's a closeup.

#278 Stan Williams

 

 

 

Stan Williams  Los Angeles Dodgers

Career: Stan Williams, a Denver native, signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954 and worked his way up through their system over the next three seasons. In '58, with the club now on the West Coast, Williams had a fast start at the AAA level and was called to Los Angeles early in the summer. He made 21 starts and went 9-7 and he carved out a place for himself among the Dodgers' top shelf staff.

 

Williams, who at 6'3" 225 lbs was an imposing figure on the mound, won 43 games between 1959 and 1961 for the Dodgers. He averaged 163 strikeouts over that span.

In 1959 Williams lost his regular rotation spot in the second half of the season but got a huge win with three hit-less innings to wrap up the second playoff game over the Braves. He was traded to the Yankees for Moose Skowron in November of 1962 and was in the Bronx for two seasons, one as a starter and the next primarily out of the bullpen.

 

Williams moved on the the Indians, Twins, Red Sox and Cardinals before hanging up his glove and turning to coaching in the early 70s.

 

Williams served as a pitching coach for 14 MLB seasons, with the Red Sox, Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds. He was also an advance scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Washington Nationals.

In 1960: Williams went 14-10 and made the NL All-Star squad. He was credited with a Hold in the second ASG of that year with two scoreless innings.

Off The Charts: Williams pitched very well in all of his postseason appearances. With the '59 Dodgers (World Series), the '63 Yankees (World Series, and the '69 Twins (ALCS) he totaled 11 innings over four games, allowed only three hits, no runs, and fanned eight. You can probably add the '59 playoff game since it was essentially a post-season game.

The Card: The yellow/blue/white combo and the Memorial Coliseum backdrop make for an attractive card.

#270 Bob Turley

 

 

Bob Turley   New York Yankees

Career: 'Bullet' Bob Turley signed with the St. Louis Browns in 1948 after graduating from East St. Louis (Ill) high school. He'd been sought after by the Yankees but their scouts whiffed and signed a relative by mistake (story below). 

Turley made a one game debut in 1951 and sandwiched minor league seasons around military time. He finally made the Browns for good in 1953 and moved along with them to Baltimore the following year and became the staff ace. But, as he would his whole career, Turley struggled with control. While giving up only 178 hits in 247 innings he walked 181. That led the league as did his 171 strikeouts.

The Yanks got their man for 1955 as part of a huge, complicated trade with the Orioles. Baseball-Reference has the details...

November 17, 1954: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles with players to be named later, Billy Hunter and Don Larsen to the New York Yankees for players to be named later, Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Willy Miranda, Hal Smith, Gus Triandos and Gene Woodling. The New York Yankees sent Bill Miller (December 1, 1954), Kal Segrist (December 1, 1954), Don Leppert (December 1, 1954) and Theodore Del Guercio (minors) (December 1, 1954) to the Baltimore Orioles to complete the trade. The Baltimore Orioles sent Mike Blyzka (December 1, 1954), Darrell Johnson (December 1, 1954), Jim Fridley (December 1, 1954) and Dick Kryhoski (December 1, 1954) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.

Turley put together some outstanding seasons with the Yanks and peaked in 1958 when he won the Cy Young award, led the league with 21 wins and 19 complete games (he led in walks as well), made the All-Star squad and finished second in the MVP voting. He got an MVP trophy in October with an outstanding World Series against the Braves.

In his career, Turley won two titles but his numbers fell off quickly after that '58 season and he finished his career with the Angels and Red Sox in 1963. He had great success in his post-baseball career as a financial planner/insurance and real estate mogul and he became very wealthy.

In 1960: Turley had slipped in 1959 but he rebounded in 1960 to win nine games over 24 starts. His ERA dropped by more than a run.

Off The Charts: From SABR...

[After high school] He attended a Yankee tryout camp with his uncle, Ralph Turley, who was about two years older. Bob impressed the scouts, and one of them made a note to follow up on “R. Turley.” Looking in the phone book, he found the listing for Bob’s grandfather and asked if there was a pitcher in the family. Sure, the grandfather said, my son Ralph. “R. Turley,” check. The Yankees signed Uncle Ralph.

Turley pitched the Orioles’ home opener in 1954, the first major league game in Baltimore since 1902, following a parade that jammed the city’s streets. He struck out nine White Sox in a 3-1 victory. In his next start, he struck out 14 Cleveland Indians and carried a no-hitter into the ninth before a single and a home run beat him.

The Card: It's another really nice one. The Yankees got this color combo as their primary and it looks great. And this is another nice portrait shot and a fun cartoon. I've tried to figure out who the Yankee player is in the background who seems to be watching hitters through the batting cage. He might be Whitey Ford but we're no close enough to know for sure. 

Bonus: Turley was prominent enough during his heyday to warrant a bunch of magazine covers.

None of these are mine. I do remember the Sport cover. My father used to buy Sport to read on his train/bus commute to NYC. He kept them for a long time and I read and re-read them as a kid. Sport was always my favorite magazine.

