One of My Favorite Cards: 1974 Topps #456 Dave Winfield Rookie Card

I had a quick internal battle as to whether or not I should file my Winfield rookie card in my Yankees collection or in my "Vintage/Other" piles......in the end, I decided to honor the time, years, performance and passion that Winfield displayed during his epic career as a member of all his teams by choosing the latter.

Turns out - this card rocks no matter which collection it rests within, as did the career it honors the start of!

Yep.  It's a bright one, Dave.

Winfield's rookie card is from the 1974 Topps set.   As a kid in the late 80's, I often confused the '74 design with the '80 design - both of which I still enjoy to this day (though I don't own very many of.....yet).   The dual banner, symmetrical look is very basic but its simplicity plays to my inner engineer.   The team, position and name labels frame out a cameo shot of Winfield looking very optimistic about his future.

This particular card is in great shape for my liking.   There's no creasing on the front and the coloring is fantastic so the overall presentation is really nice.   Browns and yellows are usually not ideal, but the retro goodness of the old-time Padres uniform is simply undeniable.   Throw in the 'ol Winfield moustache and early 70's stadium upper deck background for good measure and you have the makings of a most excellent rookie card.

The edges and corners are not perfect - but the price was right, so I was ecstatic to add another HOF rookie card to the collection.   Here's a look at the back:

 
Ah, there's a tiny crease up there in the upper right hand corner.  No worries, as my usual point of contention starts when I can no longer read a portion of the card - which is certainly not the case here.   You get a nice look at Mr. Winfield's signature up top with the usual biometrics and even a noteworthy cartoon along the right side - turns out that Winfield was born on the same day as "the shot heard 'round the world", a.k.a. Bobby Thompson's home run.   Very poetic that big Dave would be destined for his own post-season legend more than 40 years later!   But more on that later.   The four college career highlights at the University of Minnesota are given in bullet point format.   A lot of good information and interesting tidbits squeezed onto this cardboard.   I dig that.

This card portrays Winfield as a proud young phenom for the San Diego Padres.   The Padres drafted Mr. Winfield as a Pitcher and was the 4th overall pick of that draft.   Of course, Dave was also drafted by THREE other teams in TWO other sports (basketball and football).   Keep in mind, Dave Winfield didn't even PLAY college football at UM!

Hear it comes!

That should give you an idea as to how incredibly gifted this guy was as an athlete.   The Padres quickly dropped their young star into the deep end of the major league pool - where he immediately shined.   Needing his bat more than an additional hurler, they placed Winfield in the outfield where he still utilized his rifle arm to produce many memorable defensive plays.   He batted .277 in the 56 games he played in '73 and only seemed to improve as his career marched forward.

That Uniform = Awesome

He would go on to hit the national scene during the '77 All Star Game in New York and became the Padres Captain in '78 before posting .308 AVG / 34 HRs / 118 RBI in '79.   Winfield landed in New York as a free agent in 1981 where he would be a constant offensive leader until he left in 1990.   Often at odds with Steinbrenner (which probably began when the Boss signed Winfield for $7M more than he thought he did - making him the HIGHEST paid MLB player), Winfield never allowed the off-field Bronx drama affect his performance between the lines.   He would be an All-Star for eight years in a row ('81 - '88) and win five gold gloves in New York to go along with his five silver slugger awards.   He lost a VERY narrow batting title race to teammate Don Mattingly in 1984 by .003, finishing at .340.   Interestingly, Yankees fans were divided in their loyalty to both sluggers, with a noticeable tilt in favor of Donnie Baseball.   Winfield handled this fact like a professional, citing an eerily similar situation endured by Mantle and Maris during the home run race of '61.   The Yanks, despite having two sluggers in the line-up at .340 or better, still finished 17.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers that season.   Yikes?!

