#42 Sandy Amoros - Brooklyn Dodgers

Edmundo Isasi Amoros
Brooklyn Dodgers
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'7"  Weight:  170
Born:  January 30, 1930, Matanzas, Cuba
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1952 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1952, 1954-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1959-1960; Detroit Tigers 1960
Died:  June 27, 1992, Miami, FL (age 62)

The greatest moment of Sandy Amoros' professional baseball career was the catch he made in left field in the sixth inning of Game 7 in the 1955 World Series.  His improbable catch of a Yogi Berra (#110) fly ball helped keep the narrow 2-0 lead the Dodgers held over the Yankees, and Brooklyn would hold on to win their first and only World Series title.  The catch by Amoros is often shown during World Series highlights showcasing the game's best and most important all-time catches.

Although he played in parts of seven seasons, Amoros only saw regular playing time with the Dodgers between 1955 and 1957.  He appeared in 517 games during his career, hitting .255 with 43 home runs.

Building the Set
August 13, 1989 in Bridgeton, NJ - Card #80
We went nuts at the Bridgeton Baseball Card Show in August 1989, buying 12 different cards for our 1956 Topps set, all at $1.50 a piece.  That's an impressive haul for $18!


I have no other information on the location of this show, other than it was held in the nearby city of Bridgeton, NJ.  What I do have however is the checklist I brought with us to the show.  I believe this is the second full checklist we carried around, having retired the prior version I created in 1988 and posted with the William Harridge (#1) card.

Just looking at this checklist brings back fond memories of finding the cards, deciding to make a purchase, negotiating a price and then finding a flat surface so that we could cross off the newest additions.

The Card
Berra makes yet another cameo, having just appeared on the Bob Kennedy (#38) card.  The play shown here is a little more consequential than what was shown on the Kennedy card, as it features Amoros sliding home in the fourth inning of Game 4 of the 1955 World Series.  Jim Gilliam (#280) doubled home Amoros to put the Dodgers on the board in what was then a 2-1 Yankees advantage.  The Dodgers would battle back to win the game, 8-5.

The first panel on the back of the card celebrates Amoros' big catch, making it look as if he brought a ball back from over the fence.

Amoros is one of six Cuban born baseball players in the 1956 Topps set along with Carlos Paula (#4), Pedro Ramos (#49), Camilio Pascual (#98), Willie Miranda (#103) and Minnie Minoso (#125).  Topps is two years off with Amoros' birthday, as he was actually born in 1930.

Only 300 more cards to go!

1956 Season
Amoros had another steady season for the Dodgers in 1956, hitting .260 in 114 games with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs.  He was the team's most regular left fielder, sharing the outfield with Duke Snider  (#150) in center and Carl Furillo (#190) in right.  The Dodgers made it back to the World Series, but lost to the Yankees, 4 games to 3.  Amoros struggled in the Series, hitting just .053 (1 for 19).

1955 Topps #75

1957 Topps #201

1958 Topps #93

1960 Topps #531

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #75
First Topps Card:  1955 Topps #75
Last Topps Card (as a player):  1960 Topps #531
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers #98 and #143
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1955-1958, 1960

I'm changing up how I'm presenting each players' "Other Notable Baseball Cards," as prior posts would have featured just Amoros' 1955 and 1960 Topps cards - his first and last Topps cards.  My thought is that it's better to see more cards than less, so where possible I'm including up to four cards for each player going forward.

30 - Amoros non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/20/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

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Set Order: #41 Hank Sauer - Chicago Cubs / #43 Ray Moore - Baltimore Orioles

Order Collected: #330 Jim Busby - Cleveland Indians / #275 Jim Greengrass - Philadelphia Phillies

#41 Hank Sauer - Chicago Cubs

Henry John Sauer
Chicago Cubs
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  198
Born:  March 17, 1917, Pittsburgh, PA
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before the 1937 season
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati Reds 1941-1942, 1945, 1948-1949; Chicago Cubs 1949-1955; St. Louis Cardinals 1956; New York Giants 1957; San Francisco Giants 1958-1959
Died:  August 24, 2001, Burlingame, CA (age 84)

Hank Sauer spent the decade of the 1940s either serving his country in World War II, playing in the Majors for brief periods of time with the Reds, or playing in the Reds' minor league system trying to earn his way back to the big leagues.  He came up for good in 1948 and for the next decade he'd be one of the most feared sluggers in the National League.