#262 Hank Bauer

Hank Bauer  Kansas City Athletics

Career: Bauer, whose reputation as a tough ex-Marine is widely known, had a 14-year playing career, twelve of those seasons were with the Yankees. His career peaked with the powerhouse early-to-mid 50s Yankees clubs and Bauer was an All-Star from 1952 through 1955. He picked up MVP votes in five straight years beginning in 1952 as well.

Bauer played in nine World Series with the Yanks, winning seven including five straight from 1949 to 1953. He is sixth on the list of World Series at-bats and hit seven Series homers including four in the '57 Series. The card's cartoon mentions the fact that Bauer holds the record for hits in consecutive World Series games. He still holds the record. His streak included 1956 WS games 1-7, 1957 WS games 1-7, and 1958 WS games 1-3. warren Spahn's two-hit shutout of the Yanks in Game Four of the '58 Classic ended Bauer's run. He got the last laugh though, as he homered off Spahn in his first at-bat in Game Six and he got his ring in the end.

He finished his career with the Athletics in '60/'61. He was the As' player/manager for part of his final active season.

Bauer managed the A's in both KC & Oakland, as well as the Orioles and he won another ring when the '66 Birds swept the Dodgers.

There is a lot more to the Hank Bauer story than I can include here so I'll point you to his SABR bio for a long but entertaining read.


In 1960: Bauer came to the Athletics in the December '59 trade that sent Roger Maris to the Yankees. He got into 95 games and hit a respectable .275 which is right about his career average.

Off The Charts: Bauer's WWII Marine story as told by Wikipedia...

One month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Bauer enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served with the 4th Raider Battalion and G Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. While deployed to the Pacific Theater, Bauer contracted malaria on Guadalcanal, however he recovered from that well enough to earn 11 campaign ribbons, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts (for being wounded in action) in 32 months of combat and the Navy Commendation Medal. Bauer was wounded his second time during the Battle of Okinawa, when he was a sergeant in command of a platoon of 64 Marines. Only six of the 64 Marines survived the Japanese counterattack, and Bauer was wounded by shrapnel in his thigh. His wounds were severe enough to send him back to the United States to recuperate.

Hanks's next-to-last career homer was an inside-the-park job off his pal, Whitey Ford in June of 1961 at Yankee Stadium. I bet they laughed about that one over beers a time or two. Baseball-Reference's home run log says it was hit to 'deep' centerfield. In Yankee Stadium that likely means it rolled to the monuments.

The Card: Topps had their artist paint the A's logo on to Bauer's cap but so little of it is visible on the color shot you wonder why they bothered.

#247 Gil McDougald

Gil McDougald   New York Yankees

Career: After three red-hot minor-league seasons McDougald made the '51 Yanks starting at third and some at second, and proceeded to win the Rookie of the Year award.

He went on to play ten seasons in the Bronx, hit .276 with decent power for an infielder (he moved to short and then second before returning to third), was a five-time All-Star, and had several Top Ten MVP totals.

The 50s Yankees being what they were, McDougald played in eight World Series, winning five rings. He didn't hit particularly well in the post-season as far as average goes, but he homered in the first four he participated in and had two dingers (and a .321 average) in the '58 Classic against the Braves.

McDougald turned down an offer to play for the expansion Angels in 1961 to go into retirement. He scouted for the Yanks for some years and lived his last years on the middle Jersey Shore, passing away at 82.

In 1960: This was the end of the trail for McDougald. He played the fewest games and had the fewest at-bats of his career but he still played in nearly 120 games alternating and third and second with Clete Boyer and Bobby Richardson. Casey Stengel was pulling a boat-load of strings between naps. His numbers were actually as good or better than his previous season in fewer at-bats. You could look it up! 😉

His last big-league appearance came in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series. He entered the game in the top of the ninth as a pinch-runner for Dale Long who had singled a couple of batters earlier and had advanced to third on Mantle's hit. (Why Casey waited to put a runner in for Long until he'd been advanced to third is beyond me. I was watching but I'm sure it went over my 8-year-old head. Anyone?) Anyway, McDougald came home on Yogi Berra's grounder and that run tied up the game at 9-9 and set up what happened in the bottom of that crazy inning. McDougald, btw, had gone in to play third so he had a decent view of Maz' homer sailing over his left shoulder and into history.

Off The Charts: I'm generally not a fan of the Bleacher Report site but the link to this came up in my McDougald search and I thought it was interesting.

Gil McDougald: [...] Line Drive Tragedy

In Aug. 1955, Bob Cerv, who had almost as much power as Mickey Mantle, hit a line drive during batting practice. McDougald, who was otherwise engaged, was standing near second base when the liner struck him in the ear. It eventually cost him his hearing.

McDougald kept his deafness a secret until 1994 when he revealed it to Ira Berkow of the New York Times. A group of physicians read the article and told McDougald that a cochlear implant might restore his hearing. It did.

The other line drive was hit on May 7, 1957 in Cleveland. It struck Cleveland Indians left-hander Herb Score in the eye. Score remained on the ground for several minutes before being carried off the field. Neither Score nor McDougald was ever the same.

