#250 Willie Mays - San Francisco Giants

Willie Howard Mays
San Francisco Giants
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  170
Born:  May 6, 1931, Westfield, AL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent, June 20, 1950
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1951-1952, 1954-1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1972; New York Mets 1972-1973
Hall of Fame Induction:  1979

In many ways, these posts covering the cards of well-known Hall of Famers are much harder to compose than the posts for the cards of short-time, little known players.  What could I possibly write here about Willie Mays, the "Say Hey Kid," that hasn't already been written or that properly pays tribute to one of the greatest baseball players of all time?

The first line of Mays' Hall of Fame plaque sums up his career fairly well:  "One of baseball's most colorful and exciting stars, excelled in all phases of the game."  Mays was the 1951 Rookie of the Year, the National League's MVP in 1954 and 1965, a 24-time All-Star (a record), a 12-time Gold Glove winner, and the batting champ in 1954, the same season he led the Giants to their first World Series title since 1933.  His Baseball Reference WAR of 156.2 is third all-time for position players behind his godson Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth.  Upon his retirement, he ranked third all-time in home runs (660), runs (2,062) and total bases (6,066).  Mays' #24 was retired by the Giants in 1972, and the World Series MVP trophy was renamed for him in 2017.

He played the game with joyful abandon, and I would have loved to have seen him play live.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the SetDecember 25, 2021 from Lake Havasu City, AZ - Card #484

Acquired from Kyle's Sports Cards from Lake Havasu City, Arizona in early December, Doug's "big" baseball card Christmas present from Santa was this Mays card.  While he was way more into the PS5 found under the Christmas tree, I like the idea of continuing the tradition started by my Dad and then continued by my Mom of Santa bringing one blockbuster card each Christmas.  Last year it was the Steve Carlton (#477) rookie card, and this year it was the arguably the second or third priciest card needed for our set behind Sandy Koufax (#300) and well behind the Mickey Mantle (#350) card.  To Doug's credit, he of course realize this was an expensive card and I'm proud of him for knowing how important Mays was to the game.

With everyone vaccinated and the pandemic hopefully in our rear-view mirror, this past Christmas was marked by a return to large family gatherings, a ton of food and a lot of laughs.  I wrote about my Mom's baseball-related gifts to me over at The Phillies Room.

1975 Topps #203

1982 Topps Kmart 20th Anniversary #8

1997 Topps Willie Mays Reprints #19

1997 Topps Willie Mays Finest Reprints #19

2016 Topps Berger's Best #B2-1965

The Card / Giants Team Set
I'd consider this a fairly iconic baseball card and it's been reprinted several times over the years when celebrating Mays' second league MVP win in 1965.  Personally, I first saw the card as part of the 1982 Topps Kmart 20th Anniversary set, and then again a few years later on the MVP subset found within the 1975 Topps set my Dad and I were collecting.  The back of the card contains a brief summary of some of Mays' accolades, and then just lines of glorious statistics. 

1965 Season
Mays had an amazing season, and arguably the best of his career.  In 157 games, he batted .317 with 52 home runs (to lead the league) and 112 RBIs.  He led the National League in on-base percentage (.398), slugging percentage (.645), and OPS (1.043).  Mays led off and played center field for the National League All-Stars, playing the entire game and going 1 for 3 with a lead-off home run and a pair of walks.  He won his ninth Gold Glove in a row.  Mays hit his 500th career home run on September 13th in the Astrodome off Astros' pitcher Don Nottebart (#469), joining a club that consisted of only four other players at the time - Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott and Ted Williams.  Following the season, with the Giants missing the World Series when they finished two games behind the Dodgers, Mays won his second MVP award by besting Dodgers' teammates Koufax and Maury Wills.

1951 Bowman #305

1954 Topps #90

1959 Topps #464

1961 Topps #579

1973 Topps #305

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #305
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (25):  1952-1975, 1986
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Opening Day Bomb Squad #BS-6

2,256 - Mays non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/12/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #249 Dave McNally - Baltimore Orioles

Next Card:  #251 Billy Herman MG - Boston Red Sox

#515 Vern Law - Pittsburgh Pirates

Vernon Sanders Law
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  March 12, 1930, Meridian, ID
Signed:  Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1950-1951, 1954-1967

Vern Law spent his entire 16-year big league career with the Pirates and his dominating season in 1960 led to a World Series ring and the National League Cy Young Award.  Law made his debut in 1950 and pitched for two seasons as a swingman for the Pirates before missing two entire years while serving in the military.  He earned a spot back in the Pirates' starting pitching rotation in 1954.  Law won at least 10 games in nine different seasons and his 18-9 record in 1959 was a precursor to his career year in 1960.  He was 20-9 with a 3.08 ERA and a league leading 18 complete games that season, throwing 271 2/3 innings as the Pirates won the National League pennant for the first time since 1927.  Law was the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 4 against the Yankees, and started the decisive Game 7 before being relieved in the sixth inning with the Pirates holding a 4-1 lead.  The Yankees would battle back, but Bill Mazeroski (#95) hit his walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Pirates the Series.  Law had also started and won the second All-Star Game in 1960, pitching two scoreless innings.