The Masters

During Steinbrenner's two year stretch of being banned from managing the club's operations, Winfield was finally traded to the Angels in 1990 where he stayed only briefly before having his second career renaissance as a soon-to-be world champion for the Toronto Blue Jays.   Even as an aging star, Winfield served as a very powerful designated hitter.   What am I saying?!   Big Dave slugged with a .290 average and slammed 26 home runs along with 108 RBI.  He wasn't done yet, no sir!   Winfield helped to lead the team into October where he provided the clutch 2-run scoring double for the Jays in the 11th inning of Game 6 that helped to clinch the '92 Series for Toronto.   Unfortunately, this victory was over my Atlanta Braves, but it was truly something to behold as Winfield officially shrugged off those tired old and fictitious "Mr. May" labels from Steinbrenner during his pinstripe days and became the oldest player (41) to slug an extra base hit in the World Series.   No matter how you slice it - that's good stuff and Winfield now had the hardware to go along with his championship-worthy career!

Destiny - Worth the Wait!

Winfield would go on to collect his 3,000th hit off of Dennis Eckersley as a Twin in 1993, thereby cementing his enshrinement in Cooperstown.   Playing his final game as a professional in 1995 as a Cleveland Indian, Dave Winfield completed an amazing career that spanned thirteen years and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2001.   He remains a very active part of the game today in a return to his roots as the executive Vice President and Senior Advisor for the San Diego Padres, who also retired his #31 in 2001.  He is also very active and performs much great work through his foundation, The Winfield Foundation - and can also often be seen as a guest analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight.

Power for Good.

Atta boy, Big Dave!   Thanks for the memories and your contributions to the game of baseball (even the ones that might have occurred outside of your time as one of my beloved Yanks).   You're definitely one of my favorites and while I haven't been lucky enough to meet you or get your autograph yet, I'm honored to have your rookie card in my collection!

Thanks for reading.

My Yankee Collection - 1948 Bowman #14 Allie Reynolds Rookie Card

Here is a look at one of my favorite cards from my Yankee collection - Allie Reynolds' "Rookie" card from the 1948 Bowman set:

Vintage-y Goodness, served up Bronx Style!

The 1948 Bowman set was very limited, at only 48 cards.   This Reynolds card is #14 from the set.   This card is noted as Reynolds' rookie card because the '48 Bowman release was the first major release after the end of World War II.   Therefore, the majority of cards in the set are noted as players' first cards, even though many had played for years - like Reynolds, who came up with the Indians in 1942.   The card's dimensions are 21/16" by 21/2" and the entire set is in black & white.   I managed to find this card in great condition at an unbelievable price!   At 64 years old, this Reynolds is completely crease-free and has some great edges with sharp corners.   As was common for many cards back then,it suffered from a slightly uneven cut but the card really doesn't suffer in its appearance.   Would I care anyways? :)   Here's the back!

What the Michael Pineda Trade Will [Probably] Never Be...

  
Here you have the very basic back of those early Bowman releases.   But I still dig them!   The usual biographical numbers are followed by a great summary of Allie's early career and a mention of the great trade that brought Mr. Reynolds to New York - more on that below.   And don't forget to ask for Blony Bubble Gum, The Gum with THREE different flavors :)   Ha!   How sweet is that little ad?   Can you imagine the uproar if card companies loaded up the backs of our modern-day releases with ads?   Here's a quick glance at what this card looks like in a top-loader, just for some size perspective:

I love, love, love this card!   It's a vintage Yankee rookie card of a great player.   I can't swap it for a house....or a car....or even Madden '13, but it's a great piece of history to me and it's in great shape.   I hope I have the chance to find some other good deals on some other cards from this set.   Any time you can take home a card from one of those "First Page" sets (sets on the first page of the price guide)......I think you have something special.


Here's some more about Mr. Reynolds:

Allie Pierce Reynolds was one of the most dominant pitchers in the American League during his playing days.   He began his career with the Cleveland Indians, who were tipped off to his hurling prowess by the baseball coach at Oklahoma A&M - where Allie attended college and lettered in numerous sports until graduating.

