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Alfonso Ramon Lopez
Chicago White Sox
Manager
Born: August 20, 1908, Tampa, FL
Acquired: Purchased by the Brooklyn Robins from Jacksonville (Southeastern), August 26, 1927
Major League Teams: Brooklyn Robins 1928, 1930-1931; Brooklyn Dodgers 1932-1935; Boston Bees 1936-1940; Pittsburgh Pirates 1940-1946; Cleveland Indians 1947
As a Manager: Cleveland Indians 1951-1956; Chicago White Sox 1957-1965, 1968-1969
Died: October 30, 2005, Tampa, FL (age 97)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1977
As a catcher, Al Lopez played in 19 seasons and was a two-time All-Star in 1934 with the Dodgers and 1941 with the Pirates. Durable behind the plate, he at one time held the record for total games caught with 1,918 that was broken by Bob Boone in 1987 and has since been broken by nine other backstops. Known more for his defense than his bat, Lopez was still a career .261 hitter and he hit 51 home runs with 652 RBIs over 1,950 games.
As a manager, Lopez built a Hall of Fame resume by leading the 1954 Indians and 1959 White Sox to the World Series, interrupting a dynasty of Yankee pennant winning teams between 1949 and 1964. Over 17 seasons as a manager he compiled a lifetime winning percentage of .584, going 1,410-1,004. In the years between 1951 and 1965, his teams finished in second place or won the pennant 12 out of 15 times. The Veterans Committee elected him into the Hall of Fame in 1977.
At the age of 97, Lopez watched the White Sox win the World Series in 2005, their first title since 1917. He passed away four days later and at the time of his death he represented the last living ballplayer who had played in the Majors in the 1920s.
January 8, 2020 from Tomball, TX - Card #38
I was window shopping on eBay for a Don Larsen (#389) card on New Year's Day, the day the pitcher had passed away. When I found a Larsen card for a reasonable price ($10) from The Battersbox, I decided to give Larsen some company in his envelope with this Lopez card, also $10. I had recently spent time reading about Lopez and his managerial career while drafting a post for the Cleveland Indians team card for my 1956 Topps blog. Lopez should have had a manager's card in that 1956 set, but he had to wait until 1960 for his first Topps card.
The Card
Lopez really looks like former Cubs manager Joe Maddon here, and he's posing in the traditional Topps photographer "ask a manager to pretend yell" pose. I've genuinely always been a fan of a baseball card with all text on the back. I like seeing statistics, but whenever I come across a manager's card or an older card with no numbers and just words I feel compelled to read them. The author of the back of this card refers to the manager as one of Al, Mr. Lopez, or Al Lopez throughout the biography. And technically, Lopez never played for the Braves but rather the team known then as the Bees. The Bees changed their name to the Braves for the 1941 season, when Lopez was already playing for the Pirates.
White Sox Team Set
1965 Season
This was to be Lopez's final year managing the White Sox until coming back for interim stints in 1968 and 1969. The team was successful again, going 95-67 and finishing in second place behind the Twins. However, Lopez had developed a stomach condition and suffered from insomnia forcing him to step down at season's end. He took a position within the White Sox front office and came back down to the dugout, albeit briefly, in 1968 when then manager Eddie Stanky was fired.
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First Mainstream Card: 1934-36 National Chicle Diamond Stars (R327) #28
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1960-1965, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen #183
Topps created a card in the style of its 1953 set for Lopez as part of its 1991 Topps Archives release reprinting its 1953 set.
200 - Lopez non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/12/20.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
Prior Card: #413 Hal Reniff - New York Yankees
Next Card: #415 Curt Flood - St. Louis Cardinals
The 65 and 66 sets seem to have a lot of yelling managers. By 1967, that was passe.
ReplyDeleteI wish Topps would bring back manager cards. And coach's cards for that matter too.
ReplyDelete