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Hector Headley Lopez
New York Yankees
Outfield
Born: July 8, 1929, Colon, Panama
Signed: Purchased by the Philadelphia Athletics with Joe Taylor from Drummondville (Provincial) for $1,500 prior to the 1952 season
Major League Teams: Philadelphia Athletics 1955-1959; New York Yankees 1959-1966
Hector Lopez, also known as "The Panama Clipper," played 12 seasons with the Athletics and Yankees, serving as the primary left fielder for a Yankees team that would go to the World Series every year between 1960 and 1964. He patrolled the Yankees outfield alongside Roger Maris (#155) and Mickey Mantle (#350) in the early 1960s.
In the 1961 World Series, Lopez hit .333 with five of his seven RBIs coming in Game 5 in which he hit a home run and a triple. He won World Series rings with the Yankees in 1961 and 1962. A career .269 batter, Lopez was a true utility player, playing all three outfield positions along with shortstop, second base and third base. By all accounts he had a tough time with his defensive skills.
Lopez became the first black manager at the AAA level when he managed the Buffalo Bisons in 1969. He was also the manager for Panama in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
May 11, 2020 from Bowling Green, KY - Card #99
Having added the Al Downing (#598) card and a few others through eBay auctions, I continued working my way backwards looking for card #597, a Twins Rookie Stars card and the second to last card in the set. I found a copy in great shape and at a reasonable buy it now price from Blue Grass Treasures in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The seller had a few other cards available from the set and I pushed the buy it now button on those too, adding four total cards to our set from Kentucky. After applying a discount, this Lopez card cost me $5.39, which is a fantastic price for a high numbered Yankees card in mint condition.
The Card
I wrote about Lopez's 1956 Topps card way back in 2016, before the global pandemic, and I've linked to that post below.
The Yankee Stadium facade is partially visible behind Lopez in the photo. On the back, Lopez's birth year is off by three years as he was actually born in 1929. His three home run game came on June 26, 1958 against the Senators at the Athletics' home ballpark, Municipal Stadium. The victims were Hal Griggs, Tex Clevenger and Vito Valentinetti. The homer off Valentinetti was a walk-off, two-run home run hit in the bottom of the 12th. It was the only three-home run game of Lopez's career.
Yankees Team Set
1965 Season
This was to be the penultimate season in Lopez's 12-year big league career, and he appeared in 111 games for the Yankees primarily in the corner outfield positions. At 35 years old, he was the club's regular right fielder, starting 52 games to Maris' 42. Lopez hit .261 with 7 home runs and 39 RBIs, the lowest RBI total of any everyday Yankee player other than shortstop Tony Kubek (#65) who drove in 35.
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First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #16
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1956-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2018 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-HL
64 - Lopez non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/22/20.
Lopez's first non-mainstream baseball card can be found in the oddball 1955 A's Rodeo Meats set. It's also interesting to note that Lopez's actual 1959 Topps cards features him with the Athletics, but his card found within the 2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set features him with the Yankees. He was traded on May 26, 1959 from the Athletics to the Yankees and Topps took the time to create a Yankees card for him for inclusion in its 2008 autograph set.
Topps then created another version of a 1959 Topps card, again featuring Lopez on the Yankees, for him to sign as part of the 2018 Topps Archives release.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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.
Previous Card: #531 Chuck Hiller - San Francisco Giants
Next Card: #533 Mets Rookie Stars
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