Reynolds in Cleveland -note "War Bonds" Ad behind him!

He fought his way through the minor leagues during difficult financial times for the country and was on the verge of retiring from the game out of frustration until he was called up to Cleveland and established himself as an ace for the Indians while their usual #1, Bob Feller, was serving overseas in World War II.   It should be noted that Reynolds took the enlistment physical but was determined to be ineligible for service due to family medical history and some injuries he had suffered while playing sports in college.   Allie Reynolds led the AL in strikeouts in '43 and made a total of 100 starts for the Indians.   Of those times he took the mound as a starting pitcher, Reynolds tossed 41 complete games and had nine shutouts!  

By 1946, Feller had returned to the squad and the club's player/manager Lou Boudreau needed to fill a defensive hole at 2B for the Indians.   He had set his eyes on the Yankees' 2B, Joe Gordon and informed the Yankees' front office man, Lee MacPhail that New York could have any pitcher he wanted - with the exception of Mr. Feller, of course.   Lee sought some counsel from 'ol DiMaggio who advised Lee:

"Take Reynolds.   I'm a fastball hitter, but he can buzz his hard one by me any time he has a mind to."

 

Timing....is EVERYTHING!

The rest is history and Allie Reynolds became an ace for the Yankees on a staff that included Ed Lopat and Vic Raschi.   By 1949, Allie was the star of a team that won five consecutive league championships - the first squad to ever do so.   For his first 6 seasons as a Yankee, Mr. Reynolds averaged over 232 innings, 17.5 wins and 14 complete games!   He also became the second pitcher in major league history to hurl two no-hitters in one season, joining Johnny Vander Meer who had accomplished the feat in '38.   Notching two no-no's in one season is still the record though the two have been joined more recently by one of my all-time favorites - Virgil Trucks ('52) as well as Nolan Ryan ('73) and Roy Halladay ('10).   Not too shabby, huh?

Allie Reynolds hailed from Oklahoma (like another Yankee legend, don't you know?) and was a member of the Creek Indian Nation.   As was the standard in those days, any ball player of Native American heritage usually garnered the nickname "Chief" from his teammates at some point.   This was no different for Mr. Reynolds, who earned a version of that as "Superchief".   It is pretty widely known that Allie wasn't comfortable with his nickname, usually citing the honor and reverence that was reserved for the title of "Chief" within his Creek Indian culture.   The stories behind this label aren't crystal clear but teammate and eventual AL President, Bobby Brown once noted:

"But for some of you too young to remember, the Santa Fe Railroad at that time had a crack train (call the Superchief) that ran from California to Chicago, and it was known for its elegance, its power and its speed. We always felt the name applied to Allie for the same reasons."

That's quite a compliment.   In fact, I think the only other compliment that I might be MORE impressed by would be some kind words from 'ol Casey Stengel......wait, WHAT?   Stengel had words of praise for this guy?   Why yes, yes he did:

"Reynolds was two ways great, which is starting and relieving, which no one can do like him...He has guts and his courage is simply tremendous."

That's good stuff!   And so were Superchief's career accomplishments, although they never managed to earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame:

• Six Time All-Star (1945, 1949, 1952, 1953 and 1954)
• Six Time World Series Champion (1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953)
• Lifetime Stats: 182-107, 3.30 ERA and 1,423 K's

Maybe most impressive was Reynolds' performance under pressure in the post season.   He was 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA over 77 innings and was the "clinching" pitcher in the '50, '52 and '53 Series.   He made six relief appearances in the World Series and earned either a Win or a Save in every single one of them.   And just to drive the point home - he batted .308 in 26 World Series at-bats.   Yo!   Allie went on to become a very successful business man in the oil industry after retiring due to injuries suffered in a crash of the Yankees team bus during the '54 season.   He passed away in Oklahoma in 1994 at the age of 77.  

Allie "Super Chief" Reynolds was indeed a legendary pitcher for my favorite team back in the very first days of baseball's golden age.   His accomplishments are impressive as is the way in which he apparently lived his life.   I'm really glad....no, honored to have his rookie card as a part of my New York Yankee baseball card collection.

