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Robert Ralph Skinner
St. Louis Cardinals
Outfield
Born: October 3, 1931, La Jolla, CA
Signed: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1954, 1956-1963; Cincinnati Reds 1963-1964; St. Louis Cardinals 1964-1966
As a Manager: Philadelphia Phillies 1968-1969; San Diego Padres 1977
Bob Skinner spent over 50 years in baseball as a player, manager, coach and scout. Most of his playing career was spent with the Pirates where he was an All-Star in 1958 and for both games in 1960. As the regular left fielder for the Pirates, Skinner had his best season in 1958 when he batted .321 with 13 home runs and 70 RBIs, finishing in the top ten in the National League in most major offensive categories and earning MVP votes. In 1960, Skinner was second on the club with 86 RBIs, behind only Roberto Clemente (#160) for the team lead, helping the Pirates clinch the pennant and eventually win the World Series in seven games over the Yankees. After a few seasons with the Reds, Skinner ended his playing career as a pinch-hitter and back-up outfielder for the Cardinals. He had four pinch-hitting appearances in the 1964 World Series, going 2 for 3 as St. Louis prevailed over the Yankees. In 1,381 career games, Skinner batted .277 with 103 home runs and 531 RBIs.
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| 1968-1969 Phillies Photo Cards |
Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #481
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for a little bit longer as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show. I was fairly ambitious documenting these purchases and I was able to compose posts for five cards a week, meaning I'll be completely caught up by the end of May. The ongoing MLB owner's lockout and the lack of any spring training games has given me a little more spare time than usual in February and March. I've posted a complete summary of this fantastic show over at The Phillies Room.
After securing Doug's Jim Thome autograph, I returned to Uncle Dick's and their neon green shirts, pulled up a chair, and settled in. Over the course of 45 minutes or so, I found 79 cards needed for our set, including this Skinner card which was a little over $5 after the dealer discount. I was surrounded by six or seven other seated collectors, all who looked similar to me, with a touch of gray, focused on their individual quests. I wiped out Uncle Dick's two 1965 Topps commons binders, paid for my haul and then retreated to a table with Doug to update our checklist.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set
The cartoon highlight on the back pays tribute to the two home runs Skinner hit while with the Pirates that completely cleared the roof of Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. His All-Star Game appearances are also mentioned, but Topps slighted Skinner by a game, as he appeared in three All-Star contests. Skinner was the starting left fielder for the National League in the 1958 contest. He went 1 for 3, scoring Willie Mays (#250) in the second inning with a single off American League pitcher Bob Turley. Skinner was the starting left fielder again in the first and second 1960 All-Star Games, again scoring Mays with an RBI single in the first game and going 1 for 3 with a single off Whitey Ford (#330) in the second game.
1965 Season
Skinner appeared in 80 games for the Cardinals, making only 28 starts all season in either left or right field. In 50 pinch-hitting appearances, he batted an impressive .319 (15 for 47) with a pair of pinch-hit home runs. Overall, he batted .309 with five home runs and 26 RBIs for the seventh place Cardinals.
Skinner's managerial career with the Phillies did not go well, which was somewhat surprising at the time given his success with the Triple-A Padres. In 1968, Skinner inherited a team from Mauch in fifth place, but only 5 1/2 games out of first place. The 1968 Phillies finished the season with 86 losses overall and 21 games out of first place. In 1969, Skinner continued to clash with star Dick Allen (#460). When Allen skipped a double header in New York on June 24th, he was suspended and missed the next 26 games. With the Phillies front office seemingly negotiating with Allen behind Skinner's back, the manager abruptly resigned in early August. The story from the Phillies was that Skinner resigned because the team wouldn't extend his contract beyond the 1969 season, but Skinner maintained the reason for his departure was the constant clashing with Allen. Third base coach George Myatt managed the team for the remainder of the season. Skinner was 92-123 overall for the Phillies, in a managerial tenure that lasted a little over one year.
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #88
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (16): 1955-1966, 1969, 1973-1974, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1992 Fleer ProCards #503
97 - Skinner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #590 Johnnie Wyatt - Kansas City Athletics
Previous Card: #590 Johnnie Wyatt - Kansas City Athletics
Next Card: #592 Frank Bork - Pittsburgh Pirates
It's worth mentioning that Skinner's 1967 San Diego team was loaded with over-the-hill ex-major-leaguers, not prospects. That may be why they were able to win the title.
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