#64 Luis Arroyo - St. Louis Cardinals

Luis Enrique Arroyo
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'8"  Weight:  178
Born:  February 18, 1927, Penuelas, Puerto Rico
Drafted:  Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals from Greensboro in the 1949 minor league draft
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1955; Pittsburgh Pirates 1956-1957; Cincinnati Reds 1959; New York Yankees 1960-1963
Died:  January 13, 2016, Ponce, Puerto Rico (age 88)

Luis Arroyo was a two-time All-Star and the closer for the 1961 World Champion Yankees.  He was the first player born in Puerto Rico to don the Yankee pinstripes, and he spent 19 seasons playing in the Puerto Rican Winter League.  A starting pitcher at the beginning of his career, Arroyo found his greatest success in the bullpen.  His career year came in 1961 when he went 15-5 with a league leading 29 saves while relying on his signature screwball pitch.  Injuries curtailed his career, and he'd appear sparingly with the Yankees over the next two seasons before retiring.

A Yankee fan favorite, he later served as a scout and coach for the team and was one of the more popular attendees at the annual Yankees Oldtimers' Day.

Building the Set
October 3, 1999 in Raleigh, NC - Card #182
We bought this card on October 3rd at the Raleigh Sports Card Show, and it ended up being part of a birthday present to me 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.  We bought 8 cards that day (that I knew about) paying $5 for seven of the cards and $2 for the Grady Hatton (#26) 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, and even cards of ex-Yankees, were tough to find for sale at reasonable prices in the Northeast, and I'm assuming they still are.

The Card
Arroyo's signature is impressive, and it looks as if he's using just his first two initials, "L.E."

Arroyo was a N.L. All-Star in 1955, so it's odd that's not even mentioned on the back of his card.  The three panels focus on his minor league exploits and his arm injuries that cost him the 1952 and 1953 seasons.  This is his rookie card and he also appeared in Topps flagship sets from 1957, 1961, 1962 and 1963.

1956 Season
By the time kids found this Cardinals card in packs of 1956 Topps, Arroyo was pitching for the Pirates.  On May 7th, having not yet pitched a game for the Cardinals, Arroyo was shipped to Pittsburgh for pitcher Max Surkont (#209).  The Pirates needed a lefty arm for their bullpen, and the hope was that Arroyo could fill the role.  Instead, he spent the season bouncing back and forth between Pittsburgh and their Triple-A team in Hollywood.  In total, he appeared in 18 games for the Pirates, going 3-3 with a 4.71 ERA and one save.

1957 Topps #394

1961 Topps #142

1962 Topps #455

1963 Topps #569

1978 TCMA The 1960s #258

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #64
First Topps Card:  1956 Topps #64
Last Topps Card:  1963 Topps #569
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1983 TCMA 50 Years of Yankee All-Stars #2
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1956-1957, 1961-1963

45 - Arroyo non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/30/19.

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: #63 Roger Craig - Brooklyn Dodgers / #65 Johnny O'Brien - Pittsburgh Pirates

Order Collected: #40 Bob Turley - New York Yankees / #67 Vic Power - Kansas City Athletics

#63 Roger Craig - Brooklyn Dodgers

Roger Lee Craig
Brooklyn Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  190
Born:  February 17, 1930, Durham, NC
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1955-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1961; New York Mets 1962-1963; St. Louis Cardinals 1964; Cincinnati Reds 1965; Philadelphia Phillies 1966
As a Manager:  San Diego Padres 1978-1979; San Francisco Giants 1985-1992

A few decades before he was a successful manager for the Giants, Roger Craig pitched in parts of 12 seasons, experiencing the move of the Dodgers to the West Coast and suffering through the futility of the first fews years of the Mets' existence.  Craig went to six World Series (four as a player), winning rings with the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers, the 1964 Cardinals and as a coach with the 1984 Tigers.  Spending equal time as a starter and a reliever, Craig went 74-98 in 368 career appearances and owned a 3.83 career ERA.  He lost 46 games over two seasons with the expansion Mets.

