#430 Whitey Ford

Whitey Ford didn't pitch the first game of every Sunday doubleheader at Yankee Stadium that my father and I attended, it only seems that way as I look back. No doubt I saw the great lefty pitch more than any other starter in the years I've been going to games. The Astros' Don Wilson would likely be second.

Anyway, Ford was a favorite of my father's. Probably second only to Allie Reynolds as far as Yankee pitchers go. He signed with the Yanks in 1947. He was a local kid having grown up in the Astoria section of Queens and attending Aviation Tech High School. Three and a half seasons of very impressive pitching in the minors earned him a shot with the Yanks in July of 1950.

He was hit hard in his first appearance but when put into the rotation his numbers steadily improved and he won his first nine decisions. He finished that first season with a 9-1 mark and pitched the fourth and final game of the '50 World Series. He beat the Phils 5-2 with both Phillies' runs being unearned. He went 8 2/3 before giving way to Allie Reynolds for the final out. Coincidentally that out was the strike out of Stan Lopata mentioned in Lopata's entry day before yesterday. He was second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting (to Walt Dropo) despite pitching only half a season.

Ford, like so many players in that era, was called to military service and spent two years in the Army. When he rejoined the Yanks in 1953 he picked up where he left off and reeled off a career very worthy of his 1974 Hall of Fame induction. The highlights include:

• 8-time AL All-Star (1954-1956, 1958-1961 & 1964)
• ML Cy Young Award Winner (1961)
• 1961 World Series MVP
• 2-time AL ERA Leader (1956 & 1958)
• 3-time AL Wins Leader (1955, 1961 & 1963)
• 3-time AL Winning Percentage Leader (1956, 1961 & 1963)
• 2-time AL Innings Pitched Leader (1961 & 1963)
• AL Complete Games Leader (1955)
• 2-time AL Shutouts Leader (1958 & 1960)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 10 (1953-1956, 1959 & 1961-1965)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1961 & 1963)
• 25 Wins Seasons: 1 (1961)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 11 (1953-1956, 1958, 1959 & 1961-1965)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1961)
• Won six World Series with the New York Yankees (1950, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961 & 1962)
• All Time World Series Game Wins Leader (10)
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1974

His bio on the Hall of Fame site reads as follows:

Edward 'Whitey' Ford was the big-game pitcher on the great Yankees teams of the 1950s and early '60s, earning him the moniker The Chairman of the Board. The wily southpaw's lifetime record of 236-106 gives him the best winning percentage (.690) of any 20th-century pitcher. He paced the American League in victories three times and in ERA and shutouts twice. The 1961 Cy Young Award winner still holds many World Series records, including 10 wins and 94 strikeouts, once pitching 33 consecutive scoreless innings in the Fall Classic.

Not much I can add to all that other than to say that I knew (and if I didn't my Dad reminded me) that watching Ford work was watching a master craftsman.

Plenty of Whitey Ford links for those interested:

• His official website
• A Daily News article in which Ford discusses that 1950 Series win.
• A Daily News article in which he reminisces about his career as a Yankee.
• Some photos of Whitey Ford Field, a baseball facility near his home in Astoria.
• Ford's page on the Hall of Fame site.
• There is a Whitey Ford Street in, of all places, El Paso Texas.
• He has an interest in a private golf club in Florida
• Hardball Times story about his near no-hitter in 1953 (Early Wynn got the only hit, an infield single!)
• A fun blog post that discusses Ford's admitted use of mud, catchers' shin guard buckles and his own wedding ring to scuff the ball late in his career. 

I don't remember how much I spent on this card but I do know it was a bargain. It's about as nice as any of the non-graded cards I picked up for this set. It has just the slightest corner wear and the colors look as good as the day it came out of the pack. Plus, it's Whitey Ford at Yankee Stadium. I put a Yankee pin on my Dad's lapel just before they buried him. I wish now I had had a copy of this card to slip into his suit.

He sure liked the 'follow-through' pose didn't he?

Random cool pics from around the 'net.

