Baseball - Topps 1960-1964 - Basic: Secretariat Image Gallery
Edward Charles “Whitey” Ford (October 21, 1928-) was a master at keep hitters off balance for the better half of two decades with the New York Yankees (1950, 1953-1967) earning him the nickname “Chairman of the Board”. Right out of the box, Ford made a significant impact on the Yankee rotation, going 9-1 in his first ten starts after being called up mid-season by the big club. Ford lost two years to the service but came back with a vengeance. During his amazing career, Whitey led the American League three times in wins and twice led in ERA and innings pitched. Ford threw 45 shutouts in 16 seasons including eight 1-0 victories. As a left-hander, Ford possessed an exceptional pickoff move to first, so effective that he went 243 straight innings without allowing a stolen base. Whitey Ford was a ten-time All-Star, six-time World Series champion and the 1961 World Series Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner. Whitey Ford retired with a 236-106 record with 1,956 strikeouts and a 2.74 earned run average. Ford remains the Yankees record holder for most career wins. Edward Charles “Whitey” Ford was elected o the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
Earl Douglas Averill was a professional baseball player who was a catcher and outfielder in the Major Leagues in 1956 and from 1958 to 1963 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies. He was commonly called Earl Averill Jr. to distinguish him from his father, Howard Earl Averill, who was a Hall of Fame baseball player in his own right. Averill was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where his father was a star for the Indians. The younger Averill threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 185 pounds. He played college baseball for the University of Oregon (UO) from 1951 to 1953, and while a sophomore had a .439 batting average. Averill was the UO's first All-American in baseball, and was named to the UO Hall of Fame in 1997.[1] He signed with the Cleveland Indians as a free agent after his college career ended, and began his professional career in 1953 with the Reading Indians, who he played with for two seasons. In 1955, he played for the Indianapolis Indians and Nashville Volunteers. He spent 22 games with Indianapolis in 1956 and had a .241 batting average, but was promoted to the main roster that year and made his Major League debut on April 19. After playing in 42 games with the Indians in 1956, Averill spent 1957 and 1958 with the San Diego Padres, where he had his best seasons in the minors. In 1957, he had 19 home runs and 67 runs batted in in 119 games, and he followed that up in 1958 with a .347 batting average, 24 home runs, and 87 runs batted in 112 games[2] and was named Pacific Coast League MVP. He was brought back up to the Indians for 17 games, then was traded to the Chicago Cubs with Morrie Martin for Jim Bolger and John Briggs. He spent a season and a half with the Cubs, then was traded to the Milwaukee Braves for Al Heist. After a month of not appearing in a game, he was traded to the White Sox and finished 1960 with them, only to be selected that December by the Los Angeles Angels in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft.
Walter Joseph Moryn (April 12, 1926 - July 21, 1996) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played for four different teams over eight seasons, and in 1958 led all big leaguers in being hit by a pitch (8). “Moose” signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1948, eventually playing two seasons (1954-1955) for “Dem Bums,” batting .273 and earning a World Series ring with the squad in 1955. After being acquired by the Chicago Cubs (1956-1960), he became a .272 batter with 291 RBI, 571 hits, and 104 doubles. A member of the 1958 National League All-Star squad, Moryn’s career highlight was undoubtedly a dramatic shoestring catch on the last out of the May 15, 1960 no-hitter by Cubs pitcher Don Cardwell. That, however, was not enough to save him from a trade to the St. Louis Cardinals (1960-1961). Moryn ended his professional career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1961). He retired with a .266 batting average, 101 home runs, and 345 RBI.
Robert Lee Will was an American professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues between 1957 and 1963 for the Chicago Cubs. Born in Berwyn, Illinois, Will threw and batted left-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). He attended Mankato State University and Northwestern University, and started his pro career in 1954 in the Cubs' farm system. Will had a highly successful career in minor league baseball, hitting .333 lifetime in 934 games. He was the 1959 Most Valuable Player of the Triple-A American Association, a season during which he hit .336 and led the league in hits (203) and runs scored (101). Will played all or parts of six seasons for the Cubs, seeing his only consistent playing time in 1960, when he appeared in 117 games as the Cubs' regular right fielder. Overall, he appeared in 410 MLB games, and collected 202 hits, batting .247. His professional career ended after the 1964 campaign. Bob Will died from cancer on August 11, 2011.
Arthur Edward Ceccarelli (April 2, 1930 – July 11, 2012) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago Cubs in parts of five seasons spanning 1955–1960. Listed at 6' 0", 190 lb., he batted right-handed and threw left-handed.[1] Ceccarelli was a pitching star for West Haven High School in the 1940s before signing a bonus contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948.[2] In 1949, he set a Georgia–Florida League season record with 294 strikeouts, an average of 12.6 per each nine innings. His baseball career was briefly interrupted while serving in the Korean War from 1950 through 1952. After discharging, he pitched three seasons of minor league ball before joining the majors in 1955 with the Athletics.[2][3] In five big league seasons, Ceccarelli posted a 9-18 record and a 5.05 earned run average in 79 pitching appearances (42 starts). His most productive became in 1959, when he went 5-5 with four complete games and a pair of shutouts for the Cubs. That included a string of four straight wins, a streak capped by a complete game victory over a San Francisco Giants' lineup that included Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda.[4] One of the most notable games of his career came in a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ceccarelli pitched 10 innings and became the only left handed pitcher to defeat Sandy Koufax in the Coliseum. His baseball idol was Ted Williams stating in an interview he had walked a batter just to have the chance to pitch against him.
Glen Frederick Hobbie was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1957 to 1964. A right-hander, he stood 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 195 pounds Born in Witt, Illinois, Hobbie attended and graduated from Witt High School. All but 13 of Hobbie's 284 games played were spent in the uniform of the Chicago Cubs, for whom he won 16 games in back-to-back seasons (1959–1960). He also lost 20 games in 1960, tying for the National League lead in that category. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for veteran pitcher Lew Burdette on June 2, 1964, but his last MLB appearance came only seven weeks later and Hobbie finished that campaign in minor league baseball. Overall, he posted a 62–81 won–lost record, 682 strikeouts and a 4.20 earned run average in 284 games pitched (170 as a starter) during his Major League career, with 45 complete games and 11 shutouts; he also earned six saves in relief. He surrendered 1,283 hits and 495 bases on balls. After retiring from baseball, Hobbie worked as a supervisor for the Roller Derby Association in Litchfield. He died at the age of 77 on August 9, 2013, at a hospital in Springfield, Illinois. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sharon, and their two children, Glen and Linda
Gerald Thomas Lynch, nicknamed "The Hat", was an American professional baseball outfielder and pinch hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1954 to 1966 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds. He was born in Bay City, Michigan.[1] After two years of military service, he made his Major League debut at age 23 on April 15, 1954 in a 7-4 Pirates' loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. Starting in right field and batting third, he had one hit in four at bats. In his first three at-bats he flied out twice and struck out once against Dodgers pitcher Russ Meyer. His first career hit came in the ninth inning off Meyer, as he singled and also drove in his first two runs. Lynch helped the Reds win the 1961 National League pennant. On September 26, 1961, he propelled the Reds into the World Series with his two-run home run off Cubs pitcher Bob Anderson, scoring Vada Pinson. He finished 22nd in voting for the 1961 NL MVP. He was hitless in three official at bats and four plate appearances during the 1961 World Series, which the Reds lost in five games to the New York Yankees. Lynch is considered one of baseball's all-time best pinch hitters.[4] He had 116 pinch hits during his career, which ranks him 10th on the all-time list. Lynch is third on the all-time pinch hit home run list (he was first when he retired) with 18, with five of those coming during the 1961 season while driving in 25 runs. In 13 seasons, he played in 1,184 games with 2,879 at bats, 364 runs, 798 hits, 123 doubles, 34 triples, 115 home runs, 470 RBI, 224 walks, .277 batting average, .329 on-base percentage, .463 slugging percentage and 1,334 total bases.
