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Robert Benjamin Schmidt
New York Yankees
Catcher
Born: April 22, 1933, St. Louis, MO
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1951 season
Major League Teams: San Francisco Giants 1958-1961; Cincinnati Reds 1961; Washington Senators 1962-1963; New York Yankees 1965
Died: May 2, 2015, Debary, FL (age 82)
As a rookie catcher with the Giants in 1958, Bob Schmidt was selected to the National League All-Star team by batting .266 with 12 home runs and 32 RBIs through the first half of the season. Schmidt didn't make it into the game. He'd finish the year in a prolonged slump, with his average dropping to .244 and adding just two more home runs. Schmidt would share catching duties with Hobie Landrith in 1959 and 1960, and in early 1961 the Giants would deal him to the Reds for catcher Ed Bailey (#559). Schmidt would see limited time with the Reds in 1961 and in 1962 before he was on the move again, this time to the Senators. With the struggling expansion team he was the team's opening day catcher and saw action in 88 games, while batting .242 with ten home runs and 31 RBIs.
Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #542
This is the 58th of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March. We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room. Having wandered aimlessly among the dealer tables looking for binders with vintage commons, I decided to check to see if Uncle Dick's had refreshed their inventory following the December show, during which I had wiped out both their 1965 Topps binders. Much to my pleasant surprise, they had.
This Schmidt card was $6 and was one of 49 commons and semi-stars purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.
Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up on this blog by mid-October. It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.
The Card / Yankees Team Set
This is Schmidt's final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and his only appearance with the Yankees. The cartoon on the back highlights his .284 average in 1951 while with the Lenoir Red Sox in his first professional season. The write-up mentions he was destined for Toldeo to start the season, but Howard's injury (see below) resulted in Schmidt sticking around.
1965 Season
Through the first few months of the 1965 season, Schmidt, Johnny Blanchard (#388) and Doc Edwards (#239) shared catching duties for the Yankees while Howard recovered from elbow surgery. Schmidt would make 11 starts behind the plate between opening day and June 9th, and he'd appear in 20 games overall, batting .250 with a home run and three RBIs, before his demotion. With the Toledo Mud Hens, Schmidt became the club's regular catcher and batted .294 in 69 games.
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First Mainstream Card: 1958 Topps #468
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7): 1958-1963, 1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1979 TCMA The 1950s #246
31 - Schmidt non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/31/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #581 N.L. Rookie Stars
Previous Card: #581 N.L. Rookie Stars
Next Card: #583 Wes Covington - Philadelphia Phillies
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