From 1951-56, McDougald hit .284/.369/.419, averaging 15 home runs and 77 RBIs over a 162-game season. After the "Herb Score incident," McDougald batted .264/.336/.394, averaging 13 home runs and 61 RBIs.

The Card: Another mystery is why McDougald is pictured capless. It not like he just came over to the Yanks from another club.

#237 Elmer Valo

Elmer Valo  New York Yankees

Career: Elmer Vallo was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics way back in 1939. He spent the rest of that season and most of the next two tearing up minor league pitching. He got a few moments to shine in Philly back then and he proved that major league hurlers were not that much more of a challenge than the minor leaguers he faced.

He nabbed a spot in the Athletics' outfield in 1942 and regressed some. Then Uncle Sam called him up the following year. When he returned from the military in 1946 he ran off a string of six excellent seasons. He hit nearly .300 from '46 through '52.

He continued as a semi-regular outfielder, bench piece, and pinch hitter through 1961 playing for the Athletics after their move to KC, the Indians, Dodgers, Senators/Twins, Phils, and Yankees. His career average was .282 and he went on to coach, manage (in the minors), and scout for many years after his playing days were done.

Valo played big-league ball for 20 seasons but never appeared in a post-season game.


In 1960: Elmer, who had signed as a free agent over the winter, wasn't long for Broadway. He played in eight games for the Yanks,. He went 0-for-5 as a pinch-hitter and was released on May 23rd. He signed the next day with the Senators and continued serving as a pinch hitter as he had in NY. He hit .281 in 86 plate appearances over 76 games off the bench.

Off The Charts: Valo was born in Rybník, Czechoslovakia, and emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six. Only one other big leaguer, Jack Quinn, who pitched from 1909 to 1933 for many different clubs, is listed as being born in what is now known as Slovakia.

Wikipedia contributes this..."Valo stated that he had a plate appearance for Philadelphia on September 30, 1939. If true, Valo would join Ted Williams, Mickey Vernon, and Early Wynn as the only four-decade players of the 1930s to the 1960s. The box score for the game does not list Valo — he claimed that he was left out by the official scorer, as he was not under contract with Philadelphia at the time.
On May 1, 1949, Valo became the first major league player to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game"

The Card: Valo appears in his '59 Indians uni in the B&W shot (his cap is crudely redrawn with the Yankees' 'NY'). The main photo has the LA Memorial Coliseum in the background so it's probably from Valo's 1958 season with the newly relocated Dodgers.

You'd think Topps could fill up the text box for a guy with the long career Valo had. But they put so little there that the spacing makes it look like a random word salad.

Red/yellow/black/red/black* is the most common combo for Yankees cards in the 1960 set. It's used on 13 of them and on 23 cards total. I'm wrapping up the formatting and proofing of my Excel file with the colors for this set.

-------------------

*=the colors listed cover these elements in this order:
'action photo' background
text box background
first letter of name
second letter of name (these last two form the alternating pattern)
team and position test line

#204 Ryne Duren

Ryne Duren  New York Yankees

Career: Duren battled poor eyesight, wildness, and a drinking problem but overcame them all to forge an All-Star career and a post-playing life dedicated to helping teens and ballplayers with their own issues. He banged around the minors as a starting pitcher through several organizations for eight years before finding his niche in the Yankees' bullpen in 1958.

Duren led the league in saves that rookie year and was second in the RoY race. He pitched for the Yanks for four seasons and in two World Series. He had a save in the '58 Series that was very typical of him...two innings, no hits, three walks. His Yankee star faded after 1959 before moving on through several more clubs including the Angels in 1961.  That year he made his third AL All-Star team (after a trade from the Yanks in May) in a season he had a 5.19 ERA.

His final season in pro ball was in 1965 but by then his life had slid off a cliff, and he found himself without a payday. His path soon took even darker turns until nearly two years of being institutionalized changed him. He spent the rest of his days as an addiction counselor. 

In 1960: Coming off two excellent seasons Duren had problems in 1960 and didn't pitch well, or often. He had only eight saves and posted an ERA close to 5.

Off The Charts: Duren wrote two books about his career and life. His SABR bio is highly recommended.

Mt father loved Ryne Duren. He delighted in telling me that Duren would throw warm-up pitches to the backstop and squint at the catcher's signs to scare hitters. I don't recall ever seeing either but it sure tickled my Dad.

#202 Fred Kipp

Fred Kipp  Los Angeles Dodgers

Career: Fred Kipp began his run with the Dodgers in Brooklyn when he signed in 1953. He had a really good year with a couple of their Class B clubs and then spent time with the US Army. He had some up and down results as a starter over three seasons in the minors before sticking with the Dodgers as a knuckleballing reliever in 1958. His numbers were not good.

Kipp was back in the minors in '59 and got a late call-up but wasn't on their World Series roster. The next three years were spent mostly at the top levels of the Yankees' system.

In all, he had a career mark of 6-7 in 47 games in the majors.