A two-time All-Star in 1950 and 1952, Sauer's best season was that 1952 campaign when he won the league's MVP honors.  He hit .270 that season with 37 home runs and 121 RBIs.  Sauer hit over 25 home runs in 8 different seasons and drove in more than 100 runs three times, falling just short with 99 RBIs in 1949.

A Cubs fan favorite, Sauer was the team's regular left or right fielder during a period of time the Cubs occupied the basement of the National League more often than not.

Building the Set

July 30, 1994 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #127
My Dad and I bought this card at the annual Ocean City baseball card show held within the famous Music Pier during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college.  We spent $41 on six cards for our 1956 Topps set at this show, with the most expensive card being (for some reason) Rip Repulski's card for $9.  This Sauer card cost us $5.

From the flyer (right), it looks as if The Eastern Pennsylvania Sports Collectors Club (EPSCC) had abandoned its sponsorship of this baseball card show by 1994.  Honestly after they pulled out, the show was never quite the same and the quality definitely suffered.  My Dad would have grumbled at the fact that comic books were now encroaching on the floor space of his beloved baseball card show.  1994 and 1995 were strange years for the baseball card hobby as the player's strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season chased a lot of fans away from the hobby, and some of them have never come back.

Johnny Callison was back signing autographs though, and the former Phillies player was ubiquitous at these events back in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Card
I mentioned in the previous post I always felt like I should know who Bob Turley (#40) was, but I never really knew him until researching his career for this blog.  The same can be said for Hank Sauer, who I've always (and still do) confuse with Hank Bauer (#177).

Other than Enos Slaughter (#109), who was born in April 1916, Sauer is the oldest player in the 1956 Topps set.  His action shot shows him bumping up against some grated fencing, which might be from Wrigley Field but I'm not entirely certain.  Photos I found from that era seem to show an opening in the right field wall, but then I would expect to see some ivy on either side of the fencing and the green wall on Sauer's card is ivy-less.

In what is somewhat of a recurring issue, Topps has the wrong birth year (1919) on the back of Sauer's card as he was actually born in 1917.

1956 Season
In 1955, Sauer was reduced to a part-time player, appearing in only 79 games and hitting .211 with 12 home runs.  Following the season, he was traded to the Cardinals for Pete Whisenant and $30,000.  With St. Louis in 1956, the 39-year-old Sauer was used sparingly, but hit .298 in 75 games.

His SABR biography mentions that he had spent many late nights out on the town with his Cardinals roommate and friend, Stan Musial.  Concerned for Sauer's effect on their star player, the Cardinals released him on October 16th and he'd sign with the New York Giants 10 days later.

1948 Bowman #45

1951 Topps Blue Backs #49

1959 Topps #404

1975 Topps #190

2007 Topps Distinguised Service #DS12

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1948 Bowman #45
First Topps Card:  1951 Topps Blue Backs #49
Last Topps Card (as a player):  1959 Topps #404
Most Recent Topps Card (post-career):  1975 Topps #190 (with Bobby Shantz)
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2007 Topps Distinguished Service #DS12
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1951-1959, 1961, 1975

Sauer is also included in the 2013 Topps Archives Cubs set, which was a four-part stadium giveaway at Wrigley Field during the 2013 season.