Charles John Grimm (August 28, 1898 - November 15, 1983) had a unique ability to get exceptional performances out of average players while his stars exceeded their potential. Grimm played twenty seasons, primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1919-1924) and the Chicago Cubs (1925-1936). Charlie was a solid, skilled first baseman with a love for cutting up and tomfoolery, which he enjoyed with Pirate teammates Rabbit Maranville and Cotton Tierney, much to the dismay of management. In 1925, he was traded to the Cubs with Maranville where they could continue their foolish behavior. Grimm had six seasons hitting above the .300 mark, four with the Cubs. In 1932, Jolly Cholly was named player/manager immediately guiding the club to the National League pennant. He would remain player/manager until 1938 and take them to the World Series once again in 1935. Charlie Grimm ended his playing career with a .290 batting average adding 2,299 hits, 908 runs, 394 doubles and 1,077 RBI. As an everyday manager, he again took the Cubs to the NL pennant in 1945, but never achieved the ultimate prize of a World Series victory. Charlie managed for 19 seasons with the Cubs (1932-1938, 1944-1949, 1960) the Boston Braves (1952 – their final year in Boston) and the remained on with the club as they became the Milwaukee Braves (1953-1956). After retiring from any playing field capacity, Charlie spent 15 more seasons with the Cubs franchise in various roles. After his death in 1983, Grimm’s widow scattered his ashes over his beloved Wrigley Field.
Donald Ray Elston was an American relief pitcher who appeared in 450 games in Major League Baseball, all but one of them as a member of the Chicago Cubs (1953, 1957–1964). Elston batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet and weighed 165 pounds. His 18-season professional baseball career began in the Cub farm system in 1948. A hard thrower, Elston played for perennially weak Cubs teams over the course of his nine-year major league tenure. After a brief late-season trial with the 1953 Cubs, when he was treated rudely by the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals, he was sent back to the minor leagues for the next two campaigns. Chicago included him in a December 1955 trade with the defending world champion Brooklyn Dodgers that was headlined by veterans Randy Jackson, Don Hoak, Russ Meyer and Walt Moryn, but Elston remained in the minors for all of 1956. He made the Dodgers' 1957 early-season roster and worked in one game. throwing one inning of shutout relief on May 5 against the Milwaukee Braves. He was traded back to the Cubs 18 days later for pitchers Jackie Collum and Vito Valentinetti. The Cubs first used him as a swingman: in 1957, after his re-acquisition, he began as a reliever, then, beginning June 30, he made 14 appearances as a starter through September 13. But on September 18, he moved back to the bullpen, where he would spend the rest of his career. Elston became one of the best relief pitchers in the National League. He led the league with 69 games pitched in 1958, setting a club mark. Then in 1959, he tied teammate Bill Henry for the league lead in appearances, with 65. That season, Elston won a career-high ten games and was selected to the 1959 National League All-Star team. He came on in the ninth inning of the first of 1959's two All-Star tilts and earned a save to preserve a 5–4 victory over the American League at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, on July 7. His 14 saves in 1959, third in the league, also was a career high. He was one of the Senior Circuit's top five relief pitchers for five straight years in saves (1957–1961) and games pitched (1958–1962). He posted sub-3.00 earned run averages in 1958, 1962 and 1963. In 450 career MLB games, Elston compiled a 49–54 won–lost record with a 3.69 ERA and 64 saves. In 755?2/3 innings pitched, he allowed 702 hits and 327 bases on balls. He struck out 519. During his brief career as a starting pitcher, he registered two complete games. Elston died in Arlington Heights, Illinois, at the age of 65.
George Lee Altman (March 20, 1933-) was the first player to hit two home runs off Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax in the same game. Big George played nine seasons at first and in the outfield for the Chicago Cubs (1959-1962, 1965-1967), the St. Louis Cardinals (1963) and the New York Mets (1964). Altman topped the .300 batting mark twice and led the National League once in triples in 1961. George was a two-time All-Star with the Chicago Cubs. George Altman finished his career with a .269 batting average, collected 832 hits including 132 doubles and 101 home runs, scored 409 runs and drove in 403 RBI in 991 career games.
Don Richard “Richie” Ashburn (March 19, 1927 - September 9, 1997) played 15 seasons at centerfield for the Philadelphia Phillies (1948-1959), the Chicago Cubs (1960-1961) and the New York Mets (1962) and quickly moved to the broadcast booth after retirement. Ashburn was a member of the Phillies 1950 National League Champion “Whiz Kids” whose average age was 26 years old. What Ashburn lacked in power, hitting a career 29 home runs, he made up in consistency spraying 2,574 singles to all fields. Richie led the National League in hits three times in his career (1951, 1953 and 1958) and twice won the National League’s batting title (1955 and 1958). Richie Ashburn had more hits (1875) than any other player in the 1950s. After Ashburn retired in 1962, he joined the Philadelphia Phillies broadcast crew in 1963 where he remained for over 30 years. The Veterans Committee elected Don Richard “Richie” Ashburn to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.
In 1960, Topps decided to move back to a horizontal design after a few years (1957–1959) of using a vertical format for their annual release. This colorful set, one that ushered in a new decade, contained all kinds of interesting features, from multi-player cards to a high-number All-Star run to finish off the issue. In addition, Topps blended the use of color photography with artwork throughout the 1960 set. One of the cards that featured artwork versus a traditional color photo was the McCovey rookie (#316). Like most other Topps cards in the set, including the Carl Yastrzemski rookie, the debut card of McCovey is often found with print defects and unattractive centering. In most grades, both the McCovey and Yastrzemski rookies are comparable in value. McCovey can be found on another card in the aforementioned high-number series (#554), but while this All-Star card is important, it has never been on equal footing with #316.
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax (December 30, 1935-) was one of the most dominant pitcher of the 1960s, breaking a 58-year old strikeout record set by Christy Mathewson in 1903, becoming not only the first pitcher to throw four no-hitters (including one perfect game), but also the first to win multiple Cy Young Awards. Sandy, nee Sanford Braun, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York where he excelled in basketball, but also enjoyed baseball. After captaining his Lafayette High School basketball team, he accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Cincinnati, but he eventually chose to play baseball and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers after only one year at Cincy. Because the Dodgers signed the hard-throwing left handed to a $14,000 bonus, MLB rules required that he remain on the Major League roster for two years, thereby foregoing his much needed minor league guidance. Sandy would learn the ropes of professional baseball at its highest level. Though he would begin his career at a critical point in the Brooklyn Dodgers history, as they finally achieved the ultimate goal beating the New York Yankees in the World Series for the franchise's first Major League title, Koufax struggled mightily to find his control and consistency. August 27, 1955 marked Sandy's first career win, beating the Cincinnati Reds as he struck out 14 batters, but he would finish the year at .500 going 2-2 with 30 Ks and a 3.02 ERA. However, he was still only 19-year old. His struggles would continue for the next five seasons with Koufax going 36-40 with 683 strikeouts and a 4.10 ERA in 174 appearances. Hardly considered much more than mediocre, let alone the making of a Hall of Fame caliber career. The Dodgers were able to return to the World Series 1959 where they dispatched the Chicago White Sox in six games.