While he never again enjoyed the success he found in 1960, Law continued to be a key member of the Pirates' pitching staff, winning 17 games in 1965 and earning National League Comeback Player of the Year honors.  He retired following the 1967 season with a career record of 162-147, a 3.77 ERA and 1,092 strikeouts over 2,672 innings pitched - 4th on the Pirates' all-time franchise leaderboard.  Following his playing days, Law served as the Pirates pitching coach in 1968 and 1969.  He'd go on to coach at the collegiate level, in the minor leagues and for three seasons in Japan for the Seibu Lions.  His son, Vance Law, was an All-Star in 1988 and played 11 years in the majors for the Pirates (1980-1981), White Sox (1982-1984), Expos (1985-1987), Cubs (1988-1989) and Athletics (1991).

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #463
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show.  If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May.  If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July.  Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time.  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 Law card which was a little less than $9 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.

In the middle of all of this, Doug won one of the day's door prizes, which turned out to be an Eagles Super Bowl canvas print.  He was thrilled to win, but slightly disappointed the prize wasn't baseball related as neither of us are big football fans.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
Holy crazy large letters on the back, Batman!  The write-up on the back of the card mentions his 12-13 record in 1964 was good enough for second place in the Comeback Player of the Year voting.  Given he won the award in 1965, I'd question how someone can earn votes for the award two years in a row.

1965 Season
As mentioned a few times above, Law was the National League Comeback Player of the Year on the strength of his 17-9 record and 2.15 ERA over 29 games, including 28 starts.  He threw 13 complete games, and his ERA was third in the league behind Sandy Koufax (#300) and Juan Marichal (#50).

1951 Bowman #203

1954 Topps #235

1961 Topps #400

1966 Topps #15

1985 Topps #137

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #203
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1952, 1954, 1956-1967, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-VL

116 - Law non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/1/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #514 Joe Azcue - Cleveland Indians

Next Card:  #516 Al Weis - Chicago White Sox

#485 Nellie Fox - Houston Astros

Jacob Nelson Fox
Houston Astros
Second Base-Coach

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  160
Born:  December 25, 1927, St. Thomas, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent before the 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1947-1949; Chicago White Sox 1950-1963; Houston Colt .45s 1964; Houston Astros 1965
Died:  December 1, 1975, Baltimore, MD (age 47)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1997

Hall of Famer Nellie Fox was a perennial All-Star for the White Sox throughout the 1950s, leading the American League in hits in four different seasons.  He never struck out more than 18 times a season and his 42.7 at bats per strikeout is tops all-time in the modern era.  Fox was named to the All-Star team 11 years in a row between 1951 and 1961 and went back in 1963 too.  A fantastic fielder, Fox won three Gold Gloves for his work at second base in 1957, 1959 and 1960.  He was the A.L. MVP in 1959 when he hit .306 with 70 RBIs, helping the Go-Go White Sox reach the World Series for the first time since 1919.

Fox played 19 seasons in the majors, hitting .288 with 2,663 hits, which is currently 75th on the all-time list.  He's also high on the all-time list for singles (2,161 for 28th place), runs scored (1,279 for 138th place) and triples (112 for 121st place).  Fox served as a player-coach for the Astros in 1965 and then a full-time coach with the team in 1966 and 1967.  He also coached with the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers between 1968 and 1972.  Sadly, skin cancer claimed Fox in 1975 at the way too young age of 47.  One of the greatest second baseman of his era, Fox had his #2 retired by the White Sox in 1976 and he was elected by the Veterans Committee into the Hall of Fame in 1997.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - 

Card #456

You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show.  If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May.  If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July.  Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time.  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 Fox card which was a little less than $9 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 / Astros Team Set
This is the second player-coach/future Hall of Famer card we've added to the set, with Warren Spahn (#205) being the first.  We still have the Yogi Berra (#470) card to go for the trifecta.  This is Fox's final Topps flagship appearance as a player, and he's wearing a Colt .45s jersey and hat with the logo colored over on his hat.  There's barely room for 18 years of statistics on the back of the card, and only his 21 games played in 1965 are missing.  The card is reprinted in the 2001 Topps Archives set.