Thank for reading!

There's Actually Trade Bait On the Trade Bait Page?

No, seriously!

Landmark day, my friends.   Not too much, but check 'em out and see if anything catches your eye.   I am hoping to be able to keep it fresh (read: updated!) and add more cards as we go along.   There's no sense in hoarding the cardboard I don't need or want if it belongs in your collection, you know?

Make an offer and let's try to work something out.   We might not always get a deal done but it will be a great chance to take note of who or what you like when I gather those "just 'cause" packages together to send out.

It's been known to happen.


Thanks for reading!

Starling Marte - Part of the Future in Pittsburgh?

Another card that I managed to pull from my packs of 2012 Bowman Platinum was this Top Prospect card of Starling Marte:

It's a great looking card - I think the color scheme goes well with the Bucco's colors and I couldn't agree more with Topps' decision to bestow the title of top prospect on Marte.   I'm no Pirates fan but I can't say that I haven't enjoyed seeing them have a second consecutive successful season.   Sure, it was my Braves that ended the last dynasty in Steel City.   I can still see a very young (and skinny!) Barry Bonds sitting in the outfield grass of Fulton County Stadium moments after that fateful slide by Sid Bream.   I was ecstatic that the Braves had pulled it off and didn't think much about what would happen to the Pirates after they parted ways.

Here we are two decades later and as any Pirates fan can tell you - it has been a tough road up until last year.   But now there is some promise in Pittsburgh.   They've pulled together a very talented club, centered around their amazing center fielder, Andrew McCutchen.   He was as hot as they come earlier in the season, cranking out HR's like nobody's business.   Garrett Jones has been pretty impressive to me, too.   He seems to be a bit of a defensive liability, but hey - what are you going to do?   If Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Tabata could ever all start hitting at the same time.....they could be unstoppable.

For pitching, the Bucs had a great first half of the season from James McDonald.   Not sure where his 'stuff' has gone here in the second half, but he'll be one to watch next season.   A.J. Burnett, bless his heart, has actually come through as expected for Pittsburgh - providing staff and clubhouse leadership as the team's undeniable ace.   He is finalizing some single-season pitching numbers that they haven't seen in some time.   As a Yankees fan, I'm sorry it didn't work out for A.J. in the Bronx, but I'm happy for him.

For Mr. Marte, though - he started off with a HR in his first MLB at-bat.   You can't beat that!   He cooled off a bit and everyone wondered if it was some sort of beginner's luck or if the pressure was too much for this kid.   I'd say he settled in rather nicely.   He needs to work on his patience at the plate a little bit but overall I think he contributed and met some expectations.   He could be another piece of the puzzle.   He has now in the middle of a DL stint, so I hope that he makes a quick recovery and can rejoin the team for what may be a VERY exciting finish to the season.   A pennant chase and wild card race that has the Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers and Pirates within 3 and a half games of each other?   Yes, please!   Four of baseball's classic organizations has a sweet taste to it.   I can't wait to see who the Yankees will face.....

What?   :)

Here's the back of his Top Prospect card:

Overall, these packs of Bowman Platinum were very enjoyable to rip.   The card design really grew on me.   Perhaps it was just the luck of pulling some cards of players I like and am excited about (does that help or what?), but it's the feeling I've come away with.   That being said, I won't be chasing this set.   I'll try to post up a list of the cards (base, insert, etc.) that I don't want for my collection so that you all can see what you need or want.   Gladly up for trade talks!

I've stared down some Topps Chrome a few times over the past week.   I just can't make myself pull the trigger for only 4 cards per pack - which equates to about 75 cents per card.   I know, it's all about risk and reward with the more premium releases but I just can't do it.   I think I'll save the funds for a box of Update in October.   I didn't build last year's Update set and I think I'd like to do so this year as I wrap up my final season of hand-collating sets for my son.   For now, the goal will be to stick to a factory set per year starting in '13  for him and shift focus back to my own vintage collection and 'lifetime topps' mission of completing '79 through '93.