Albert Bringhurst Schroll was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Schroll played from 1958 through 1961 for the Boston Red Sox (1958–59), Philadelphia Phillies (1959), Chicago Cubs (1960) and Minnesota Twins (1961). Nicknamed "Bull" and listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m), 210 pounds (95 kg), he batted and threw right-handed. He was born in New Orleans and attended Tulane University. Schroll signed with the Red Sox in 1951 and spent seven full years in minor league baseball before getting an opportunity to pitch for Boston. He debuted in April 1958 with five relief appearances, but spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A Minneapolis. Traded "conditionally" to the Philadelphia Phillies in October, he worked in three April 1959 games out of the bullpen, earning his first big-league win with a seven-inning relief effort to defeat the Cincinnati Reds on April 18.[1] But six days later, Schroll was tagged with his first MLB defeat when he allowed three ninth-inning runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, wiping out a 5–4 Phillie lead. He was returned to the Red Sox on May 7, and split the rest of the year between Minneapolis and Boston. On July 29, he threw his first complete game in the majors, holding the Cleveland Indians to six hits in a 4–1 triumph.[2] It was his only win in a Red Sox uniform. That December, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for 36-year-old outfielder Bobby Thomson, the 1951 New York Giant hero entering the final year of his MLB career. Schroll made the 28-man Cub roster coming out of spring training, but worked only 2?2/3 innings before being sent to Triple-A Houston. He did not return to the majors until August 1961, as a member of the Twins, in their first season in Minnesota. The former Minneapolis Miller got his most sustained trial as a starting pitcher, with eight starts in August and September. He threw two complete games, and split eight decisions, but posted a poor 5.22 earned run average. He pitched two more years in the Twins' farm system in 1962–63, but never returned to the majors. In a four-season MLB career, Schroll posted a 6–9 record with a 5.34 ERA in 35 appearances, including 13 starts, three complete games, 63 strikeouts, 64 walks. He allowed 121 hits in 118 innings of work.
Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso, nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" and "Mr. White Sox", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He began his baseball career in the Negro leagues in 1946 and became an All-Star third baseman with the New York Cubans. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians after the 1948 season as baseball's color line fell. Miñoso went on to become an All-Star left fielder with the Indians and Chicago White Sox. The first Black Cuban in the major leagues and the first black player in White Sox history, as a 1951 rookie he was the one of the first Latin Americans to play in an MLB All-Star Game. Miñoso was an American League (AL) All-Star for seven seasons and a Gold Glove winner for three seasons when he was in his 30s. He batted over .300 for eight seasons. He was the AL leader in triples and stolen bases three times each and in hits, doubles, and total bases once each. Willie Mays (179 steals) and Miñoso (167 steals) have been widely credited with leading the resurgence of speed as an offensive weapon in the 1950s. Miñoso was particularly adept at reaching base, leading the AL in times hit by pitch a record ten times, and holding the league mark for career times hit by pitch from 1959 to 1985. Miñoso, as a defensive standout, led the AL left fielders in assists six times and in putouts and double plays four times each. Miñoso was one of the most popular and dynamic players in White Sox franchise history. He helped the "Go-Go" White Sox become one of the premier teams of the 1950s and 1960s. A rare power threat on a team known for speed and defense, Miñoso also held the White Sox record for career home runs from 1956 to 1974.
Richard Dale Long (February 6, 1926 - January 27, 1991) was not necessarily know for his home run hitting power, but he set or tied two long ball records as he hit a home run in eight consecutive games from May 19 to May 28, 1956 becoming the first player to ever accomplish the feat. Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey, Jr. (1993) later matched this. Then, Dale tied the Major League record when he smashed back-to-back pinch-hit home runs in 1959. The 6’4”, 205 lbs. first baseman played the better part of 12 years in the minor leagues before making his Major League debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1951. He finished that year with the St. Louis Browns before returning to the minors. In 1955, Pittsburgh made Long a regular and he spent the next nine years playing first for the Pirates (1955-1957), the Chicago Cubs (1957-1959), the San Francisco Giants (1960), the New York Yankees (1960, 1962-1963) and the Washington Senators (1961-1962). With the Chicago Cubs, Dale was called upon to play catcher twice during the 1958 season, thereby becoming the first left-handed catcher in the Major Leagues since Jiggs Donohue in 1902. In 1956, though ended the year with a marginal .263 batting average, Long had career highs in hits (136), home runs (27) and RBI (91) to earn his one and only trip the MLB All-Star Game. Dale Long played first for ten seasons and collected 805 career hits including 132 home runs, 384 runs and 467 RBI while batting .267 in 1,013 games. He also posted a .988 fielding percentage and won one World Series with the 1962 Yankees. Following his playing days, he became a minor league umpire.
Irving Arnold Noren (November 29, 1924 – November 15, 2019) A good utility player and coach, Irv Noren played on two World Series championship teams and coached two more. As a rookie with the 1950 Senators, Noren batted .295 with 14 home runs and 160 hits. After leaving Washington, Noren had some pretty good years with Casey Stengel’s Yankees. He participated in the World Series in 1952, 1953, and 1955 and was an All-Star in 1954. Noren played all three outfield positions and was a valuable asset as a utility player who produced for the Yankees. After his days in pinstripes, he was a journeyman for the Kansas City A’s, St. Louis Cards, Chicago Cubs, and Dodgers. Noren was third-base coach for the Oakland A’s under Dick Williams when they won the 1972 and 1973 World Series. After baseball, he owned racehorses and was a successful businessman. Noren died in 2019, just two weeks before his 95th birthday.
Two months after Ulysses Brooks Lawrence’s major-league debut as a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1954, sportswriter Bob Broeg of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch described this newcomer to the team and his amazing accomplishments since arriving: "Ulysses Brooks Lawrence, an eager-beaver of the mound with the heart of a lion, the hide of a rhino, and the stamina of a water buffalo, today celebrated an anniversary with the Cardinals—and what an amazing eight weeks. In the equivalent of less than one-third of a major league season which is of 26 weeks duration, the husky 29-year-old right hander not only has beaten every ball club at least once, but he has scored 11 victories, almost half the Redbirds’ total in that period." This description of the newly arrived rookie, along with his nickname, "The Bull", assigned later by Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky, captures the powerful presence and positive impression made by Brooks Lawrence in his early major-league baseball career and throughout his life.
Gerald Donald Kindall (May 27, 1935 – December 24, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball player and coach. He was primarily a second baseman in Major League Baseball who appeared in 742 games played over nine seasons between 1956 and 1965 for three MLB clubs. Then, after his playing career, he became the highly successful head baseball coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats, winning 860 games and three College World Series championships over 24 seasons (1973–1996). Kindall was born in Saint Paul, and graduated from Washington High School before attending the University of Minnesota. In 1956, as a student-athlete at Minnesota, his Golden Gophers won the NCAA Division I baseball championship; 20 years later, Kindall became the first man to win College World Series titles as both a player and a head coach. He is also the only batter to hit for the cycle in the history of the College World Series and was elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Charlie Root, Chuck Klein, Elvin Tappe.