1965 Season
In his final season before becoming a full-time coach, Fox batted an impressive .268 (11 for 41), while making six starts for the Astros - four at third base, one at second base and one at first base - with all starts coming in May, June or July.  His other appearances were as a pinch-hitter.  He played in his last major league game on July 25th against the Reds, pinch-hitting for Astros' pitcher Mike Cuellar (#337) in the eighth inning.  With the Astros trailing 1-0, Fox grounded into a bases loaded fielder's choice with the runner out at home.

1951 Bowman #232

1954 Bowman #6

1956 Topps #118

1959 Topps #30

1963 Topps #525

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #232
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1956-1965, 1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #17

403 - Fox non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/23/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #484 Ron Perranoski - Los Angeles Dodgers

Next Card:  #486 Angels Rookie Stars

#457 Bob Kennedy HC - Chicago Cubs

Robert Daniel Kennedy
Chicago Cubs
Head Coach

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  193
Born:  August 18, 1920, Chicago, IL
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1937 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1939-1942, 1946-1948; Cleveland Indians 1948-1954; Baltimore Orioles 1954-1955; Chicago White Sox 1955-1956; Detroit Tigers 1956; Chicago White Sox 1957; Brooklyn Dodgers 1957
As a Manager:  Chicago Cubs 1963-1965; Oakland Athletics 1968
Died:  April 7, 2005, Mesa, AZ (age 84)

Bob Kennedy played 16 years in the major leagues, missing three full seasons while serving in the military between 1943 and 1945.  Most of his career was spent with the White Sox, with whom he had three different stints, and he won a World Series ring with the Indians in 1948.  Kennedy is one of only three players, along with Ted Williams and Jerry Coleman, who served in both World War II and the Korean War.  He was also the last player to bat for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957 before the team moved to Los Angeles.

Kennedy played every position except catcher and pitcher during his career, accumulating the most playing time in right field.  He was a career .254 hitter with 63 home runs.  Following his playing days, Kennedy served as a head coach for the Cubs' College of Coaches experiment between 1963 and 1965 and he was the first manager of the Oakland Athletics in 1968, following their move west from Kansas City.  Kennedy spent time in the front office for the Cardinals (1970-1975), Mariners (1976, prior to their debut), Cubs (1977-1981, as their general manager), Astros (1982-1985) and Giants (1986-1992) where he worked with his former teammate Al Rosen.  His son Terry Kennedy enjoyed a 14-year career of his own, earning four All-Star Game appearances, and playing for the Cardinals, Padres, Orioles and Giants between 1978 and 1991.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set
December 4, 2021 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards, Babylon, NY) - Card #448
You'll be seeing this particular passage on my 1965 Topps blog for quite some time as we added a whopping 97 cards to our set during the December Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show.  If I'm ambitious and compose posts for five cards a week, I should be completely caught up by the end of May.  If I'm not as ambitious, I might still be going through this stack by the time we hit July.  Either way, I'll enjoy the process and I'm looking forward to taking my time.  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 Kennedy card which was a little more than $7 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 / Cubs Team Set
This card has always fascinated me as I first saw it way before I was aware of the College of Coaches used by the Cubs in the early 1960s.  Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley instituted the unusual practice beginning with the 1961 season, announcing the team would no longer have a manager but would be run by an eight-man committee.  The committee idea went away following a disastrous 1962 season in which the Cubs lost 103 games.  Wrigley named Kennedy as the head coach, and in 1963 he had ten coaches on his staff assisting him, including Ripper Collins, Lou Klein and Buck O'Neil.  The back of the card references the 15 assistant coaches Kennedy had at his disposal in 1964.

Kennedy looks mildly frustrated in the photo used for this card, and we can't tell if he's wiping sweat from his brow or signaling someone with his hat.  The photo used for his 1964 Topps card, from the same session, shows the more frequently used "manager cups his hand to his mouth and yells something" pose.

1965 Season
Kennedy began the season as the Cubs' head coach, but shifted into the front office as assistant general manager after the team got off to a 24-32-2 start.  Former head coach Klein took over the team for the rest of the season, with the Cubs finishing in eighth place with 90 losses.  In November, long-time manager Leo Durocher was hired to replace Klein and at his introductory press conference Durocher declared himself manager of the club, ending the College of Coaches experiment.