In 1960: Kipp was traded (at his request) to the Yankees on the eve of the season's opening. He made four appearances in pinstripes through the end of May and then was sent down to AAA Richmond where he had a fine year out of the bullpen.

Off The Charts: Kipp pitched (ever so briefly) on consecutive Series-winning staffs, the '59 Dodgers, and '60 Yanks. He totaled six games and seven innings.

Kipp has a website for the 2018 book he co-wrote with his son entitled The Last Yankee Dodger. The title comes from his being the last living player to have been a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, The LA Dodgers, and the Yankees.

I had forgotten about his 1959 card and dug up my old post from that blog. Another Memorial Coliseum shot.

Some notes from that post...

Kipp is a member of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame (don't laugh, Walter Johnson is in there, too. So is Ralph Houk) and attended Emporia State. I had a good friend who went there after we graduated high school in Jersey. Never really told me why.

#196 Andy Carey

Andy Carey  New York Yankees

Career: Andy Carey's best days came as the regular (or mostly regular) third-baseman with the Yankee teams of the mid-50s. Coming out of St. Mary's College of California, Carey spent a season and a half in the minors and a season and a half on the Yankees' bench before taking over at third in 1954. He got the job (rather than 'won' the job) because of military service requirements and injuries among Yankee infielders. Carey never really had the confidence of manager Casey Stengel, but he held the spot, sometimes tenuously, through 1959. His above-average glove at third helped quite a bit.

Carey played on four Yankee pennant winners and won titles with the '56 and '58 clubs. He moved on to three other teams after his Yankee career and retired after the 1962 season. Carey finished with a .260 average and 64 homers.

In 1960: On May 19, having only gotten three at-bats and been deemed expendable by the emergence of Clete Boyer, Carey was fired off to the Athletics for Bob Cerv. He was handed the 3rd base job and played there as the regular the rest of the season. He hit only .233, but he hit 12 homers which matched his season-high. This was his last season to play in at least a hundred games and began a tour of a few new clubs (the White Sox in '61, the Phils, to whom he refused to report, and Dodgers in 1962) which finished off his career.

Off The Charts: Carey's life off the field was as turbulent as it seemed to be on it. He married numerous times. His first was to Hollywood fringe starlet Lucy Marlow. He worked in insurance after retiring, buried a son shot by police following an armed robbery gone bad, and was severely injured in a fall down some stairs later in life. He never fully recovered from that fall and developed dementia. He died at age 80 in 2011.

#195 Lindy McDaniel

Lindy McDaniel  St. Louis Cardinals

Career: Lindy McDaniel pitched 21 seasons in the majors in a career that lasted from 1955 to 1975. He worked in 987 games, 913 in relief. He pitched only eight games in the minors and those came after a rough patch in 1958 and the demotion marked the end of his time as a starter. That period came primarily in 1957. He was back in the bigs after that short 'cooling-off' and found a home in the bullpen.

The Oklahoma native played for the Cardinals through 1962. Having seen his effectiveness decrease after twice leading the league in saves, they dealt him to the Cubs, and he rebounded nicely. In '63 he won his second Top Reliever Award and again led the NL in saves. He called Wrigley home for three years, spent a couple of seasons with the Giants, and then was an effective middle innings guy (and sometimes stopper) for the Yankees for six more. McDaniel finished up with two years in KC as a Royal.

In his career, he won 141 games against 199 losses and racked up 174 saves. It's almost hard to believe that he spent so much time playing in the majors for teams with so many combined league titles, and yet he never once pitched in a post-season game.

Baseball-Reference lists every player's 'Similarity Scores', a list of guys who have numbers that are close to the numbers of the player being profiled. On the list they have for Lindy McDaniel the top five are Ron Reed, Hoyt Wilhelm, Tom Gordon, Goose Gossage, and Stu Miller. Wilhelm and Gossage are in the Hall. I'm not saying McDaniel was a Hall of Fame-caliber pitcher, but I would have thought he'd have picked up more than the couple of votes he got in the two years he was on the ballot.

In 1960: In a long and accomplished career, this season stands out as McDaniel's best. Cards manager Solly Hemus called on him 65 times, all but two in relief. McDaniel responded with brilliance. Pitching 116 innings he allowed only 85 hits and fanned 105. He made the NL All-Star team (surprisingly for the only time) and picked up the save in the 2nd of the two ASGs. He was 12-4 with a 2.09 ERA, led the league with 27 saves, had a WHIP below 1.0, and finished third in the Cy Young race and fifth in the MVP voting. McDaniel won the very first Fireman Of The Year Award as well. Hell, I have no idea what Win Probability Added is, but he led the league in that, too!

Off The Charts: I usually don't port over chunks from my other blogs but I thought I'd do so for this one. Here is part of what I wrote for McDaniel's post on my 1958 blog. It contains some links to McDaniel mentions on my Five Tool blog.

---

I've collected most if not all of McDaniel's Topps cards. He's been a favorite of mine for a long time. I've related several times the two 1970 games in which he participated that are among my most memorable ever. I wrote to him a few years ago and asked him about both games. Here is the letter with his responses:

 
He also sent along several of his own signed items with the cards I sent. He remains a good TTM signer and accepts donations to his Christian ministry.