Ford on the cover of Sports Illustrated in September, 1956

#412 Stan Lopata

That crouch that Stan Lopata is in on this card's picture isn't just a random pose. Lopata used that stance to become a better hitter after some advice from legendary hitter Rogers Hornsby. The story as relayed to us in Lopata's obituary:

When a baseball legend like Rogers Hornsby gave a hitter advice, he'd be wise to take it.
Stan Lopata, something of a legend himself as a Phillies catcher in the '50s, was having problems at the plate in 1954 when he and outfielder Johnny Wyrostek ran into Hornsby during a road trip.
Referring to Lopata, Wyrostek asked Hornsby, "What do you think about this kid?"
The Hall of Fame infielder (.358 career batting average, 2,930 hits), said that he had seen Lopata on TV and that he missed the ball too many times.
"He said you should get a piece of the ball every time you swing the bat - not necessarily a base hit, but get a piece of it," Lopata said.
Stan took the advice to heart and worked on his stance, getting lower and lower, until he developed his famous crouch, and he concentrated on getting a piece of the ball.
As a result, Stan Lopata became one of the best power-hitting catchers in the National League in the mid-'50s.

And so it was that Lopata was able to emerge from behind Andy Semminick and Smokey Burgess to become the Phil's #1 catcher during the 1955 season. His time as a Phillie stretched from 1948 through 1958 but he had just a three year run as a starter. But he made the most of it. He made the NL All Star squads in '55 and '56. That '56 season was clearly his best as he had 32 homers and 95 RBI. Injuries marred his '57 season and he was back to having a reserve role in 1958.

Lopata, a native of the Detroit area, had originally signed with the Phils in 1946. That was following a military stint during World War II that saw him receive a Bronze Star and Purple Heart earned while serving in Marseilles, France. Once back home he played three seasons in the minors, got a short look in 1948 and then getting some significant time as a reserve in 1949 and 1950. That later edition of the Phils was the 'Whiz Kids' club that took the NL pennant. Lopata got one at bat in the Series against the Yanks. With two out in the ninth he struck out while pinch hitting for Robin Roberts in Game Four and thus ended the Series as the Yanks swept the Phils.

Lopata was in the minors for much of the next season but in '52 he was up to stay. The card-back notes that he was traded to the Braves in March of 1959. He played sparingly for the Braves for two seasons while mixing in some time back in the minors and retired after the 1960 season.

After his playing days Lopata worked for IBM in the Detroit area and then in the concrete business in Philadelphia. He died this past summer and his death reduced the number of living members of that '50 Whiz Kid club to four. Lopata's SABR bio is chock full of stories from his career. Interesting to note that he was the first catcher to wear glasses. The stadium lights bothered him with their glare so he adopted tinted glasses.

That's a Connie Mack Stadium shot on this card. Love the seafoam green frame with the red of the stadium and Lopata's uniform. This is one of my favorite cards in the set. And here are a couple of pix I found on the 'net that show his exaggerated crouch and his tinted glasses (which can be seen on his '57 Topps)..

#369 Dick Tomanek

He was 6'1" and 175 so Dick Tomanek was called 'Bones'. Topps really had a great cartoon for the cardback:

Tomanek was a native of Avon Lake, Ohio and was signed by the Indians in 1950. Cleveland was just down the shoreline and Tomanek tells this story on Baseball Reference:

"My dad told a group of his friends in a bar that if I made it up to the Indians he would walk the twenty miles from our home in Avon Lake to Municipal Stadium to see me pitch, and he did it."

That debut came late in the 1953 season after Tomanek had spent three seasons in the Indians' system and one in the employ of Uncle Sam. It was worth the wait for both Tomanek and his father as the lefty put together a six hit complete game win over Detroit on September 25. 

Tomanek made the big club in 1954. He made his first appearance on April 17th when he was called upon in the first inning following a shelling of Indians starter Art Houtteman by Chicago. Tomanek was rushed into the game and in the second inning he had to be removed with a sore arm. This page from a book on Google gives the details. Tomanek didn't pitch again that season and spent the next two in the minors. 

Back with the Indians in '57 Tomanek had mixed results through the summer of '58 when he was traded to the Athletics as part of the deal that sent Roger Maris to Kansas City. He was more effective that year with the A's than he had been with the Indians but 1959 was another story. He pitched only 21 innings and had a long mid-season idle stretch (injured?) and was gone from baseball after spending a rocky year in the minors in 1960.