101 - Sauer non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/19/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

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Set Order: #40 Bob Turley - New York Yankees / #42 Sandy Amoros - Brooklyn Dodgers

Order Collected: #119 Larry Jackson - St. Louis Cardinals / #112 Dee Fondy - Chicago Cubs

#40 Bob Turley - New York Yankees

Robert Lee Turley
New York Yankees
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  215
Born:  September 19, 1930, Troy, IL
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent before the 1948 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Browns 1951, 1953; Baltimore Orioles 1954; New York Yankees 1955-1962; Los Angeles Angels 1963; Boston Red Sox 1963
Died:  March 30, 2013, Atlanta, GA (age 82)

Bob Turley was a three-time All-Star for the powerhouse Yankees' teams of the mid to late 1950s, contributing to World Series wins in 1956 and 1958.  In 1958, he enjoyed his best season winning 21 games, the A.L. Cy Young Award and World Series MVP honors.  During his peak years with the Yankees between 1955 and 1958, Turley started 109 games, going 59-30 with a 3.28 ERA, 46 complete games and 17 shutouts.

Overall, Turley won 101 games over 12 seasons in the Majors.  Following his playing days, Turley became a successful businessman, founding an insurance company and dealing in Florida real estate.

Building the Set

October 3, 1999 in Raleigh, NC - Card #181
We bought this card on October 3rd at the Raleigh Sports Card Show, and it ended up being part of a birthday present from my Dad.  I was still living in Raleigh in late 1999, and my parents made the trip south to visit me for my birthday.  I remember being pleasantly surprised that this pristine card of a semi-star Yankee player only cost us $5.  We bought 5 cards that day (that I knew about) paying $5 for each card.  Unbeknownst to me, my Dad also purchased the Sandy Koufax card (#79) but squirreled that one away until Christmas morning 1999.

Back then, vintage Yankees cards were tough to find for sale at reasonable prices in the Northeast, and I'm assuming they still are.  Of the 23-card Yankee team set, we purchased only six of the cards from baseball card shows in New Jersey or Pennsylvania.

The Card
Growing up, there was a group of players from the 1950s and 1960s who I realized I should know, but I'll admit I knew nothing about.  Turley was one of those players.  His name sounded so familiar to me and I knew he must have been good given his appearances on Topps All-Star cards, but I couldn't tell you a thing about him.

I'm amazed I didn't know more about this before, but the middle panel on the back of Turley's card references the massive 17 player trade he was a part of between the Orioles and Yankees.  The trade took place on November 17, 1954 with Turley, Billy Hunter and Don Larsen (#332) heading to the Yankees along with four players to be named later.  In return, the Orioles received Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Willy Miranda (#103), Hal Smith (#62), Gus Triandos (#80), Gene Woodling (#163) and four additional players to be named later.  7 players left the Orioles and 10 players (!) left the Yankees.  At the time (and still?) it was the biggest trade in Major League history.

The head shot of Turley had already been used for his 1954 and 1955 Topps cards, with his 1954 Topps card sporting an Orioles logo.  From a design perspective, I love the positioning of Turley's action shot with the out of focus batter in the background.  Topps also softened the colors behind his facsimile autograph to make it more easily readable.

1956 Season
Turley struggled during the 1956 season, starting only 21 games and pitching to a record of 8-4.  He was the fifth starter in a rotation that most regularly consisted of Whitey Ford (#240), Johnny Kucks (#88), Larsen and Tom Sturdivant and he was dropped from the rotation altogether in September.  In the World Series, having adopted a new "no-windup" delivery previously tried by Larsen, Turley was tapped to start Game 6 with the Yankees up on the Dodgers three games to two.  Turley would later call it the best game he ever pitched, striking out 11 including Roy Campanella (#101) three times.  The Yankees would eventually lose that game in extra innings on a Jackie Robinson (#30) single to left, but they'd ultimately take Game 7.