Finally, a few tidbits about Lindy McDaniel. He had two brothers who played pro baseball. One of them, Von McDaniel, has a card in this 1958 set. His cousin is longtime University of Texas football coach Darrell Royal. He homered for the Yankees in 1972 and that's the last home run hit by a Yankee pitcher. When he retired in 1975 his 987 appearances were second all-time only to Hoyt Wilhelm. He's since been bypassed in that category by many others and currently ranks 17th. (Wilhelm is now 6th). 2020 edit: those numbers hold true.

---

And when I posted his '59 card on that set's blog I included this account of the game I mentioned in that letter:

---

One of the best regular-season games I ever saw involved Lindy McDaniel. I watched the Orioles and Yankees on July 8 of 1970 with my Dad on t.v. My O's were starting to put the Yanks in their rearview mirror and were coming off a dramatic 10th inning win the previous night. Brooks Robinson's bottom of the 10th grand slam had beaten, yup, Lindy McDaniel. I'd listened to that one on the Orioles radio network which, if I turned my portable Panasonic the right way, came in pretty darn clear in the kitchen of our house on the central New Jersey coast.

But the game in question was even better. The Orioles jumped out to an early lead with a three-run first in Memorial Stadium. Don Buford had led the game off with a homer and Frank Robinson had driven in a run with the first of what would be four hits on the night.

The Yanks tied it and took a lead of 4-3 quickly enough, the highlight of the comeback a three-run shot by Thurman Munson off Dave McNally. But the seesaw tilted back when Boog Powell and Frank Robinson blasted back-to-back shots in the bottom of the fourth! Jump ahead to the top of the 8th and the Yanks had edged back to trail only 6-5 and then broke out with homers from John Ellis and ex-Bird Curt Blefary. Now it's 8-6 New York in front and I'm pissed.

Lindy McDaniel is working his second inning on his second straight night in a tight game. Frank Robinson, never one to let a tense situation slip away without doing something special, drills his second homer of the evening to lead off the 9th and it's a one-run game again. Then Brooks Robinson and Dave Johnson single and I remember that I cannot sit down any longer. With Bobby Grich running for Brooks, Andy Etchebarren walks to load 'em up!

Now Terry Crowley steps up to pinch-hit and McDaniel buckles down. He fans Cro on three pitches. Ellie Hendricks pinch hits for the pitcher and McDaniel FANS HIM ON 3 PITCHES! So Don Buford steps up hoping to end the game just like he started it, with a bang. McDaniel gets him down 0-2 and now has gone from a bases-loaded jam to just needing one damn strike with 8 straight strikes. Holy crap. Then, dramatically, Buford strokes the next pitch into right field, Grich and Etch score and the neighbors can't figure out why I'm screaming. Birds win, 9-8.

That's a long, involved story but one I love telling. I brought the game up to Earl Weaver in a conversation I once had with him and after about a sentence and a half Earl took over the re-telling in his unique and colorful style. Good times.

---

Now, in 2020, re-reading my letter and his responses I realize I asked him to comment on two tough losses. Maybe I should have asked about a win or two!

McDaniel is now 85 and, at last report, is still signing thru the mail via his webpage for a small fee. 

The Card: The orange/green/yellow/white works fine together, especially when it has the help of the great Cardinals' jersey and the Seals Stadium background. This is a favorite of mine.

#190 Gene Woodling

Gene Woodling  Baltimore Orioles

Career: Ohio kid Gene Woodling signed with the Indians in 1940 but it took him a decade to establish himself in the majors. Along that trail to the '49 Yankees (and the first of five consecutive Series titles) Woodling led four different minors leagues in hitting. He also toured the Pacific in the Navy and played ball with Bob Feller and many others. Woodling went from the Indians' chain to the Pirates and then to the PCL's San Francisco Seals before landing with the Yanks. 

He had gotten a few looks at major league pitching but it wasn't until the Yankees stuck him into their outfield that he became an established big-leaguer.  In those five Series with the Bombers he hit .318 and added three homers.

From New York Woodling carried his potent bat (and underrated glove) to Baltimore, back to Cleveland, to Baltimore for another stay, to the Senators, and finally in 1962, to the Original Mets. That was his last season as a player. He retired with a career .284 average (he hit over .300 five times). He was still swinging well at 39 with the Mets in '62 as he hit .274 in 80 games after coming over from the Senators.

In 1960: He played every day, mainly in left, at age 37, and hit over .280 in his final season in Charm City. He even picked up a few MVP votes.


Off The Charts: He was involved in one of the biggest (in terms of numbers) trades in history in November 1954 when he was dealt to the Orioles. Here is the summary per Baseball-Reference:

November 17, 1954: Traded by the New York Yankees with players to be named later, Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Willy Miranda, Hal Smith and Gus Triandos to the Baltimore Orioles for players to be named later, Billy Hunter, Don Larsen and Bob Turley. The New York Yankees sent Bill Miller (December 1, 1954), Kal Segrist (December 1, 1954), Don Leppert (December 1, 1954) and Theodore Del Guercio (minors) (December 1, 1954) to the Baltimore Orioles to complete the trade. The Baltimore Orioles sent Mike Blyzka (December 1, 1954), Darrell Johnson (December 1, 1954), Jim Fridley (December 1, 1954) and Dick Kryhoski (December 1, 1954) to the New York Yankees to complete the trade.