Following his playing days, Craig taught his signature pitch, the split-finger fastball, to several pitchers including Jack Morris, Mike Scott and Milt Wilcox.  He served as a pitching coach for the Padres (1969-1972), Astros (1974-1975), Padres again (1976-1977) and Tigers (1980-1984).  In 1985, he was named manager of the Giants and he led the 1989 Giants to their first World Series appearance in 27 years.  Craig's leadership and unique rallying cry, "Humm Baby" weren't enough to defeat the Athletics in the 1989 series interrupted by 10 days as a result of the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake.

My family visited San Francisco for the Phillies series in early August, and the Giants celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1989 team with a pre-game ceremony.  Craig, now 89, was on hand to celebrate with his former team and he took the field to a standing ovation with current Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

Building the Set
October 7, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #307
This is one of five cards I received from my Dad for my 34th birthday, with each card being a fairly major card needed for our set.  Along with this Craig card, I received Bill Bruton (#185), Bob Feller (#200), Don Newcombe (#235) and Don Larsen (#332).  My Dad never told me how much he had paid for the cards.

The Card
This is Craig's rookie card and what looked to me initially to be a #10 on the back of his jersey is actually #40.  Craig wore that number for the first four seasons of his Dodgers career before switching to #38 for the 1959 season.  His birth year is off a year on the back of his card, as he was actually born in 1930.

The final panel on the back of the card celebrates Craig's performance in Game 5 of the 1955 World Series.  With the series tied at two, manager Walter Alston (#8) handed the ball to Craig.  I'm fairly certain he wasn't carried off the field, but Craig pitched six strong innings, allowing four hits including a solo home run from Bob Cerv (#288) in the seventh that chased him from the game.  Reliever Clem Labine (#295) held down the Yankees for the final three innings, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 advantage in the Series they'd ultimately win in seven games.

1956 Season
In his first full season with the Dodgers, Craig appeared in 35 games (32 starts) pitching to a 12-11 record and a 3.71 ERA.  He led all pitchers with a 1.000 fielding percentage, not committing an error in 32 chances.  Craig was the second top starting pitcher in the Dodgers rotation in 1956, following Newcombe and coming in ahead of both Sal Maglie and Carl Erskine (#233).

Phillies Career
On April 11, 1966, Craig was released by the Cincinnati Reds at the end of spring training, signing with the Phillies that very same day.  Craig made his first appearance for the Phillies on opening day against the Cardinals, coming on to relieve Chris Short in the 10th after Short had pitched 9 2/3 innings.  Craig pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and was the recipient of the win when John Herrnstein singled home Dick Allen with the eventual winning run in the 12th.

Used solely as a reliever, Craig appeared in 14 games for the Phillies, going 2-1 with a 5.56 ERA.  The 36-year-old Craig was released by the club on July 23rd, ending his big league career.  Craig received a Phillies card in the 1966 Topps set, but the photo used is the exact same photo used for Craig's 1962 Topps card, when he was with the Mets.  Craig signed reprinted versions of his 1966 Topps card for inclusion in the 2015 Topps Heritage set.

1958 Topps #194

1963 Fleer #47

1966 Topps #543

1974 Topps #31

1989 Topps #744

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #63
First Topps Card:  1956 Topps #63
Representative Phillies Card:  1966 Topps #543
Last Topps Card (as a player):  1966 Topps #543
First Topps Card (as a manager):  1979 Topps #479
Last Topps Card (as a manager):  1992 Topps #109
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-RC
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19):  1956-1958, 1960-1966, 1974, 1979, 1986-1992

140 - Craig non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/30/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
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: #62 Hal Smith - Baltimore Orioles / #64 Luis Arroyo - St. Louis Cardinals

Order Collected: #249 Johnny Klippstein - Cincinnati Redlegs / #185 Bill Bruton - Milwaukee Braves

#62 Hal Smith - Baltimore Orioles

Harold Wayne Smith
Baltimore Orioles
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  December 7, 1930, West Frankfort, IL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1955-1956; Kansas City Athletics 1956-1959; Pittsburgh Pirates 1960-1961; Houston Colt .45s 1962-1963; Cincinnati Reds 1964

Hal Smith spent 10 seasons in the Majors catching for the Orioles, Athletics, Pirates, Colt .45s and Reds, and he holds the distinction of being the first catcher in Houston Colt .45s/Astros history.