1951 Bowman #296

1957 Topps #149

1964 Topps #486

1968 Topps #183

1985 Topps #135

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #296
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1951-1957, 1964-1965, 1968, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #155

48 - Kennedy non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/12/22.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #456 Bill Henry - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card:  #458 John Buzhardt - Chicago White Sox

#500 Ed Mathews - Milwaukee Braves

Edwin Lee Mathews
Milwaukee Braves
Third Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  190
Born:  October 13, 1931, Texarkana, TX
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Boston Braves 1952; Milwaukee Braves 1953-1965; Atlanta Braves 1966; Houston Astros 1967; Detroit Tigers 1967-1968
As a Manager:  Atlanta Braves 1972-1974
Hall of Fame Induction:  1978
Died:  February 18, 2001, La Jolla, CA (age 69)

Eddie Mathews is widely acknowledged as the best National League third baseman of his era, having made nine All-Star teams, winning a World Series ring with the Braves in 1957 and accumulating 512 career home runs.  He led the league in 1953 and 1959 in home runs, finishing as the runner-up for the National League MVP award in both those seasons.  Mathews drove in 100 or more runs in five different seasons and hit 30 or more home runs in nine straight seasons between 1953 and 1961.  He had his final 30-home run season for the Braves in 1965.

A long-time member of the Braves franchise, he's the only player to play with the club during each of their three city stops in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta.  A well-known and star player in his third big league season, Mathews appeared on the cover of the very first issue of Sports Illustrated in 1954.  Later in his career, Mathews won a second World Series ring as a member of the Tigers in 1968.  He accumulated 2,315 career hits and a .271 career average, and when he retired he ranked sixth on the all-time home run leaders list, and first in games played at third (2,181), assists at third (4,322) and chances at third (6,371).

Following his retirement, Mathews had his #41 retired by the Braves in 1969.  He coached for the Braves in 1971 and managed the team between 1972 and 1974, compiling a managerial record of 149-161.  He was the team's manager when Hank Aaron (#170) hit his record-breaking 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time list, but he was fired shortly thereafter.  Mathews was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978, his fifth time appearing on the ballot.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.

Building the Set

October 12, 2021 from Valley Cottage, NY - Card #374

This Mathews card along with three other cards needed for our set were bonus additions to a large purchase I made from OLDBBCards Vintage Sports Cards from Valley Cottage, New York on my birthday.  The bubble envelope containing the cards arrived a little over a week later.  I'm also slowly collecting the 1934-36 Diamond Stars set, and I took advantage of the seller's 20% off sale being offered in their eBay store to add the Earl Averill card, the most expensive card I've purchased for that set to date.  Before checking out, I browsed the seller's other cards for sale and found four reasonably priced cards needed for our 1965 Topps set.  Mathews was priced at an extremely reasonable $20 after applying the discount, and upon closer inspection now this card might be a good candidate for a potential upgrade down the line.

I spent a relatively low-key birthday watching our oldest son Doug help his team win a travel baseball game in the morning, receiving the Pete Rose (#207) card for our set, and then walking over to my sister's house for a cook-out with family that afternoon.  It was a wonderful day!

The Card / Braves Team Set
I'm fairly certain this is the first card in the set I've encountered where the player's first name is different on the front and back of the card.  He's Ed on the front and the less formal Eddie on the back.  The cartoon on the back highlights Mathews' status as the third active home run leader with 445 total through 1964.  Mickey Mantle (#350) was atop the list with 454 and Willie Mays (#250) was second with 453.  Mathews, at card #26, is one of 72 players featured within the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set and one of four Braves in the set.

1965 Season
In the Braves' final season in Milwaukee, Mathews put together another solid year, and it would be his final year of star-quality production.  He started 146 games at third base, with either Miguel de la Hoz or Denis Menke (#327) getting the rare start at third when Mathews would take a day off.  He led the team with 95 RBIs and was tied with Aaron for the team lead in home runs with 32.  On August 20th, Mathews hit his 28th home run of the season and the 773rd overall for the Mathews-Aaron duo, placing them atop the all-time teammate leaderboard, passing the 772 hit by Ruth and Lou Gehrig.  Mathews and Aaron would ultimately hit a combined 863 home runs as teammates through the 1966 season.

1952 Topps #407

1954 Topps #30

1959 Topps #450

1968 Topps #58

1974 Topps #634

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #407
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19):  1952-1968, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps Living Set #379

1,079 - Mathews non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/3/21.

Sources:  
1956 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #499 Stu Miller - Baltimore Orioles

Next Card:  #501 Indians Rookie Stars