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Lawrence Sherry
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher
Born: July 25, 1935, Los Angeles, CA
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1963; Detroit Tigers 1964-1967; Houston Astros 1967; California Angels 1968
Died: December 17, 2006, Mission Viejo, CA (age 71)
Larry Sherry was a durable reliever throughout his big league career, attaining a career highlight in his second season when he was named the 1959 World Series MVP following the Dodgers defeat of the White Sox. Sherry was the Dodgers' top reliever during the club's early years in Los Angeles. He was 7-2 with a 2.19 ERA over 94 1/3 innings in 1959, but he was nearly unhittable throughout that year's World Series. Sherry finished four games, going 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA over 12 2/3 innings pitched. He'd win a career-high 14 games in 1960 and in 1961 he'd enjoy one of four seasons finishing in the top ten for saves leaders in the National League. Dealt to the Tigers in April 1964, Sherry notched a career best 20 saves in 1966. In 416 career games, he was 53-44 with 82 saves and a 3.67 ERA.
Following two season in the White Sox' minor league system, Sherry retired as a player following the 1970 season and began his coaching career. He spent the early 1970s working in the White Sox, Pirates and Dodgers systems before joining the Pirates as their pitching coach for 1977 and 1978. He served in the same position with the Angels in 1979 and 1980. He was teammates with his brother Norm Sherry, a catcher, between 1959 and 1962. Norm Sherry also played in 1963 with the Mets, and briefly managed the Angels in 1976 and 1977.
Building the Set
The Card / Tigers Team Set
Despite spending the entire 1964 season with the Tigers, Topps didn't have a picture of Sherry in a Tigers uniform and went with a hatless photo of Sherry in a Dodgers jersey here. The cartoon highlight on the back appropriately pays tribute to his 1959 World Series heroics. The write-up mentions Sherry's broken foot, which prematurely ended his 1964 season on August 2nd.
1965 Season
The Tigers had a strong bullpen, led by closer Terry Fox (#576) and Sherry, and fortified by Fred Gladding (#37) and Orlando Pena (#311). Sherry appeared in 39 games games, going 3-6 with a 3.10 ERA and five saves, which was second on the team to the 10 saves recorded by Fox.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #105
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1960-1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers Then & Now #TN3
62 - Sherry non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/22/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
November 6, 2021 from Cooperstown, NY (Willis Monie Books) - Card #383
Needing a quick vacation and wanting to take our sons to Cooperstown for the first time, we took advantage of the annual NJEA Teacher Convention in which public schools are closed for a few days in early November. We loaded our car on Thursday morning with a loose plan of spending two days in Cooperstown and the surrounding area, shopping in the village, soaking in the Hall of Fame exhibits and eating a few good dinners. The 4 1/2 hour drive to Otsego County was scenic and enjoyable. Most of the day Friday was spent in the Hall of Fame and Saturday was dedicated largely to shopping in the many stores, mostly baseball related, located in the blocks surrounding the Hall.
Having spent Saturday morning in the Hall and then having lunch again at Doubleday Cafe, we walked down Main Street one more time to see if there were any stores we had missed. There was an old book store towards the end of Main Street and with some time to kill, I decided to have a look around. Willis Monie Books has to be seen to be believed. Thousands upon thousands of books dating back a few centuries to recent releases are haphazardly (but lovingly) stacked and piled and balanced among the multiple rows, aisles and nooks of this store. In the foyer, outside the front door, I found an out of service rotating display case with old baseball cards in it and on top of that case were more stacks of books and a few 800-count boxes of loosely organized cards from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. I probably spent well over a half hour pouring through the boxes, coming away with nine cards total from 1959, 1965 and 1969 and spending a grand total of $20. This Sherry card was one of five cards added to our 1965 set, and it set me back $2.
The Card / Tigers Team Set
Despite spending the entire 1964 season with the Tigers, Topps didn't have a picture of Sherry in a Tigers uniform and went with a hatless photo of Sherry in a Dodgers jersey here. The cartoon highlight on the back appropriately pays tribute to his 1959 World Series heroics. The write-up mentions Sherry's broken foot, which prematurely ended his 1964 season on August 2nd.
1965 Season
The Tigers had a strong bullpen, led by closer Terry Fox (#576) and Sherry, and fortified by Fred Gladding (#37) and Orlando Pena (#311). Sherry appeared in 39 games games, going 3-6 with a 3.10 ERA and five saves, which was second on the team to the 10 saves recorded by Fox.
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #105
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1960-1968
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers Then & Now #TN3
62 - Sherry non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/22/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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