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Wallace Wade Moon
St. Louis Cardinals
Outfield
Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6'0" Weight: 169
Born: April 3, 1930, Bay, AR
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1954-1958; Los Angeles Dodgers 1959-1965
Died: February 9, 2018, Bryan, TX (age 87)
One of the most recognizable players from the '50s and early '60s, Wally Moon was a steady hitting outfielder who made two All-Star teams and won a pair of World Series rings with the 1959 and 1965 Dodgers. He was the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1954 and won a Gold Glove in 1960. Moon spent his entire 12-year big league career in the National League playing for the Cardinals and the Dodgers, compiling a lifetime batting average of .289.
As a rookie in 1954, Moon had the unenviable task of replacing fan favorite and long-time Cardinal Enos Slaughter (#109), who had been traded to the Yankees on April 11th. Moon delivered with an award winning rookie season, hitting .304 with 12 home runs and 76 RBIs. In 1959, Moon's 19 home runs and league leading 11 triples helped guide the Dodgers to an eventual World Series Championship. He led the league with a .434 on base percentage in 1961 while hitting a career high .328. He retired as an active player following the 1965 season, but he'd come back to the Majors in 1969 as the first hitting coach of the expansion San Diego Padres.
Building the Set
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| Nana's Sea Isle house - partially painted in Summer '93 |
July 31, 1993 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #117
This is one of five 1956 Topps cards I purchased at the Ocean City baseball card show during the summer of '93. My notes indicate we paid $6 for the card, and it's in absolutely pristine shape.
I already wrote about the summer of '93 with the Frank House (#32) post back in February, but it's worth repeating here. After missing much of my freshman spring semester with a bad case of mono, I spent the summer mostly resting at home and taking make-up classes at nearby Rowan College of New Jersey (now Rowan University). Looking back now, it's strange to me that I have so few memories or pictures from that summer. I found pictures I took from an Orioles-Twins game at Camden Yards with shots of Fernando Valenzuela pitching to Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett, and another picture of Cal Ripken at bat. There were also pictures of my Nana's house in Sea Isle, which I think I spent part of that summer painting (again). But that's it.
I know it was just another summer day at the time, but I'd love to have one picture of my Dad and me as we were about to attend this baseball card show that Saturday afternoon in Ocean City.
The Card
That could be Dodgers' catcher Roy Campanella (#101) applying the tag to Moon in a play at the plate.
Kudos to the Topps artist for showcasing Moon's most unique facial feature, his majestic unibrow, in the center panel on the back of the card. The first panel mentions Moon's time at Texas A&M, where he attended on a split baseball/basketball scholarship. Following his junior year, the Cardinals signed him for a $6,000 bonus, but his father insisted he only play ball part time while he focused on completing his college courses.
Moon's base running trailed off after his first few seasons. He stole 18 bases in 1954, had 15 stolen bases in 1959 and never had another season after that with more than seven steals.
1956 Season
In his third full season, Moon hit .298 with 16 home runs and 68 RBIs as the starting right fielder for the Cardinals. Rip Repulski (#201) in left field and Bobby Del Greco in center kept him company that season. Led by Ken Boyer (#14) and Stan Musial, the Cardinals finished third in the National League.
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First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #137
First Topps Card: 1954 Topps #137
Last Topps Card: 1965 Topps #247
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2017 Topps Archives Snapshots #AS-WM
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1954-1965
102 - Moon non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/13/19.
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
Order Collected: #48 Jim Hegan - Cleveland Indians / #75 Roy Sievers - Washington Nationals
$6 for a pristine condition 1956 Topps Moon would make me so giddy. Even for 1993... I've gotta assume that was a great find.
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