That's seventeen players in total. There will not be a quiz later.

Woodling coached for the Orioles through 1967 and earned a sixth ring for the 1966 Orioles' title. He later scouted for the Yanks and Indians.

#183 Eli Grba

Eli Grba  New York Yankees

Career: Grba was originally a Red Sox signee and he pitched for four years in their system before Uncle Sam called and he spent two years in the Army. When he returned in 1959 he was promptly traded to the Yankees and he was called up to debut in June. He had a bumpy ride and was back in the minors to start 1960.

The Angels drafted him as their first-ever player for 1961. He spent a couple of years in their rotation and finished his career with a year in the Mexican League and the minors. His career, and life immediately afterward, was marked by alcoholism which he beat later in life. He was able to get back into baseball as a scout in the 1980s.

In 1960: He got off to a terrific start in AAA at Richmond (7-1 2.83) and was called up to the Yanks in June. He went 6-4 in 25 games including nine starts. He appeared in the World Series as a pinch-runner when Elston Howard was hit in the hand by a pitch in the second inning of Game Six. He didn't get to pitch in the Series.

Off The Charts: Grba was the first player taken by the Angels in the AL expansion draft in December 1960. He was selected on the recommendation of his former Yankee manager Casey Stengel who had turned down a managerial offer from the team but was serving as an informal advisor.

The Card: It's been mentioned here and elsewhere...some of the photos used for the set were weirdly cropped with the subject crowded off to one side of the photo on the card. This is one of those. But other than that the red/blue/yellow/white combo is a nice one.

#142 Bill Short Sport Rookie Star

Bill Short   New York Yankees

Career: Six seasons, six teams. Short took a long time to make his way up through the Yankees system. He signed in 1955 and debuted out of Spring Training in 1960. His first game was a win over the Orioles as he went seven innings in a 3-2 win. He dodged a few bullets by allowing five hits and walking six. But a debut win is a debut win.

He was back in the minors in 1961 and was taken by the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft and pitched for them in 1962 and 1966. In between, he was banging around the Orioles chain. He was traded to the Red Sox in August 1966 and missed out on a shot at pitching in the Series.

From there it was a tour of the NL with stops in Pittsburgh, back in NYC with the Mets, and finally with the Reds in 1969.  His career mark was 5 wins and 11 losses.

In 1960: Game logs for 1960 indicate that he came and went between the Yanks and AAA all season. He was with the team through May but after that he was he got the call to make spot starts and had decent enough results. He took a tough 2-1 loss to the Orioles the week after his debut but his problem was as before: six walks. He finished 3-5 with an ERA of 4.79 in 47 innings.

Short was much better with Richmond. His work there was curtailed a bit by elbow issues, but he had a fine stat line.

Off The Charts: Hard to pin down exactly how this timeline falls, but on his SABR page we find this: Short wrote, “Paul Krichell, scout of the Yankees, signed me after I finished high school, but before I signed I had to go to Watertown, N.Y. to play a year of semi-pro.” That's Night Owl's hometown.

The Card: Love the first line of the write-up on the back...'Bill looks a little like Whitey Ford...'. Really? Then I look a little like Elston Howard.

Seriously, this is another "I remember this card" card. In 1960 I was just branching out from under my Dad's 'umbrella' and finding my own teams. But I was, well, not a 'fan' exactly, but a Yankee 'follower' since they were all over every sports page, and we got three newspapers and listened to Stan Lomax every night before dinner. It was hard NOT to know everything about them. Not to mention that getting a Yankee on a card was a big deal among the couple of friends I had in the year or two we lived on Long Island.

#189 Harry Simpson

Harry Simpson  Chicago White Sox

Career: Much traveled Negro League vet, 'Suitcase' Simpson had played three seasons for the Philadelphia Stars before signing with the Indians in 1949. He was an outfield staple for three seasons in Cleveland beginning in 1951. Unfortunately, he broke his wrist in 1954 and the team farmed him out when he was healthy so he missed out on their 111 win season and AL title.

He was traded to Kansas City where he was an All-Star in 1956 and then on to the Yankees where he got to play in the 1957 Series. He was dealt back to the Athletics during 1958 and missed winning a Series with the Yanks. He finished his career with a couple of stints in Chicago sandwiched around a short run with the Pirates in 1959.

In 1960: Simpson was finished with the majors, but not with baseball. He spent the year in San Diego with the Sox' AAA club. Didn't have a particularly good season (.222) but he played two more full years with better numbers.

Off The Charts: He played in Mexico in 1963/64 before retiring to work as a machinist in the aircraft industry. He died at only 57 years of age.