1954 Topps #85

1958 Topps #493

1963 Topps #322

2016 Panini Diamond Kings #34

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1954 Topps #85
First Topps Card:  1954 Topps #85
Last Topps Card (as a player):  1963 Topps #322
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Panini Diamond Kings #34
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1954-1963

92 - Turley non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/19/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #39 Don Mossi - Cleveland Indians / #41 Hank Sauer - Chicago Cubs

Order Collected: #26 Grady Hatton - Boston Red Sox / #64 Luis Arroyo - St. Louis Cardinals

#39 Don Mossi - Cleveland Indians

Donald Louis Mossi
Cleveland Indians
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  195
Born:  January 11, 1929, St. Helena, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before the 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1954-1958; Detroit Tigers 1958-1963; Chicago White Sox 1964; Kansas City Athletics 1965

For over a decade, Don Mossi was one of the more reliable and recognizable left-handed pitchers in baseball.  Spending his entire career in the American League, Mossi compiled a lifetime record of 101-80 with a 3.43 ERA over 460 games.  While most of the appearances came in relief, he did start 165 games and was a 17-game winner with the Indians in 1959.

An All-Star in 1957, Mossi was under-appreciated as a defensive player as well.  He committed just 3 errors over his career with 311 total chances, and his fielding percentage of .990 was the highest all-time for a pitcher when he retired following the 1965 season.

Building the Set

June 22, 1990 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #93
I paid $13 for this card and the Minnie Minoso (#125) card at the annual baseball card show held within the Ocean City Music Pier.  As already mentioned as part of my post on the Warren Spahn (#10) card, the years 1990 and 1991 saw my Dad and I add the fewest 1956 Topps cards to our set.  I believe this was due to a combination of me being in high school and the fact that we were more actively collecting Topps sets from the early 1970s.  I included this summary in the Spahn post from over three years ago:

All while collecting the 1956 Topps set, Dad I compiled a complete 1975 set, followed by the 1974 and 1976 sets.  We then began the 1973 set followed by the 1970 set.  We hand collated these four sets during our "golden era" of collecting together between 1987 and 1997.  I finished off the 1972 set a few years back and I'm still plodding my way through a 1971 set in order to have a full run of sets from the 1970s.  (As of this writing, I need 41 more cards to complete the 1971 Topps set.)

The autograph guests at this show were Andy Seminick (#296) and Gene Mauch, neither of whom we stood in line up on the Music Pier's stage to meet.  Looking back, it strikes me as strange now that neither my Dad or I never really spent much time tracking down autographs from the show's signers and I kind of wish we had.  I'm sure the cost of an autograph from Seminick or Mauch wasn't that much, and it would have been nice to have those memories and those autographs in our collection.

(Just noticed that Seminick and Mauch were signing at night betwen 6 and 9pm . . . This would help explain why we didn't stick around as we would have been long gone from the show by then.)

The Card
Mossi's action shot features cameos from several early-arriving fans in the lower level bleacher seats.  Topps used the wrong birth date for Mossi on his cards throughout his career.  He was actually born in 1929, and not 1930 as represented by Topps.

1956 Season
Mossi was one of the Indians' most reliable relievers in 1956, making 48 appearances and earning a 3.59 ERA while leading the team with 11 saves.  Mossi and Ray Narleski (#133) formed one of the best lefty/righty bullpen tandems in baseball in the mid 1950s, and the work of both pitchers in 1956 supported 20-win seasons for Early Wynn (#187), Bob Lemon (#255) and Herb Score (#140).  Mossi's SABR biography notes he was hampered by an elbow injury for much of the 1956 season, but he still managed to serve as one the Tribe's top relievers.

Mossi and Narleski were packaged together (with Ossie Alvarez) in a trade to the Tigers in November 1958 that sent Al Cicotte and Billy Martin (#181) to the Indians.

1955 Bowman #259

1955 Topps #85

1962 Topps #105

1966 Topps #74

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #259
First Topps Card:  1955 Topps #85
Last Topps Card (as a player):  1966 Topps #74
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1990 Pacific Legends #95
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1955-1964, 1966

68 - Mossi non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/16/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #38 Bob Kennedy - Chicago White Sox / #40 Bob Turley - New York Yankees

Order Collected: #150 "Duke" Snider - Brooklyn Dodgers / #125 "Minnie" Minoso - Chicago White Sox