Some would argue that even though Berra’s 1952 Topps is not his rookie or his most difficult card, it might be the most popular one on which the 10-time World Series champion appeared during his playing days. It has its advantages, including a slightly larger format, nice color, and the card is part of the most important post-WWII set in the hobby. That said, the nod would still have to go to Berra’s mainstream debut (#6) in the 1948 Bowman set. The issue may not receive any awards for outstanding design, but its simplicity is part of the appeal. The black-and-white format showcases a young Berra who helped continue a tradition of great Yankees catchers after Bill Dickey left the game. Berra’s Bowman rookie remains one of the keys to this 48-card set that contains several other Hall of Famer rookies like Musial and Warren Spahn.
Eddie Mathews, the only man to play for the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta, burst into stardom in 1953, the team’s first season in Milwaukee, when he belted 47 home runs at the age of 21. He hit 370 homers before his 30th birthday, and many believed that if anyone could top Babe Ruth as baseball’s all-time home-run king, Mathews was the most likely to do it. Injuries slowed his production as he aged, but when Mathews retired as a player after the 1968 season, he stood in sixth place on baseball’s career home-run list with 512 and held the record for games played by a third baseman. Ten years later, he became the second member of the 1957 championship team (after Warren Spahn) to gain election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
BANKS-AARON-MATHEWS-Boyer
Michael Francis “Mike” McCormick (September 29, 1938-) is a retired left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons, and captured the 1967 National League Cy Young Award. He also holds the distinction of having surrendered Hank Aaron’s 500th home run in 1968. The New York Giants signed McCormick in 1956 as a “bonus baby,” ushering straight into the big leagues that season, at the age of 17. In 11 total seasons with the club (1956-1962, 1967-1970), including following them to San Francisco, McCormick was 107-96. A trade to the Baltimore Orioles (1963-1964) left Mike with a 6-10 record and ended with a trade to the Washington Senators, where he managed a slightly better 19-22 record over two years. His return to the Giants in 1967 proved to revitalize the pitcher, and saw him lead the league in wins while going 22-10 with a 2.85 ERA. He also held the distinction of having defeated every NL team (other than the Giants) that year. That season, Mike became the first pitcher in Giants’ franchise history to win the Cy Young Award. In the middle of the 1970 season, McCormick was traded to the New York Yankees, who released him before the start of the next season. He then signed with the Kansas City Royals, with whom he played only four games in 1971 before retiring. With a 134-128 lifetime record, he also had a 3.73 ERA in 484 games. Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 - July 3, 1993) played his entire 14-year career with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1956-1957, 1958-1969). Big D had a career year in 1962 when he led the league in wins (25) and strikeouts (232) and capturing the NL Cy Young Award, but missing out on the year’s Triple Crown as he came in fifth behind teammate Sandy Koufax in ERA. Drysdale led the National League in games started for four straight seasons (1962-1965), strikeouts three times and hit batsmen five times. Drysdale’s record of 154 hit batsmen remains a modern NL record. Don Drysdale was a nine-time All-Star selection, five-time NL pennant winner and three-time World Series champion (1959, 1963, 1965). Drysdale finished his career with a 209-166 record with 2,486 strikeouts and a 2.95 earned run average. Don was very adept at the plate as well, batting .300 in 1965 adding a National League record tying seven home run tallies. Drysdale retired from playing and found a place in the broadcast booth as well as on the silver screen in Hollywood making several appearances on television shows. Donald Scott Drysdale was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Early Wynn (January 6, 1920 - April 4, 1999) pitched an American League record 23 seasons with the Washington Senators (1939-1944, 1946-1948), the Cleveland Indians (1949-1957, 1963) and the Chicago White Sox (1958-1962). Wynn viewed each game as a war and the opposing hitter as his “mortal enemy.” Wynn was an extremely durable pitcher starting more than 25 games 17 times in his career as well as leading the American League three times in innings pitched. Early Wynn was an 8-time selection to the All-Star game and won the 1959 Cy Young Award. As a young, burly hard-throwing pitcher, Wynn developed a curveball, slider, changeup and knuckleball and exceptional command to harness that arsenal. Early Wynn retired with a 300-244 record with 2,334 strikeouts and a 3.54 ERA in 4,566 innings pitched. Early Wynn was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 - May 26, 2017) threw the seventh perfect game (his second no-hitter) in Major League history on Father’s Day in 1964 against the New York Mets. He pitched no-hit ball in 1958 against the Boston Red Sox. Playing the majority of his career with the Detroit Tigers (1955-1962) and Philadelphia Phillies (1964-1967, 1970-1971), Bunning compiled a 224-184 record with 2,855 strikeouts and a 3.27 career earned run average. Bunning was selected to nine All-Star games and led the league in strikeouts on three occasions (1959 and 1960 with Detroit and 1967 with the Phillies). Jim Bunning served Kentucky as a member of the United States House of Representatives (1987-1999) and Senate (1999-2011). The Veterans Committee elected James Paul David Bunning to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.
Don Richard “Richie” Ashburn (March 19, 1927 - September 9, 1997) played 15 seasons at centerfield for the Philadelphia Phillies (1948-1959), the Chicago Cubs (1960-1961) and the New York Mets (1962) and quickly moved to the broadcast booth after retirement. Ashburn was a member of the Phillies 1950 National League Champion “Whiz Kids” whose average age was 26 years old. What Ashburn lacked in power, hitting a career 29 home runs, he made up in consistency spraying 2,574 singles to all fields. Richie led the National League in hits three times in his career (1951, 1953 and 1958) and twice won the National League’s batting title (1955 and 1958). Richie Ashburn had more hits (1875) than any other player in the 1950s. After Ashburn retired in 1962, he joined the Philadelphia Phillies broadcast crew in 1963 where he remained for over 30 years. The Veterans Committee elected Don Richard “Richie” Ashburn to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.
Willie Howard Mays (May 6, 1931-) is arguably the greatest centerfielder that major League Baseball has ever seen. Mays was a 24-time All-Star selection, a 12-time Gold Glove winner, the 1951 National League Rookie of the Year, a two-time NL Most Valuable Player (1954, 1965) and a member of the 1954 World Series champion New York Giants. Playing the majority of his 22-year career in a Giants uniform (1951-1952, 1954-1972), Mays’ numbers are among the best ever including his 660 career home runs, third behind Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth at the time of his retirement. Mays is often best remembered for his the iconic photograph of “The Catch”, an over-the-shoulder grab of a long drive by Vic Wertz in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series. Mays is one of five players to have eight straight seasons topping the 100-RBI mark. Power hitting Willie Mays waited in the on-deck circle when Bobby Thomson hit the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”, perhaps influencing the pitching choices of Ralph Branca during that legendary playoff game. Willie Mays retired with 3,283 hits, 2,062 runs scored, 1,903 RBI, 338 stolen bases, 660 home runs and career .302 batting average. Willie Howard Mays was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
Donald Ray Elston (April 6, 1929 – January 2, 1995) was an American relief pitcher who appeared in 450 games in Major League Baseball, all but one of them as a member of the Chicago Cubs (1953, 1957–1964). Elston batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 165 pounds (75 kg). He was born in Campbellstown, Ohio, and attended Camden High School. His 18-season professional baseball career began in the Cub farm system in 1948.
