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Lawrence Peter Berra
New York Mets
Catcher-Coach
Born: May 12, 1925, St. Louis, MO
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1943 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1946-1963, New York Mets 1965
As a Manager: New York Yankees 1964; New York Mets 1972-1975; New York Yankees 1984-1985
Hall of Fame Induction: 1972
Died: September 22, 2015, West Caldwell, NJ (age 90)
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| 1982 Donruss #387 |
Signed by the Yankees in 1943, Berra didn't make his debut until 1946 as he was serving in the Navy during World War II. He earned a Purple Heart taking part in the Normandy landings. At the end of the war, Berra quickly established himself as one of the best power hitters and defensive catchers in the majors. Over 19 seasons, he hit .285 with 2,150 hits, 358 home runs and 1,430 RBIs. Upon his retirement, he held the records for most plate appearances (8,359), hits, home runs, runs (1,175) and RBIs among all catchers.
Following his playing days, Berra didn't stray far from baseball, keeping busy with both the Yankees and the Mets. He briefly managed the Yankees in 1964 before moving to the Mets as a coach between 1965 and 1971, and then as manager between 1972 and 1975. He returned to the Yankees as a coach between 1976 and 1983, and again as manager in 1984 and 1985. His final coaching job came with the Astros between 1986 and 1989. The Yankees retired Berra's #8 in 1972, the same year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Berra and Johnny Bench were named as catchers on MLB's All-Century team in 1999.
The Donruss card above is the first card of Berra's I ever owned, and I remember thinking to myself when I pulled it from a pack back then, "Is this a real person?"
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the Set
April 25, 2022 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #587
Nearly two months passed between us adding 102 cards at the March Philly Show, and the next card added to the set, this iconic Berra card. I placed opening bids on several Greg Morris Cards auctions on eBay at some point in mid-April and walked away. Greg Morris Cards seemingly has a set break every other week, and the prices on some of the auctions often get out of control in my opinion. But as I often do, I probably bid on 10 or 15 cards at the auctions' outset and then walked away until the auctions concluded. This Berra was the only one of the cards I bid on that made it through to me at what I thought was a relatively low bid. Once the card arrived in late April, we were down to needing just 11 more cards for the set.
The Card / Mets Team Set
This is such a strange card when you fully consider the circumstances during which it was issued. It's also the third and final player-coach card in the set, joining Warren Spahn (#205) and Nellie Fox (#485). Berra had managed the Yankees in 1964 to the World Series, and he was dismissed following the team's loss to the Cardinals in seven games. The Mets signed him as a player-coach on April 27, 1965, meaning Topps had to rush to get this card into packs within the set's sixth series. Berra is clearly in Yankee pinstripes here, and the back of the card shows his full career statistics while with the Bronx Bombers. There's a final line included for 1964, telling collectors he had been the "N.Y. Mgr." and therefore "DID NOT PLAY." This was Berra's last appearance in a Topps flagship set until he appeared on a card in the 1973 Topps set as the Mets' manager.
1965 Season
Berra made four cameo appearances with the Mets as a player, pinch-hitting twice and catching two full and final games on May 4th against the Phillies and May 9th against the Braves. He caught Al Jackson's (#381) complete game victory in the start against the Phillies, going 2 for 3 at the plate. Berra was again behind the plate for Jackson's start on May 9th, but the pitcher didn't escape the third inning, allowing five runs on nine hits. Tom Parsons (#308) was the last pitcher to throw to Berra in the ninth inning of the 8-2 loss. He batted .222 (2 for 9) in his brief return as a player before settling in to a full time coach's job.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1948 Bowman #6
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21): 1951-1965, 1973-1975, 1984-1985, 1987
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2022 Topps Now #746
2,212 - Berra non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/10/22.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
Building the Set
April 25, 2022 from Los Angeles, CA - Card #587
Nearly two months passed between us adding 102 cards at the March Philly Show, and the next card added to the set, this iconic Berra card. I placed opening bids on several Greg Morris Cards auctions on eBay at some point in mid-April and walked away. Greg Morris Cards seemingly has a set break every other week, and the prices on some of the auctions often get out of control in my opinion. But as I often do, I probably bid on 10 or 15 cards at the auctions' outset and then walked away until the auctions concluded. This Berra was the only one of the cards I bid on that made it through to me at what I thought was a relatively low bid. Once the card arrived in late April, we were down to needing just 11 more cards for the set.
In April 2022 we were attending our first Phillies games of the season. Doug was busy with high school baseball and Ben had started to run track for his middle school. Ben celebrated his 12th birthday, complete with a new ping pong table. There was quite a lot going on, but I was thankful for all of it.
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The Card / Mets Team Set
This is such a strange card when you fully consider the circumstances during which it was issued. It's also the third and final player-coach card in the set, joining Warren Spahn (#205) and Nellie Fox (#485). Berra had managed the Yankees in 1964 to the World Series, and he was dismissed following the team's loss to the Cardinals in seven games. The Mets signed him as a player-coach on April 27, 1965, meaning Topps had to rush to get this card into packs within the set's sixth series. Berra is clearly in Yankee pinstripes here, and the back of the card shows his full career statistics while with the Bronx Bombers. There's a final line included for 1964, telling collectors he had been the "N.Y. Mgr." and therefore "DID NOT PLAY." This was Berra's last appearance in a Topps flagship set until he appeared on a card in the 1973 Topps set as the Mets' manager.
1965 Season
Berra made four cameo appearances with the Mets as a player, pinch-hitting twice and catching two full and final games on May 4th against the Phillies and May 9th against the Braves. He caught Al Jackson's (#381) complete game victory in the start against the Phillies, going 2 for 3 at the plate. Berra was again behind the plate for Jackson's start on May 9th, but the pitcher didn't escape the third inning, allowing five runs on nine hits. Tom Parsons (#308) was the last pitcher to throw to Berra in the ninth inning of the 8-2 loss. He batted .222 (2 for 9) in his brief return as a player before settling in to a full time coach's job.
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First Mainstream Card: 1948 Bowman #6
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21): 1951-1965, 1973-1975, 1984-1985, 1987
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2022 Topps Now #746
2,212 - Berra non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/10/22.
Sources:
1956 Topps Blog
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