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Robert Lee Turley
New York Yankees
Pitcher
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
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.
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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.
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Order Collected: #26 Grady Hatton - Boston Red Sox / #64 Luis Arroyo - St. Louis Cardinals
17 player trade... involving only 2 teams (that are in the same division)? That's crazy.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine this would ever happen today!
ReplyDelete