First baseman Ed Bouchee played seven seasons in the majors. He began his career with great promise, finishing second in the 1957 NL ROTY vote, but following some off-field legal problems, he was out of the majors by his 30th birthday. Bouchee became Philadelphia's Opening Day first baseman in 1957 and hit .293 with 17 home runs and 76 RBI while appearing in all 154 games. He was runner-up to teammate Jack Sanford for Rookie of the Year and earned top National League rookie honors from The Sporting News. During the offseason, he was arrested and charged with indecent exposure after he exposed himself to young girls. He pleaded guilty, underwent psychiatric counseling, and rejoined the Phillies in July 1958. After a subpar partial season, he bounced back to hit .285 with 15 homers in 1959. Bouchee was traded, along with Don Cardwell, to the Chicago Cubs on May 13, 1960, in return for Tony Taylor and Cal Neeman. He hit a combined .242 that season, and in 1961, he managed only a .248 average, along with a dozen home runs. Following a year and a half in Chicago, he was selected by the New York Mets in the expansion draft. He was used sparingly by the first year club in 1962, getting into only 50 games and hitting just .161. He spent the rest of the summer with the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League, hitting .287 in 80 games. The next season, 1963, he hit .266 with 14 homers in 87 games for the Buffalo Bisons before ending his baseball career. Following his baseball days, Bouchee lived for many years in Des Plaines, Illinois, and worked in management for AC Delco. He later retired to Gilbert, Arizona. He died in 2013 at age 79.
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax (December 30, 1935-) was one of the most dominant pitcher of the 1960s, breaking a 58-year old strikeout record set by Christy Mathewson in 1903, becoming not only the first pitcher to throw four no-hitters (including one perfect game), but also the first to win multiple Cy Young Awards. Sandy, nee Sanford Braun, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York where he excelled in basketball, but also enjoyed baseball. After captaining his Lafayette High School basketball team, he accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Cincinnati, but he eventually chose to play baseball and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers after only one year at Cincy. Because the Dodgers signed the hard-throwing left handed to a $14,000 bonus, MLB rules required that he remain on the Major League roster for two years, thereby foregoing his much needed minor league guidance. Sandy would learn the ropes of professional baseball at its highest level. Though he would begin his career at a critical point in the Brooklyn Dodgers history, as they finally achieved the ultimate goal beating the New York Yankees in the World Series for the franchise's first Major League title, Koufax struggled mightily to find his control and consistency. August 27, 1955 marked Sandy's first career win, beating the Cincinnati Reds as he struck out 14 batters, but he would finish the year at .500 going 2-2 with 30 Ks and a 3.02 ERA. However, he was still only 19-year old. His struggles would continue for the next five seasons with Koufax going 36-40 with 683 strikeouts and a 4.10 ERA in 174 appearances. Hardly considered much more than mediocre, let alone the making of a Hall of Fame caliber career. The Dodgers were able to return to the World Series 1959 where they dispatched the Chicago White Sox in six games.
Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 - April 14, 1978) played 11 seasons in the big leagues with the New York Yankees (1938-1943, 1946) and the Cleveland Indians (1947-1950). Legendary Hall of Fame manager, Joe McCarthy, considered Joe Gordon “the greatest all-around ballplayers I ever saw…” Flash Gordon, named after the comic-book character, was a slick-fielding, hard-hitting second baseman who catapulted himself through the minor league ranks with acrobatic snares and solid defense, as well as exceptional power not often seen from a second bagger. During his 11-year career, Gordon averaged 26 home runs per season and drove in 101 runs each season on average. The nine time All-Star selection won the 1942 American League Most Valuable Player Award after hitting .322 and blasting 18 home runs and driving in 103 runs. Joe Gordon finished his career with 1,531 hits, 914 runs scored, 976 RBI and 253 home runs while batting .268 for the Yankees and Indians. Gordon was a member of five World Series champions – four in New York (1938, 1939, 1941, 1943) and one in Cleveland (1948). The Veterans Committee elected Joseph Lowell Gordon to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Bob Anderson signed with Chicago in 1954 and reached the Open-Classification Pacific Coast League in 1956 as a member of the Cubs' top farm team, the Los Angeles Angels. He had a stellar season as a relief pitcher, working in 70 games and winning a dozen, for the PCL champion Angels. The following year, he was recalled by the Cubs in midyear and spent parts of 1957 and 1958 as a member of the Cubs' bullpen corps and spot starter. In 1959, he made the Cubs' staff for good and became a full-time starting pitcher, posting a 21–24 record over the next two seasons in 66 assignments, with 12 complete games and his only MLB shutout, a 3–0 six-hit triumph against the pennant-contending Milwaukee Braves on August 24, 1959.[1] In 1961, he transitioned back to a bullpen role, and received only 19 more starting assignments over the rest of his MLB career. He was traded to Detroit after the 1962 season. Reunited with Bob Scheffing, his manager with the PCL Angels and the 1957–1959 Cubs, Anderson got into 32 games for the 1963 Tigers and posted the only winning season of his career, as he captured three of four decisions. He then was traded again in the off-season, in a major transaction with the Kansas City Athletics headlined by slugger Rocky Colavito, but Anderson did not make the 1964 Athletics' roster and spent the year back in minor league baseball before leaving the game. During his MLB career, he won 36 games, lost 46, and compiled an earned run average of 4.26. He was credited with 15 complete games. In 8402/3 innings pitched, he allowed 858 hits and 319 bases on balls with 502 strikeouts.
Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995), like his predecessor in the New York Yankees centerfield, Joe DiMaggio, became one of the most popular figures in sports history both during and after his playing career. Raised in Oklahoma, Mickey was the son of Mutt Mantle, a lead miner and former minor league player in his own right, who reared him to be a big league player and taught The Mick how to bat from both sides of the plate in anticipation of manager options as relievers were becoming more prevalent. As a teenager, his baseball career, and potentially his life was nearly ended when he suffered a injury that turned into a severe infection on the football field in high school. When a Yankees scout came to see one of Mantle's teammate's Mickey hit three home runs in the game and wowed fans and the scout alike. The New York Yankees signed Mickey a year later after his high school graduation and assigned him to the minor leagues. Mantle's meteoric rise through the ranks of the New York farm system compounded by the press' coverage of the young phenom who the dubbed to become the "next" Yankees star. He was originally assigned the number "6" to follow Babe Ruth's #3, Lou Gehrig's #4 and teammate Joe DiMaggio's #5. And, to add to the extraordinary pressure, DiMaggio announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 1951 season, Mickey's rookie campaign.
James Thomas “Jim” Brewer (November 14, 1937 - November 16, 1987) served as one of the great relievers of the 1960s, but suffered the consequences when he mixed it up with Cincinnati Reds bad boy Billy Martin and Martin punched and broke Brewer’s cheekbone in 1960. The Chicago Cubs signed the California native in 1956 and he debuted for the Northsiders in 1960. On August 4, 1960, already suffering through a 0-3 record, Martin rushed the mound after a brush back pitch from Brewer, threw a punch and ended the rookie’s season. A bench-clearing brawl ensued and Martin was ejected and fined $500, but Brewer was out for a month. The Cubs tried unsuccessfully to sue the feisty infielder, but Brewer was awarded $100,000 in his own personal suit. But Jim was back on the mound come the 1961 spring training, though his results (1-7 record) in 1961 were similarly awful like in 1960. Jim spent four years in the Windy City (1960-1963), but was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers where he was converted into a reliever. Jim pitched 12 seasons with the Boys in Blue (1964-1975) and at the suggestion of Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn developed a screwball and became one of the most effective relievers in the National League. He appeared in474 games with LA, third most in Dodgers history behind Don Sutton and Don Drysdale and was named to the 1973 All-Star Game. In his second year in Dodger Blue, Brewer helped a pitching staff, led by Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Drysdale, carry Los Angeles to the 1965 World Series title over the heavy-hitting Minnesota Twins. He helped the Dodgers reach the Fall Classic the following year and then again in 1974, losing both Series to the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics, respectively. Following that World Series appearance, Jim was traded down the road to the California Angels where his finished his career after two more seasons (1975-1976). Jim Brewer finished his career with a 69-65 record, 810 strikeouts, 133 saves and a 3.07 ERA in 351 games appearances. Sadly, he was killed in a car accident one day before his 50th birthday in Tyler, Texas.
