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Richard Dale Long
Pittsburgh Pirates
First Base
Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 6'4" Weight: 205
Born: February 6, 1926, Springfield, MO
Acquired: Traded by Middletown (Ohio State) with Kenneth Braden to the Cincinnati Reds for Dick Oder and Joseph Turczak, May 1945
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1951; St. Louis Browns 1951; Pittsburgh Pirates 1955-1957; Chicago Cubs 1957-1959; San Francisco Giants 1960; New York Yankees 1960; Washington Senators 1961-1962; New York Yankees 1962-1963
Died: January 27, 1991, Palm Coast, FL (age 64)
Dale Long played in parts of ten seasons in the Majors, compiling a .267 lifetime average and hitting 132 home runs. Long's best season came in 1956 when he made the All-Star team and hit career highs in both home runs (27) and RBIs (91). Known more for his bat than his glove, Long led all first basemen in errors in three different season, including his career best year of 1956.
Turning down an offer from the Green Bay Packers, Long opted for a baseball career and toiled in the minor leagues for ten seasons before becoming a regular with the Pirates in 1955. In 1958 with the Cubs, he caught two innings in a pair of games as a late-inning replacement, becoming the first left-handed catcher in the Majors since Jiggs Donahue in 1902. (To date, Benny Distefano is the last left-handed catcher to appear in the Majors, having caught in three games in 1989.)
Long appeared in two World Series with the Yankees, who lost to the Pirates in 1960 but defeated the Giants in 1962. He served as a Yankees player/coach in 1963.
Building the Set
This is one of three cards I purchased at the Raleigh Sportscard & Memorabilia Show, along with Alex Grammas (#37) and Frank Sullivan (#71). My records show I paid $3 for the card. I would have had to call my Dad to tell him to update his lists, as he was still working in Millville, NJ at the time.
The late 1990s and early 2000s were a very confusing time for me, and those years are all but lost in my memory. I have little to no recollection as to the apartments or houses in which I was living or the things I was doing on a day to day basis. Pictures from this era are scarce but I was able to find this shot of my sister and my Dad from New Year's Eve 1999. A week later, I was back in Raleigh attending a baseball card show and looking for cards needed for our 1956 Topps set.
The Card
Long is shown wearing the helmet mandated by Pirates General Manager Branch Rickey, and he joins teammates Roy Face (#13), Roberto Clemente (#33) and Gene Freese (#46) so far in sporting the helmet. I found this summary from SABR explaining Rickey's introduction of the helmets in September 1952, to be worn at all times by Pirates players and coaches - at bat and in the field.
The first panel on the back of Long's card pays homage to his experimental catching phase, adding a deadpan, "It didn't work." His sole possession of the triples title in 1955 was thwarted by Willie Mays (#130) who also hit 13 triples that season.
1956 Season
As mentioned above, 1956 was Long's best season and he anchored a Pirates infield consisting of Bill Mazeroski at second, Dick Groat (#24) at shortstop and Frank Thomas (#153) at third. He hit eight home runs in eight consecutive games between May 19th and May 28th, breaking the record of homering in six straight games set previously by five different players, including Lou Gehrig and Mays. Long's mark was matched by Don Mattingly in 1987 and Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1993.
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #127
First Topps Card: 1955 Topps #127
Last Topps Card: 1963 Topps #484
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1990 Pacific Legends #92
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1955-1963
54 - Long non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/24/19.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
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: #37 Alex Grammas - St. Louis Cardinals / #71 Frank Sullivan - Boston Red Sox
Interesting that the cartoon shows 13 triples, but the stat line right below it shows "3" and a lifetime total of "4"!
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