SABR sez: He picked up his nickname during his Negro League days. Harry wore a size 13 shoe, and a sportswriter dubbed him “Suitcase” Simpson, based on a character by that name with feet as large as suitcases, in the comic strip “Toonerville Folks.

He said he didn't like the nickname, but eventually got used to it. It ended up on his gravestone.

The Card: One of my favorites in this set. Comiskey batting cage shot earns big points. And these unis, with the red outlined S-O-X logo is great. This is, IMHO, the White Sox' best look.

#179 Rip Coleman

Rip Coleman  Baltimore Orioles

Career: Coleman was a 1952 Yankee signee, labeled as "The Next Whitey Ford" by some. He never lived up to that billing in the majors. He had his moments as a minor leaguer and in a few interviews I came across he said he was just more comfortable in the minors. His early results in New York were decidedly mixed and he was one of many Yankees traded to the Athletics in the mid-50s. He had limited success in KC, never harnessed his talent, never overcame his wildness. He finished with the Orioles in 1960 and his big league numbers were 7-25 with a 4.58 ERA.

In 1960: He'd come to the Orioles late in 1959 and pitched a few innings and made the team in the Spring of 1960 but was shelled in four appearances including a start in Yankee Stadium in which he was lifted in the first. He was let go in May and went to Toronto to play for the Indians AAA club there and in typical fashion had a very good year.

Off The Charts: Coleman tells a story of being assured that he wasn't going to be used in the '55 Series games in Brooklyn. Then he found himself on the mound in Ebbets Field in Game Four, and he struggled in the spotlight. He helped write his ticket out of New York the next year when he chose to throw a ball into centerfield rather than hand it to Casey Stengel when Casey came to relieve him in favor of Tom Morgan. Coleman said he was tired of Morgan blowing up his leads.

#175 Pedro Ramos

Pedro Ramos  Washington Senators

Career: Ramos was known as the 'Cuban Cowboy' for his habit of wearing a 10-gallon hat and boots. (During his time with the Yankees my father called him 'Pistol Pete' for some reason…ironic given Ramos' later life). He had a long, much-traveled career which was largely spent with the Senators/Twins and Indians as a starting pitcher in the late 50s/early 60s. He led the league in losses for four consecutive seasons which was probably a product of his being durable and playing with the AL's cellar-dwellers.

An All-Star selection in 1959, he was also a pretty solid hitter with 15 career homers and a .155 lifetime average. 

Ramos became a huge hit in New York late in 1964 when he was nabbed by the Yankees in a trade with the Indians. He appeared in relief (he'd become a bullpen guy by then) in 13 games and racked up 8 saves with 21 K's and no walks in 21 innings. But he wasn't eligible for the World Series because the trade had been made after the deadline.

In 1960: He was 11-18 while leading the league in starts and batters faced. His stats reflect a much better year than his W-L. This was also the year he was involved in baseball only All Cuban Triple Play. SABR tells the tale better than I:

[A pitch to] Whitey Herzog resulted in a delectable tidbit of 1960s trivia — an all-Cuban triple play. The setting was Washington’s Griffith Stadium, the teams involved were the hometown Senators and the visiting Kansas City Athletics, and the date was July 23, 1960. In the top of the third inning, with Washington holding a 3-1 lead and Kansas City threatening to cut the gap, outfielder Herzog stood at the plate with a full count, Jerry Lumpe rested on first, and Bill Tuttle was the baserunner at second. Herzog lined the next pitch straight into the glove of pitcher Ramos (one out); Ramos whirled and heaved to first baseman Julio Becquer (doubling up Lumpe for out number two); Becquer then tossed down to second where shortstop José Valdivielso tripled up the slow-footed Tuttle. Presto, a big-league feat never before or since duplicated, an all-Cuban triple play.

Off The Charts: He's one of the players whose 'off the Charts" section could easily run long enough for a book. His SABR bio paints a picture of a 'colorful' but troubled soul. He was convicted on gun and drug violations on more than one occasion during his post-career days. He was finally sent to prison after his third strike (pun sort of intended).

Here's a sample from his bio:

The fateful pitch to Mickey Mantle resulted in one of the most memorable blasts among the considerable list of Mantle tape-measure shots. The setting was the first game of a May 30, 1956, Yankee Stadium twin bill in which Mantle faced and terrorized two of his favorite victims, Ramos (12 career homers) and Camilo Pascual (11 lifetime blasts).1 Struck by an errant Ramos fastball in his first trip, Mantle stepped up a second time with the Yankees on the short end of a 1-0 score. He quickly knotted the count with a shot that came within approximately 18 inches of being the first ball ever to exit the cavernous ballpark on the fly.

I also enjoyed this tidbit from a site called the Cuba News:

Ted Williams makes a swing at the ball, but cannot find it. It is the third strike and while the best batter in history walks to the dig-out, the man who just dominated him, Pedro Ramos, amidst the excitement, asks the batboy to tell Ted to sign the ball for him.
The fearsome Boston slugger, was pleased, but won’t forget the insult. The night is young and a couple of innings later he takes revenge with a homerun by a mile
As he does a lap of the square, after passing third base, he shouts to the pitcher: “hey, Pedro, find that, I’ll sign it too.”