Tomanek went to work for B. F. Goodrich Chemical and stayed with them until he retired in 1990. He reportedly still resides in Avon Lake.

I found a Cleveland-centric card website maintained by Tomanek's nephew although it's been inactive for quite awhile. He does feature his uncle's cards on one of the pages.

Yes, that's Yankee Stadium. 

#401 Ron Blackburn

Ron Blackburn was a pitcher for the Pirates in the late Fifties therefore he wore a batting helmet while pitching. Supposedly it was Branch Rickey's idea that players were to wear helmets in the field. May have been a good idea but it still looks odd to me no matter how often I see it.

Blackburn signed with the Pirates in 1953 and the North Carolina native worked as a starter for five seasons in the minors before he made the Pittsburgh roster as a reliever in 1958. He picked up a win in relief in his big league debut on Opening Day against the defending champion Braves. Here is how Blackburn recalled it as quoted by Baseball Reference:

"Hank Aaron was the first hitter I faced. It was Opening Day, 1958, at Milwaukee County Stadium. I remember it right down to the last patron: 44,344 fans in the stands. I came on in the bottom of the ninth inning, the score was tied and Hank tapped a grounder between short and third and Dick Groat went over and fielded it straight in front of me and was unable to make a throw. So he beat it out for a single. I faced nine more hitters and no one else got on base and I got the victory that day, 3-2."

Wikipedia picked up that ball and ran with this:

His major league debut was on Opening Day 1958 against the Milwaukee Braves. The first batter he pitched against in his major league career was Hank Aaron. Aaron hit a single off of Blackburn, but Blackburn managed to keep the next nine batters off base for his first Major League win.

Cool story but here is how it actually went, at least according to Retrosheet's boxscore:

BRAVES 11TH: BLACKBURN REPLACED POWERS (PITCHING); WISE BATTED FOR MCMAHON; Wise flied out to left; Pafko struck out; Logan
grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Pirates 3,
Braves 3.

PIRATES 12TH: CONLEY REPLACED WISE (PITCHING); Groat flied out
to left; Skinner grounded out (pitcher to second to first);
Stevens singled; Thomas flied out to left; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
 Pirates 3, Braves 3.

BRAVES 12TH: Crandall grounded out (second to first); Roach
flied out to center; Schoendienst made an out to second; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Pirates 3, Braves 3.

PIRATES 13TH: Clemente grounded out (shortstop to first); Baker
struck out; Foiles struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Pirates 3,
Braves 3.

BRAVES 13TH: Hazle grounded out (catcher to first); Mathews
grounded out (second to first); Aaron singled; Conley struck
out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Pirates 3, Braves 3.

PIRATES 14TH: P. SMITH BATTED FOR BLACKBURN; P. Smith flied out
to center; Virdon grounded out (pitcher to shortstop to first);
Groat doubled; Skinner singled to pitcher [Groat to third];
Stevens singled [Groat scored, Skinner to second]; Thomas flied
out to right; 1 R, 3 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Pirates 4, Braves 3.

BRAVES 14TH: RAYDON REPLACED P. SMITH (PITCHING); Pafko made an
out to first; Logan singled; Logan was caught stealing second
(catcher to shortstop); Crandall walked; Roach struck out; 0 R,
1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Pirates 4, Braves 3.

So it appears Blackburn came on in the 11th, not the ninth and faced Casey Wise, not the Hammer. Aaron did single, but it was in the 13th, Blackburn's third inning of work. He pitched to one more batter and obviously didn't retire nine straight after Aaron. He got the win with Raydon getting the save. Final was 4-3, not 3-2.

 I frequently tell stories of my days as a kid and games I attended. I'm sure sometimes I've mixed up dates and facts so this is not to demean Blackburn in any way. I guess my point is that memories can be imprecise and BR's quoting of Blackburn without a reference is proof that you can't always believe what you read, even if it's on the internet (sarcasm intended). And of course if you rely on Wikipedia for facts you pretty much get what you deserve.