Do you think I'll be able to stay away?   I know.....Vegas doesn't like those odds either.

Thanks for reading!

My Mattingly Collection - 2012 Archives '56 Style Relic Card

Don Mattingly is my favorite baseball player of all time.

Period.

I sought him out as a collector in my youth and I continue to do so today (often enjoying very discounted prices) with a lot of enjoyment.   He'll always be a Yankee to me but I have no problem rooting for his club to take the NL West.   I might waver if they face my Braves for the NL Championship and it will most certainly be interesting, for so many reasons, to see a Dodgers - Yankees World Series match up.  

But like Scarlett says, "I'll think about that tomorrow."

For now I'll focus on the task at hand, showing off my Don Mattingly collection.   This will be the first entry in the series!   Which Mattingly to choose?   Would be very reasonable to start off with any of his classic '84 rookie cards.   There have definitely been some fantastic legacy releases since his playing days came to an end.   Hmmmm....

So where to start?!

How about with this one:

Perfection!

Combining one of my favorite all-time card designs with my favorite all-time player?   That's a recipe for cardboard success.   I'll let it go that the swatch is purely gray and that Donnie Baseball looks like somebody just told him the Boss wants him to cut his hair........I'll let it go.   I've got Mattingly in pinstripes with a piece of his jersey, his signature and a well-balanced retro '56 card.   The back is nothing special:

#s I knew before my own SSN - 6'0", 175, 4/20/61

But you still get a quick reminder of the greatness.   A career that was cut short, yet the facts remain:

- statistically, more than half of his hits drove in a run
- nearly a quarter of his hits were doubles
- the career average, plagued with a bad back , will always stand at .307

One day, the Veterans Committee will confirm what many of his fans already know!

But for now, I hope you can appreciate this card with me - my most recent Mattingly addition.

Thanks for reading!

Do you Honor By Sharing?

The following is an article that I really enjoyed from the UpperDeckBlog that describes the story behind a part of their Museum Collection cards from the 2011 Goodwin Champions release....and the resulting controversy.

A big hat tip to fellow Yankees fan and journalist, Susan Lulgjuraj ( https://twitter.com/SoozOnSports )for the heads up & link on le Twitter......

Enjoy and THANKS for reading!

Controversy in the Cards? The Story Behind the Civil War Union Battle Flag Used 2012 Goodwin Champions

By Rob Ford

My name is Rob Ford and I have been working with Upper Deck for over ten years. My current role with the company is that of a sports coordinator and part of my job besides creating checklists is acquiring key components for certain brands. In 2011 Goodwin Champions the “Museum Collection” cards featured a variety of artifacts like a chair from Napolean and wood from the White House. For 2012, our hope was to focus in on one historic period for this insert series and with it being the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War, that seemed to be the perfect period for Upper Deck to target.




I am a huge aficionado of history so it was really exciting for me as I began to work with vendors to acquire authentic artifacts from the Civil War we could preserve and celebrate with the “Museum Collection” series. It was my goal from the start to respectfully show each piece and to minimize any damage to the pieces that may come during the production process. Therefore when first approached with the idea of doing flag cards from a vendor, I shared that we wanted to pass.


However, once I saw pictures of what was left of the Union battle flag that was being sold in pieces, I agreed to take a look at the flag in person. Perhaps if Upper Deck were to use it in the set, we could give it a second life by presenting it in an attractive fashion and sharing it with history lovers.
Once the flag arrived it was in a sad state both ripped and cut. The pieces missing had already been cut by the vendor and sold. The stripes were already cut away and all that was left was a narrow strip of red, white and blue. The process of cutting the flag to share with other collectors had already begun and I realized it would continue even if Upper Deck wasn’t involved in acquiring the piece. The flag was in fact so fragile that some of the rips became larger with every handling. Does it belong in a museum? Based on the current condition of the flag, I couldn’t imagine it would be something that anyone would want to see. Looking at it in this condition made me sad that it had not been better preserved. Still I had my reservations about altering it further.