#173 Billy Martin

Billy Martin  Cincinnati Reds

Career: Billy Martin had a reputation as a battler that he carried with him through both his playing and managerial careers. He was also part of Mick's Clique when he played in NYC with the Yankees. He played for 11 seasons, the first seven with the Yankees beginning in 1950 after a single minor league season. Martin hit .257 with a touch of power. He hit 15 dingers in 1953 and 65 in his career.

Over his final five years, he played for seven different teams which has to be close to a record. His ninth-inning single in Game Six of the 1953 Series won the title for the Yankees. Martin won four titles as a player and added one as Yankees manager in 1977.

In all he managed 16 years for the Twins, A's, Tigers and, famously, the Yankees. His relationship with George Steinbrenner (and numerous hirings/firings) is well known. His SABR bio will keep you entertained for days.

In 1960: This was his next to last season and his only one with the Reds. He played just over 100 games at second, hit .246 and had his contract sold to the Braves at seasons end.

Off The Charts:
SABR on his playing skills:  [Casey Stengel was]  asked why he thought so highly of Martin as a player, Stengel replied, “If liking a kid who never let you down in the clutch is favoritism, then I plead guilty.”

SABR on his managerial skills: Martin commanded respect as a manager. In 1987, in a poll of 600 former players, he ranked eighth among some heavyweights – behind Stengel, Joe McCarthy, Walter Alston, John McGraw, Connie Mack, Earl Weaver, and Al Lopez, and ahead of Whitey Herzog, Sparky Anderson, and Tommy Lasorda.

SABR on his eulogy, etc: At Martin’s viewing in a New York City funeral home, thousands filed in to pay their last respects. The funeral took place at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Cardinal John O’Connor delivered the eulogy. More than 500 attended, including former President Richard Nixon, numerous baseball executives, and many players and ex-players.

This video, less than five minutes long, consists of comments from players he played with and managed recorded in the wake of Martin's Christmas Day 1989 death in a car accident at the age of 61,

#134 Deron Johnson Sport Rookie Star

Deron Johnson  New York Yankees

Career: I think of a lot of different teams when I remember Deron Johnson, the Yankees are NOT one of them. But here he is. Johnson signed with the Bombers in 1956 out of high school and in five minor league seasons put up these home runs totals: 24, 26, 27, 25, 27. That's steady.

He got a peek at the majors at the end of 1960 and opened 1961 with the Yanks but, despite being tabbed as 'The Next Mickey Mantle' by some, he struggled and in June was dealt to the Athletics. He didn't hit much for them either as he had his playing time interrupted by stints in the military. The A's sold him to the Reds and thus began a trip that took him to eight different franchises over sixteen years.

He was truly a 'corner' guy as he played left, right, first and third before becoming a DH late in his career. He had 245 career homers and won a Series ring with the '73 Athletics. His best year was 1965 with the Reds when he led the NL with 130 RBIs and finished fourth in the MVP race.

In 1960: As mentioned, he got a brief look by the Yanks in September and got into six games. He had a couple of hits in four trips. The bulk of his year was spent at AAA Richmond. It was his third full season there. Breaking through to the Yankees roster in those days wasn't easy.

Off The Charts: Johnson was a baseball and football star in high school in San Diego. His SABR bio states:

Johnson played end, linebacker, kicker, and punter for San Diego High School. [...] Pursued by several colleges, Johnson was offered numerous football scholarships, including one from Notre Dame, but Johnson turned down the Fighting Irish and the other schools. Upon graduation from high school in 1956, having been also sought by the Yankees, Braves, Red Sox, Indians, and Pirates, Johnson signed with New York Yankees scout Gordon “Deacon” Jones to a Class-D contract for $1,000 a month.

The Card: We've seen this before...Topps using the same photo for multiple cards of the era. Johnson had designated  'rookie' cards in 1959 and 1961.

I thought I'd found the original photo that was the basis for these but there are some subtle differences, more of his uniform number visible, etc.,. I'm thinking the picture is from the same photo session but not exactly the same shot. Opinions welcome.

#109 Cletis Boyer

Cletis Boyer  New York Yankees

Career: Like a lot of Yankee players of this era he began his career with the A's. He spent 10 of his 16 big league seasons as a starter and won two World Series rings with the Yanks in five tries. He rarely hit over .250 for a season but was an outstanding fielding third baseman and won a Gold Glove with the Braves in 1969.

In 1960: This was his first season as a full time starting player, and he claimed a position that had been in flux for the Yankees. He hit .243 with 14 homers which was about what he averaged over his career as a full-time player.

Off The Charts: He's one of three Boyer brothers to play in the majors. Ken was a perennial All-Star with the Cardinals and faced Clete in the '64 Series. Cloyd had a modest career as a pitcher, mostly with the Cards in the early '50s. He was Clete's teammate with the 1955 A's.

The Card: He's wearing #34 in the B/W 'action' photo but he switched to #6 in 1962 and wore it for the rest of his career.

#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