Roberto Clemente Walker (August 18, 1934 - December 31, 1972) is widely considered the greatest Latin player to ever put on a Major League Baseball uniform with a .317 career batting average, a .973 fielding percentage and a record 254 career assists for a right fielder. In his native Puerto Rico, Clemente played for the Santurce Cangrejeros ("Crabbers") before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954. While coming off the bench for the Montreal Royals, Brooklyn’s minor league affiliate, the Pittsburgh Pirates took Roberto in the 1954 Rule 5 Draft offering him the opportunity to play everyday and win the right field position at the 1955 spring training. Clemente never played a minor league game again as he easily won the right field job and batted .255 with 121 hits and 47 RBI as a rookie. Though he hit .311 in 1956, Roberto’s break out year came in 1960 when he earned his first of 15 All-Star Game selections after batting .314 with 16 home runs and 94 RBI. He helped lead the Pirates to their first World Series title that year as they captured MLB’s top prize in dramatic fashion with Bill Mazeroski’s Game 7 walk-off series clinching home run. Clemente hit .310 with three RBI in the 1960 World Series. In 1961, Roberto hit 23 home run and hit .351 to lead the National League for the first of four times during the 1960s. He was a perennial vote-getter for National League MVP and in 1966, after leading the league in batting average the previous two seasons, won the award with a .317 average, 31 home runs and 119 RBI while also posting 17 outfield assists. The 12-time Rawlings Gold Glove recipient played his entire career with Pittsburgh (1955-1972) and helped lead them to a second World Series title in 1971. Roberto Clemente collected 3,000 hits, hit 240 home runs, had 1.305 RBI and batted .317 over 18-year seasons with the Buccos. Above and beyond his numbers at the plate, Bob possessed a powerful and precise arm that helped him achieve a .973 fielding percentage with 4,696 putouts. Clemente was heavily involved in humanitarian efforts in the third world Latin American countries and was killed on December 31, 1972 assisting in delivering aid to Nicaragua after an earthquake devastated the small country. Major League Baseball presents The Roberto Clemente Award to the player that best exemplifies Clemente’s humanitarian efforts. Roberto Clemente Walker was posthumously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
Don Cardwell seemed the definition of a journeyman pitcher, but his career intertwined with the stuff of legend. He threw a no-hitter two days after being traded, he grabbed love beads off Ron Swoboda’s neck at the height of the 1960s culture clash, and Cardwell, who always liked to swing the bat, became the back end of a memorable doubleheader sweep by the ’69 Miracle Mets in which the only run in each game was knocked in by the pitcher. It was a long and interesting career for Cardwell that culminated with him being the senior member of a staff that pulled off one of the most unlikely world championships ever. Signed to a Triple-A contract at the age of 19, Illinois-born Glen Hobbie quickly discovered that he was overmatched at that level. He fared little better in Class C, then was sidelined by a muscle spasm in his back, which he cured by swimming in the Mississippi River. Two seasons later, he was in the major leagues. The swan song to his eight-year big-league career was about two months with the 1964 world champion Cardinals.
Rogers Hornsby (April 27, 1896 - January 5, 1963) was perhaps the greatest right-handed batter in the history of Major League Baseball, and along with numerous career records that he owns, his .424 batting average from 1924 is the highest by a player in the 20th Century. Despite being one of the most skilled players the game has ever seen, both at the plate and on the field with a calm and unwavering temperament on the field, his shortcomings as a compulsive gambler and belligerent attitude toward management and teammates made him somewhat of a pariah in the clubhouse. Rogers grew up in Texas where he started playing with the meat packing plant at which he worked until his brother Everett, a journeyman minor leaguer, landed him a tryout with the Dallas Steers of the Texas League. From Dallas, Hornsby moved up to the Denison Champions, later the Railroaders, who he led to the Western Association pennant before the St. Louis Cardinals came calling. In an attempt to save money and fill his roster, Cardinals manager Miller Huggins purchased Rogers contract in 1915 and he debuted in September 1915, hitting .246 in 57 at-bats. Though a skilled infielder, eventually settling in at second base for the majority of his career, Hornsby’s eye at the plate was like no other from the start. He combined a keen eye with tremendous power, range and speed. By his third year, he led the National League in triples with 17, something he would do again in 1921. He also led the league in slugging percentage while batting .327, second in the NL. Though he wasn’t much of a base stealer, swiping only 135 in his 23-year career, he led the NL in doubled four times and triples twice, testing defenses as he stretched would-be singles into extra-base hits. He remains among Major League Baseball’s leaders in extra base hits for his career (1,011).
Juan Antonio Marichal Sanchez (October 20, 1937-) was renowned for his ultra-high leg kick during his windup and delivery on the mound. Marichal spent 14 seasons with the San Francisco Giants (1960-1973) and a total of 16 years in the big leagues, finishing his career doing one-year stints with the Red Sox and Dodgers, respectively. During the 1960s, the Dominican Republic native won more games than any other during that decade, including throwing a no-hitter against the Houston Colt .45s. Juan was a member of ten All-Star games and was the 1965 MLB All-Star Game MVP. Marichal led the National League in wins, complete games shutouts and innings pitched twice and led in ERA in 1969 with a 2.10 average. Juan Marichal retired with a 243-142 record posting 2,303 strikeouts and a career 2.89 ERA. Despite his amazing record during the 1960s, fellow NL pitchers Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax often overshadowed Marichal for MLB honors. Juan Antonio Marichal Sanchez was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Richard George Bertell (November 21, 1935 – December 20, 1999) was a right-handed professional baseball catcher who played Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants from 1960 to 1967. Although he was a light hitter offensively, he had a strong arm, throwing out 47.74% of the base runners who tried steal on him, ranking him fourth on the all-time list.
Henry John Sauer (March 17, 1917 - August 24, 2001) is the first player in Major League history to hit three home runs in a game off the same pitcher twice in his career. Sauer started his career in Cincinnati for four and half years (1941-1942, 1945, 1948-1949) before being traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1949. He found excellent success in the Windy City posting over 100 hits in each full season and hit 25 or more home runs five times while in Chicago (1949-1955). Sauer led the National League in home runs (37) and RBI (121) and was named to his second, and last, MLB All-Star Game in 1952 earning that seasons Most Valuable Player award. Hank was one of the beloved Cubs of his era and was often called “The Mayor of Wrigley Field”. Sauer was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for one season (1956) and finished his career with the New York/San Francisco Giants (1957/1958-1959). Hank Sauer finished his career with 709 runs, 1,278 hits including 200 doubles and 288 home runs while batting .266 and driving in 876 RBI.