Beyond all that Blackburn did in fact go on to have a successful rookie season. He appeared in 38 games and turned in an ERA of 3.39 in almost 64 innings with three saves to go with a 2-1 record. He even had two hits in seven at bats and both were doubles.

Blackburn was back in Pittsburgh in 1959 but as the season went along his earned runs allowed kept mounting and he was farmed out in July. He pitched in the minors, mostly in the Pirates chain through 1964 before he hung up his spikes.

After retiring Blackburn earned a degree and became a teacher and baseball coach at North Carolina's Catawba College and then the recreation director at the Western Correction Center in Morganton, North Carolina.

This is one fine card condition-wise. Bright and clean. It's off center but very close to mint otherwise. Many other Pirate players are pictured in this set in Seals Stadium in San Francisco. This might be where this shot was taken although it's hard to tell without a clear view of the signature red railings. There is a chance that it's in L.A.'s Coliseum.

BTW.... Blackburn had three Topps cards in all. Each of them pictured him wearing that darn batting helmet.

Here is the '58 Topps (from COMC):

And here is the '60 Topps (also from COMC):

#368 Don Mueller

Don Mueller is pictured on this card as a member of the White Sox but he spent the bulk of his very successful career with the New York Giants. In eight full and two partial seasons with the Giants Mueller earned a reputation for timely hitting and the ability to put the ball into play.  He was given the nickname 'Mandrake the Magician' for his batting prowess. He also was know for almost never drawing a walk. In fact he struck out only 137 times and drew 156 walks in over 4400 plate appearances with New York.

Mueller signed with the Giants in 1944 and played part-time for their minor league club in Jersey City, New Jersey while mainly doing his duty as a member of the U.S. Merchant Marines. In 1948 and '49 he was a full time ballplayer and hit well enough to get extended looks by the Giants in both of those seasons.

He took over an outfield post with the Giants in 1950 and played for eight seasons compiling a .298 average for them. He went 7 for 18 in the 1954 World Series against the Indians as he helped his club win the title. That was the year he led the league with 212 hits and made the first of his two straight NL All Star squads.

Mueller played a part in the third and deciding 1951 playoff game against the Dodgers. The Hardball Times recaps the details. Dodger fans should look away at this point:

Oct. 3, 1951: It might be the most famous game in baseball history and Mueller helps kick off its most famous inning. The Giants and Dodgers split the first two games of the playoff, and in this winner-take-all contest, Brooklyn takes a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. After Alvin Dark leads off with an infield single, Mueller comes to the plate. So far Mueller is 1-for-12 in the series, but he laces a single out to bring the tying run to the plate.
When Lockman doubles a few minutes later, Mueller breaks his ankle sliding into third. Thus pinch runner Clint Hartung scores a little bit later when Bobby Thomson homers to win the pennant for the Giants. Mueller will not, obviously, play in the World Series, which the Giants lose in six games to the Yankees.

Mueller's numbers declined over the course of his final seasons with the Giants and he was sold to the White Sox prior to 1958 and therefore missed playing for the Giants in San Francisco. He played part time in 1958 but was ailing and got just four at-bats in '59 before he was released by Chicago in May.

Mueller, the son of Pirates outfielder Walter Mueller, raised cattle on his family farm, did some scouting for the Giants and worked in insurance after his playing days. His son Mark played minor league ball.

#386 Jim Delsing

When this card was issued in 1959 outfielder Jim Delsing had played 806 of his 822 major league games, he hadn't been in the majors for two years, he was still a year away from returning to the bigs (briefly) and he had never taken the field in a Washington cap (and never would).

Also in his rearview was a unique moment that arose in August of 1951 when, as a member of the St. Louis Browns, he was called upon to pinch-run for Eddie Gaedel the 'little person' that owner Bill Veeck had his club use as a pinch-hitter. Delsing describes the whoe situation in his SABR bio thusly:

"Mr. Veeck owned St. Louis back in 1951, and he was always doing some promoting. This happened at a Sunday double-header on August 19, and between games they brought out a great big, huge cake. Out of the cake popped Eddie Gaedel, wearing a St. Louis Browns uniform, with 1/8 on the back. He gets out of the cake and walks over to the dugout. We knew nothing about it. We took a look at the lineup. I had a couple of hits in the first game, so I thought I would sure be playing." 