This is a portion of the actual Union battle flag Upper Deck procured for use in the 2012 Goodwin Champions “Museum Collection” series. The vendor was in the process of cutting it and selling it off. The overall condition of the flag was very poor.

After much thought and weeks of discussion which included talking to a history professor from the Universityof San Diegoand number of veterans. From these discussions I learned that it was common for soldiers themselves to cut up their own flag for souvenirs. We all know there are proper ways to dispose of a flag, but this was not a flag that was accidentally left out in storm on a long Fourth of July weekend, this is an artifact that people should see.

I began to think not only could we do this, but this might be something that we should do. My position here at Upper Deck sometimes gives me a chance to do things that people will enjoy and appreciate. Sometimes it is rewarding a deserving player by including them on a checklist or acquiring unique new memorabilia to be used in a memorabilia card, but I had never had an opportunity like this to help preserve an item by actually altering it and presenting it in a new way.

This is the actual card we created that I believe gives this flag a new lease on life with the attractive presentation of the artifact. This piece came from the stitching, not shown in the image above.

Finally, it came down to not the bottom line. It wasn’t about creating buzz and it certainly was not profits on the product, but just one simple thing; I had the opportunity to save this piece from slowly disintegrating and to make something to honor our veterans, not disgrace them. As an organization we hoped we could create something that would be collected and cherished by patriotic Americans like myself. And because of that we moved ahead with the project.

Our intention was never to upset any veterans or patriotic Americans. Upper Deck has a strong heritage as one of the only trading card manufacturers who actively partners with military charities like Operation Gratitude. We know there are a lot of men and women in the military who are collectors. In fact, we even created a different insert series in the product paying tribute to the “Military Machines” used by our armed forces. As an American company we look to celebrate the men and women who have served our country, not disgrace them.

For those who were upset about the decision to use this flag in the product, I apologize, but I do believe it was the right thing to do. So many collectors will get to experience and appreciate this artifact, in fact the professor we brought in shared he hoped to use one of the cards in his class with his students. For that reason alone I was encouraged to proceed with the use of this flag. I understand and appreciate people’s strong feelings on this issue and again I am sorry to anyone who may be upset by the use of this flag in this set. Our intention was to honor this flag, never to desecrate it.

The Quest for '60: 1960 Topps #567 Sherm Lollar, All Star

This will hopefully be the first of many ""Quest for '60" posts that I'm able to share with you here at Ryan's Pitch.  

1960 Topps baseball cards were the first vintage baseball cards that I ever saw and, very carefully, held in my hands.   At some point during my childhood, my grandparents presented my father with two binders of sports cards - mostly baseball and a little bit of football.   They were actually his old collection, salvaged from the meticulously and safely kept shoebox that had been gathering dust in my grandparents' homes since his childhood.  He was thrilled but probably not as ecstatic as his eldest son......yours truly.

Those binders still blow my mind!

My old man was a Yankees fan so I get it honest.   And fortunately for his collection, this means that there are several Mantles which graced the very first page of binder #1.   An All-Star card, the 1960 base Mantle card.....three 1964 Mantles.....epic stuff.   But the majority of the two binders is definitely 1960 Topps baseball cards.   As a child, all I was concerned with were the Mantles and a couple of rookie cards (complete with a HUGE trophy on one of them!!!) for some dudes named McCovey and Yastrzemski.   I quickly donated some of my top loaders and breathed a sigh of relief as these relics were gently lowered into safety.....even though they had survived in really good condition, for decades, within a plain old box.   But I was a child collector of the Junk Wax era, so we were definitely at DEFCON 5 until they were properly 'stored'.   Whew!   My job was done and it is within those protective cases that those key cards still rest.   They are Dad's cards and maybe one day (hopefully a long time from now) they will be passed down.