Ernest "Ernie" Banks (January 31, 1931 - January 23, 2015) remains, without a doubt, the most beloved Chicago Cubs player in franchise history and was voted the "Greatest Cub Ever" in a 1969 Chicago Tribune fan poll. Not only was he one of the best Cub the team had ever seen, but he is considered one of the greatest Major League Baseball players in history. As a boy, Ernie had little interest in baseball but rather affection for football, basketball and track instead. With his father moonlighting as a semi-pro baseball player, he often bribed the young Banks with nickels and dimes to play catch to nudge him toward his sport of choice. Ernie’s Booker T, Washington High School lacked a baseball team so he played football and basketball while also playing fast pitch softball outside of high school and then the Amarillo Colts, a semiprofessional baseball team. He began playing with the Negro Leagues Kansas City Monarchs before being drafted into the United States Army serving two years, but playing part time with the Harlem Globetrotters during his service. Upon his discharge in 1953, Ernie returned to the Kansas City Monarchs for a brief stint before the Chicago Cubs came calling. He is one of only a handful of Negro League player to enter the big leagues without starting out in the minors and he, in fact, never played a single minor league game in his career. In 1954, he put together an exceptional season with 19 home runs, 79 RBI and a .275 batting average but was edged out of the National League Rookie of the Year voting by St. Louis Cardinals Wally Moon.
Brooks Calbert Robinson (May 18, 1937-) is generally considered to be the greatest defensive third baseman in the history of baseball. He was selected to 18 straight All-Star appearances from 1960-1974, won the 1964 American League Most Valuable Player award, and was the second recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award as “best exemplifying the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.” Brooks played his entire 23-year career with the Baltimore Orioles, helping them to four American League pennants and two World Series championships (1966, 1970). He was voted the 1970 World Series Most Valuable Player after batting .583 during the ALCS against the Minnesota Twins and a continuing his hot hitting during the Fall Classic, batting .429 against the Cincinnati Reds. Robinson’s acrobatic and athletic plays at the hot corner led to his records of most career game at third (2,870), career putouts (2,670), career assists (6,205) career chances (8,902) and double plays (618) at the time of his retirement. Brooks Calbert Robinson was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Don Richard “Richie” Ashburn (March 19, 1927 - September 9, 1997) played 15 seasons at centerfield for the Philadelphia Phillies (1948-1959), the Chicago Cubs (1960-1961) and the New York Mets (1962) and quickly moved to the broadcast booth after retirement. Ashburn was a member of the Phillies 1950 National League Champion “Whiz Kids” whose average age was 26 years old. What Ashburn lacked in power, hitting a career 29 home runs, he made up in consistency spraying 2,574 singles to all fields. Richie led the National League in hits three times in his career (1951, 1953 and 1958) and twice won the National League’s batting title (1955 and 1958). Richie Ashburn had more hits (1875) than any other player in the 1950s. After Ashburn retired in 1962, he joined the Philadelphia Phillies broadcast crew in 1963 where he remained for over 30 years. The Veterans Committee elected Don Richard “Richie” Ashburn to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.
Yogi played one season in the minors for the Yankees before enlisting in the United States Navy, seeing time as a machine gunner during the Normandy Invasion. Upon his return, Berra backed up Aaron Robinson behind the plate for the first two seasons, helping New York reach and win the World Series in only his second big league season (1947). What would become a trend for Berra. He slowly and surely became one of the league’s top catchers, but his style at the plate caught the most attention as he developed into one of the great clutch hitters in history despite being considered a “bad ball” hitter. Yogi’s ability to cover the entire plate, and often golf low pitches deep for home runs made him one of the most feared hitters in the American League. In 1948, he earned his first of 18 selections to the MLB All-Star Game and a year later helped the Yankees march to the first of five straight World Series titles (1949-1953). After batting .294 with 27 home runs and 88 RBI in 1951, Yogi Berra was named the American League Most Valuable Player for the first of three times (1951, 1954, 1955). Berra was a key link to the changing of the guards in the Bronx as he began his career playing alongside Joe DiMaggio and finished his career playing alongside Mickey Mantle, among other Yankee greats during his 18-year tenure in pinstripes (1946-1963). While donning the Yankees uniform, he won 14 American League pennants and a record ten World Series titles. He holds the World Series records for games (75), at-bats (259) and doubles (10) and hits (71). Yogi caught two no-hitters in his career including Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Yogi Berra finished his Yankees playing days having amassed 2,150 hits including 321 doubles and 358 home runs, 1,175 runs scored and a .285 batting average while only striking out 414 times in more than 7,500 at-bats. In 1950, Berra struck out only 12 times in 597 at-bats but blasted 28 homers.
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax (December 30, 1935-) was one of the most dominant pitcher of the 1960s, breaking a 58-year old strikeout record set by Christy Mathewson in 1903, becoming not only the first pitcher to throw four no-hitters (including one perfect game), but also the first to win multiple Cy Young Awards. Sandy, nee Sanford Braun, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York where he excelled in basketball, but also enjoyed baseball. After captaining his Lafayette High School basketball team, he accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Cincinnati, but he eventually chose to play baseball and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers after only one year at Cincy. Because the Dodgers signed the hard-throwing left handed to a $14,000 bonus, MLB rules required that he remain on the Major League roster for two years, thereby foregoing his much needed minor league guidance. Sandy would learn the ropes of professional baseball at its highest level.
My only regret is that I can’t sit in the stands and watch myself pitch.” No one ever accused southpaw Bo Belinsky of being modest. And probably no pitcher in baseball history ever got more mileage out of 28 wins (against 51 defeats) in parts of eight big-seasons as Belinsky. Belinsky took baseball by storm as a rookie with the Los Angeles Angels in 1962, and captured the hearts of the Hollywood jet set. Good-looking with a dark complexion and slicked-back black hair, the roughneck from the streets of Trenton, New Jersey, turned Tinseltown upside down when he tossed a no-hitter in his fourth big-league start, en route to winning six of his first seven starts. That gem changed his life, and cast him on an odyssey that few big-league players could ever imagine. Belinsky’s ego was as big as his fastball was daunting. He flouted the conservative mores of baseball by praising himself and living by his own rules. Days after his no-hitter, he became a regular at Hollywood afterparties, where he met Walter Winchell, an aging influential gossip columnist, who introduced him to Hollywood A-listers, and plenty of B-listers, and a seemingly endless supply of actresses and wanna-be’s who lined up to meet the most eligible bachelor in town not named Hugh Hefner. Belinsky was the country’s best-known athlete-playboy, 3½ years before Joe Willie Namath took a bite out of the Big Apple. “Playing baseball seemed only incidental,” said Belinsky in retirement. “I was just on a mad whirl day and night.” Belinsky made as many headlines with women as for his occasional pitching victories. “For both variety and sheer volume of female companions,” opined sportswriter Myron Cope, “Belinsky is an authentic lion of the boudoir.” He dated Ann-Margret, Tina Louise, and Connie Stevens, was briefly engaged to Mamie Van Doren in 1963, and married Jo Collins, Playboy’s 1965 Playmate of the Year, in 1968. “What I’m looking for is one with dough,” said Belinsky as a rookie. “I need a poor one like Custer needed more Indians.” He got his wish more than a decade later when he married Jane Weyerhaeuser, the heiress to the Weyerhaeuser paper fortune, in 1975. Both the aforementioned marriages ended in divorce. “My philosophy of life?” said Belinsky in one of his most memorable quips. “That’s easy. If music be the food of love, by all means let the band play on.”