"I went up to Zack Taylor, who was manager, and he said, Cool it. You'll be all right.' Taylor had Frank Saucier leading off. When it came time for Saucier to bat, Taylor called him back, and told Gaedel to bat for Saucier. We all thought it was a joke, because Mr. Veeck used to do all kinds of promotions. Gaedel walked up to the plate, and the umpire said, You can't bat.' But Mr. Veeck had this all worked out. Gaedel reached in his pocket and pulled out a major league contract. So they had to let him hit. Bob Cain was the Tiger pitcher, and Bob Swift was the catcher. Gaedel had a strike zone that was about an inch and a half! He walked on four pitches, and Zack Taylor said to me, Now go run for Gaedel.' Then I knew what he was talking about, why I wasn't playing the second game."

That's Gaedel in the center of this picture and Delsing is #18 leaning against the pole to the left.

Delsing had begun his pro career in 1942 with a year of independent ball in his native Wisconsin. He was signed by the Cubs and played a minor league season in their chain before serving Uncle Sam for two years. Returning from the service Delsing found his contract had been obtained by the White Sox and he played for nearly three full seasons in the upper reaches of that team's system. He hit well enough to earn looks with the Sox at the beginning and end of the 1948 season.

He was traded to the Yankees prior to 1949 and was called up for a September look during which he hit .350 and impressed his teammates enough that they voted him a small World Series share despite his not being active for it.

He hit well to start the 1950 season for the Yanks but was traded to the Browns in June as part of a seven player deal. He was a regular in the Browns outfield putting up pedestrian numbers and was traded again, this time to the Tigers in August of 1952.

Three plus seasons as an everyday player for the Tigers was highlighted by his best season, 1953, when he hit .288 with 11 homers and 61 RBI. Subsequent seasons brought diminishing numbers and in May of '56 he was again traded, this time back to the White Sox. Over the next three years Delsing moved around the minors via a dizzying string of trades and purchases that saw him being the property of the Tigers (again), the minor league Houston franchise, the Senators (for a few months of the off-season between the 1958 and 1959 seasons) and finally the Kansas City Athletics where in 1960 he re-emerged in the majors for the last five weeks of the season. that was his last in uniform.

After baseball Delsing worked for the archdiocese of St. Louis for thirty years. He has a son who is a pro golfer and a grandson who played Major League Soccer.

For more of Jim Delsing and his interesting career (and he has some cool stories to tell) see his SABR bio or this interview done a few years back with the Missouri History Museum's magazine.

As noted Delsing never suited up for the Senators in a regular season game and his shot features a drawn "W" logo on his cap. I get the vague impression the this pic shows the left-centerfield area of Yankee Stadium in the background.

#367 Cal Neeman

Signing as a catcher in 1949 with the New York Yankees Cal Neeman faced the unenviable task of moving up the minor league ladder with a roadblock named Yogi Berra at the top of it. He spent two seasons in the military but even eight years after first signing Neeman wasn't going to make the Yanks and displace Charlie Silvera or Elston Howard, much less Berra.

The Cubs took him in the minor league draft and he took over in 1957 as the starting catcher on Chicago's North Side. He hit 10 homers to go along with a .258 average and 39 RBI which represented a sizable improvement over the previous Hobie Landrith/Harry Chiti platoon. Ironically Neeman was backed up in 1957 by former Yankee Silvera.

Neeman's time as a starter was short however as the Cubs gave the job to Sammy Taylor in '58 and by '59 Neeman was an afterthought. Early in 1960 he was part of a trade that also sent Tony Taylor to Philadelphia and after that Neeman spent about four seasons banging around through several different organizations getting big league time here and there for the Pirates, Indians and Senators.

He was out of the game after the '63 season and went through several career changes after that including being a railroad switch-man, college student at Illinois Wesleyan University, a teacher and coach, school supply salesman and retail store manager.

He lives in Florida these days and the MLB BlogNetwork caught up with him a year or so ago and Neeman reflected on his career including getting his first big league hit (off Warren Spahn) and first big league homer (off Lew Burdette).

That is a nice big fat tape stain in the middle of the cardback. Not enough of a issue for me to upgrade this one.