But how many cards did he have?   Did he have a complete set?   Was he close?

I didn't ask those questions twenty years ago and even if I had - would it have inspired me to take action?   Based on my allowance at the time....most certainly not.   But that was then.   Fast forward to me as a grown up child.   This past Christmas, I took the time to truly flip through ALL of the pages and look, for the first time, with my mature collecting eyes as to what Dad really had in those two binders.   Gibson....Musial......Kaline.....many of the GREAT ones were there!   Berra, Ford, Aaron....the awesomeness continued!   I jotted down the numbers and collated as best I could.    Page after page, I was like a monk salvaging ancient messages scribbled on scrolls of papyrus.   Or something like that.   You can find my results under the "Sets Needs" tab to the right - Dad is actually VERY close to completing the 1960 Topps set!   Let me know if you can help, I am always up for a trade.

So, after all of that - I am now on my Quest for '60 and have set a goal to complete my Dad's partial 1960 Topps set.  

Crazy?   Probably.   Yes, there are some mighty expensive cards left to be tracked down but at the same time, there are dozens and dozens of very reasonable "common" base cards that can be checked off the list, too.   I fully recognize that this quest will take years and, potentially, decades.   I would like to finish the set in a reasonable time frame so that my old man and I can enjoy its completion together.   Here's hoping, for so many powerful reasons......

Enough background though - let's get to Mr. Lollar.

I found this Sherm Lollar All Star card for a great price AND it's in great condition AND I didn't know anything about Sherm Lollar.....but now I do and I am grateful for the learning experience.   Here's a look at the front of this card, #567 from the set:

What do you think of these 1960 All Star card designs?

Shake off the iPhone "fish eye" effect and you can see what I mean - this wonderful old piece of cardboard is in GREAT condition.   The corners are sharp and the colors are still vivid even 52 years later.   Great edges and not even a hint of creasing.   Good stuff - if only they could all be like this!   Being number 567 from the set makes it a "High Series" card and therefore, more rare.   So I'm really happy to cross it off the list.

But who is Shem Lollar?

You know those great ball players that seem to exist in the shadow of a better-known or only slightly better player from the same position?   Sherm is one of those players.   As it turn out, he was one of the finest catcher in the American League during the 1950's!   Check these accolades out:

• 7 time All-Star
• 2 time World Series Champion (once as a player)
• 3 time Gold Glove Award Winner

Impressive!   Of course, being a catcher in the AL in the '50's.....Sherm was often in the shadow of MR. Yogi Berra.   Heck, Sherm even played for the Yankees in '47 and '48 - just as Yogi was beginning to establish his era.   The two of them were competing for the starting role as the '47 season approached.   Both were considered to be great hitters and defensive liabilities....although they would both shake the defensive label.   The Bronx Bombers' catching sage at the time, Bill Dickey, advised team management that Berra's left-handed bat would be better suited for Yankee Stadium's short left porch and wouldn't you know - Berra got the slot and Lollar was eventually traded to the Browns. 

Sherm Lollar's career would take off, though and he would go on to play for the Browns and White Sox until 1963, spending the majority of that span in Chicago where he won all of his gold gloves and earned six of his All-Star selections.   He was always regarded as a powerful hitter, even within the gigantic dimensions of Comiskey Park and is often cited as one of those players who garners serious consideration for posthumous entry into the Hall of Fame.   I hope he gets his chance, one day.   Here is the back of Sherm's All Star card:

Love the cartoon!  "In a game...got two hits in an inning twice"

When he retired in 1963, Lollar's career fielding percentage of .992 was the HIGHEST for a catcher in major league history.   At the time of his retirement, he was also 5th on the all-time list for catching base runners throughout his career - nailing 46% of them!   Way to go, Sherm!

I'm really glad to add another piece of the puzzle to my Quest for '60 and probably even more ecstatic that my quest has introduced me to Sherm Lollar - who I now know to be one of the greatest catchers during baseball's golden age.

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!