James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 - August 23, 2002) is considered one of the great knuckleball pitchers in the history of baseball and holds the record for most wins (124) by a relief pitcher. Primarily used in relief, Wilhelm helped redefine and expand the role of the reliever as managers looked to utilize the bullpen more when starters struggled in late innings. Wilhelm began his career with the New York Giants in 1952, debuting at the age of 28, and played for eight other teams for the next two decades, retiring in 1972. The knuckleball is credited for his longevity in the mound minimizing arm strain and allowing Wilhelm to be one of the oldest pitchers to ever pitch in the Major League, 16 days shy of his 50th birthday. Wilhelm led the league twice in ERA and games, and finished a league-high 39 times in 1953. In an unlikely scenario and rare start, Hoyt Wilhelm no-hit the would-be world champion New York Yankees in 1958. Hoyt Wilhelm retired with a record of 143-122 including 1,610 strikeouts and 31 saves in 1,070 games. Hoyt Wilhelm was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
A fine major league pitcher for several years, Jim Brosnan wrote the first honest portrayal of the life of a baseball player. The Long Season and subsequent works have earned him continued praise ever since. His writings paved the way for many other players’ “autobiographies,” usually written with considerable help, and filled with more tawdriness but less humor and heart. Fifty years on, Brosnan’s books remain the gold standard for baseball memoirs.
Robin Evan Roberts (September 30, 1926 - May 6, 2010) was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies “Whiz Kids” during the 1950s helping them to the 1950 World Series Championship. Playing most of his 19-year career with the Phils (1948-1961) and the Orioles (1962-1965), Robin Roberts was a brilliant ace, excellent fielder and above-average hitter for a pitcher. His durability was evident early on and during the span of 1950-1956, Roberts led the league in games started six times, complete games and innings pitched 5 times and wins four times. His blazing fastball and accuracy were the keys to Roberts’ success compiling a record of 286-245 with 2,357 strikeouts and a 3.40 ERA in 4,689 innings. Robin Roberts was the first number retired by the Phillies organization. Interestingly, Robin Roberts was the only pitcher in history to defeat the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves. Robin Evan Roberts was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.
Mateo Rojas “Matty” Alou (December 22, 1938 - November 3, 2011) batted .300 or better in seven seasons showing that he was the best hitter-for-average of the three Alou brothers (Felipe, Jesus), despite also being the Smallest in the trio at 5’9” tall. Matty played 15 seasons in the majors for the San Francisco Giants (1960-1965), Pittsburgh Pirates (1966-1970), St. Louis Cardinals (1971-1972, 1973), Oakland Athletics (1972), New York Yankees (1973) and San Diego Padres (1974). In 1966, Matty captured the batting title as he hit .342 as a new member of the Pirates team that included Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell as his outfield mates. He had a career year in 1969 as he led the National League in plate appearances (746), at-bats (698), hits (231) and doubles (41). He was named to back-to-back MLB All-Star Games in 1968 and 1969 and was a member of the World Series champions Oakland Athletics in 1972. Matty Alou finished his career with a .307 career batting average, 1,777 hits including 236 doubles and 427 RBI. Unlike older brother Felipe who became a Major League manager following his playing days in MLB, Matty played three season in the Japanese, then retired to manage in his home country of the Dominican Republic.
Eugene Lewis “Gene” Freese (January 8, 1934 - June 18, 2013) played second and third base for 12 years in the Major Leagues with six different teams. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Gene as a free agent in 1953 out of West Liberty State College and he debuted for the Bucs in 1955. Freese played for the Pirates (1955-1958, 1964-1965), the St. Louis Cardinals (1958), the Philadelphia Phillies (1959), the Chicago White Sox (1960, 1965-1966), the Cincinnati Reds (1961-1963) and the Houston Astros (1966). Gene’s best season came as a Cincinnati Red in 1961 when he batted .277 with 159 hits including 26 home runs, 78 runs and 87 RBI as he helped the Reds win the 1961 National League pennant. Gene Freese retired after the 1966 season having amassed 877 hits including 115 home runs, 429 runs scored and 432 RBI while batting .254 in 1,115 big league games.
Ernest "Ernie" Banks (January 31, 1931 - January 23, 2015) remains, without a doubt, the most beloved Chicago Cubs player in franchise history and was voted the "Greatest Cub Ever" in a 1969 Chicago Tribune fan poll. Not only was he one of the best Cub the team had ever seen, but he is considered one of the greatest Major League Baseball players in history. As a boy, Ernie had little interest in baseball but rather affection for football, basketball and track instead. With his father moonlighting as a semi-pro baseball player, he often bribed the young Banks with nickels and dimes to play catch to nudge him toward his sport of choice. Ernie’s Booker T, Washington High School lacked a baseball team so he played football and basketball while also playing fast pitch softball outside of high school and then the Amarillo Colts, a semiprofessional baseball team. He began playing with the Negro Leagues Kansas City Monarchs before being drafted into the United States Army serving two years, but playing part time with the Harlem Globetrotters during his service. Upon his discharge in 1953, Ernie returned to the Kansas City Monarchs for a brief stint before the Chicago Cubs came calling. He is one of only a handful of Negro League player to enter the big leagues without starting out in the minors and he, in fact, never played a single minor league game in his career. In 1954, he put together an exceptional season with 19 home runs, 79 RBI and a .275 batting average but was edged out of the National League Rookie of the Year voting by St. Louis Cardinals Wally Moon.
Billy Leo Williams (June 15, 1938-) held the National League record of consecutive games played (1,117) before if was topped by Steve Garvey (1,207), and included leading the NL in games played five times, missing only 28 games from 1962-1973. Billy possessed a sweet-smooth swing that helped him win the 1961 National League Rookie of the Year Award and garnered him six All-Star game selections. Sweet-swinging Billy Williams played 18 seasons for the Chicago Cubs (1959-1974) and the Oakland A’s (1975-1976). He learned his signature sweet swing from Hall of Fame legend Rogers Hornsby. Billy was among fellow Cubs Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins and Ernie Banks and fan favorite Ron Santo who never played in the World Series. His only postseason experience came with the 1975 A’s who lost the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox. His finest season came in 1972 when he won the NL batting title with a .333 average adding 191 hits including 37 home runs and 122 RBI. Billy Williams retired with 2,711 hits, 1,410 runs scored, 426 home runs, 1,475 RBI and a .290 career batting average. Billy Leo Williams was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.
Harmon Clayton Killebrew (June 29, 1936 - May 17, 2011) blasted a 530 ft. home run into the upper deck of Metropolitan Stadium, reportedly shattering two chairs, which were eventually repainted and never sold again. Signed as a boy wonder, the Washington Senators-turned-Minnesota Twins slugger caused fans, media and player alike to wonder if he might be the player to surpass the almighty Babe Ruth’s records. Killer led the American League six times in home runs, topping the 40-mark eight times. He drove in 100 or more runs nine times during his career and was a fixture among Most Valuable Player voting for eleven years, winning the prestigious award in 1969. Harmon played 22 seasons for the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins (1954-1960, 1960-1974) and the Kansas City Royals (1975). Killebrew’s gentle nature both on and off the field helped him be a versatile asset to keep in the line-up, playing wherever asked without complaint in order to keep him mighty bat in the game. Harmon Killebrew retired with 573 home runs, 2,086 hits, 1,584 RBI, a .509 career slugging percentage, and a .256 career batting average. Harmon Clayton Killebrew was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax (December 30, 1935-) was one of the most dominant pitcher of the 1960s, breaking a 58-year old strikeout record set by Christy Mathewson in 1903, becoming not only the first pitcher to throw four no-hitters (including one perfect game), but also the first to win multiple Cy Young Awards. Sandy, nee Sanford Braun, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York where he excelled in basketball, but also enjoyed baseball. After captaining his Lafayette High School basketball team, he accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Cincinnati, but he eventually chose to play baseball and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers after only one year at Cincy. Because the Dodgers signed the hard-throwing left handed to a $14,000 bonus, MLB rules required that he remain on the Major League roster for two years, thereby foregoing his much needed minor league guidance. Sandy would learn the ropes of professional baseball at its highest level.