Smith deserves credit for making Bill Mazeroski's game-winning home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series against the Yankees possible.  Smith had entered the game in the eighth, after starting catcher Smoky Burgess (#192) had been pinch-run for the previous inning.  With the Pirates trailing 7-6, Smith hit a three-run home off pitcher Jim Coates to give the Pirates a 9-7 lead.  The Yankees would tie the game in the top of the ninth, but then Mazeroski hit his famous shot off Ralph Terry to give the Pirates the title.

Smith came to the Orioles in November 1954 in the 17-player trade I discussed with the Bob Turley (#40) post.  In 879 career games, he hit .267 with 58 home runs and 323 RBIs.

Building the Set
August 19, 2000 in Raleigh, NC - Card #203
This Hal Smith shouldn't be confused with the other Hal Smith (#283) also in the 1956 Topps set.  Both were catchers, complicating things somewhat, but this Hal Smith is commonly shown as Hal W. Smith in checklists while the other Hal Smith shows up as Hal R. Smith.  I don't think I realized there were two Hal Smiths in the set until I alphabetized our checklist, which made it easier to check if we needed a card when a dealer's boxes were out of order.

1956 Topps #283

Something that's perhaps only amusing to me is that I purchased both Hal Smith cards needed for our set at the same time from the same dealer at the Sports Card Show in Raleigh.  I decided I wanted to purchase both cards together, and if I found one in decent shape I waited until I had found the second in decent shape as well.  Having found both Hal Smith cards in an out-of-order box of 1956 Topps commons, I approached the dealer and asked him for a price for the pair.  He did somewhat of a double take when he realized both cards bore the name Hal Smith and he looked at me quizzically.

Without missing a beat, and without cracking a smile, I told him, "I collect only Hal Smith cards."  He continued his stare for a few more seconds and then said, "$15 for both of them."  And with that, both Hal Smith cards entered our 1956 Topps set.

The Card
As I'm tracking the color combinations used for the name and team boxes, this is the first red-orange color combination to be found in the set.  It works well for the Orioles.

The third panel on the back reference Smith's "great pegs," but he finished fourth in the A.L. in 1955 in runners caught stealing with 23 and he led the league in passed balls with 14.  He'd lead the league again in passed balls in 1957.  I'm questioning his "great pegs" distinction even more once I saw the league leaders for stolen bases allowed in 1956 (see below).

1956 Season
Smith started the season with the Orioles but then was traded to the Athletics on August 17th for Joe Ginsberg, in a swap of catchers.  In total, he appeared in 114 games, hitting .267 with five home runs and 42 RBIs.  Despite his challenges with passed balls in 1955 and 1957 mentioned above, Smith actually was second in the A.L. among catchers with a .991 fielding percentage.  However, he led the league in stolen bases allowed with 43, with no other catcher even close.  Yogi Berra (#110) finished a distant second in that category with 26 stolen bases allowed.

1955 Topps #8

1959 Topps #227

1961 Topps #242

1963 Topps #153

1964 Topps #233

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #8
First Topps Card:  1955 Topps #8
Last Topps Card:  1964 Topps #233
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1980 TCMA 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates #37
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1955-1964

Smith appeared in Topps flagship sets between 1955 and 1964, but Topps only added the "W" middle initial to his 1961 card.

52 - Smith non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/20/19.

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: #61 Bill Skowron - New York Yankees / #63 Roger Craig - Brooklyn Dodgers

Order Collected: #205 "Whitey" Lockman - New York Giants / #283 Hal Smith - St. Louis Cardinals

#61 Bill Skowron - New York Yankees

William Joseph Skowron
New York Yankees
First Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  195
Born:  December 18, 1930, Chicago, IL
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1954-1962; Los Angeles Dodgers 1963; Washington Senators 1964; Chicago White Sox 1964-1967; California Angels 1967
Died:  April 27, 2012, Arlington Heights, IL (age 81)

The starting first baseman for the powerhouse Yankees teams of the late '50s and early '60s, Bill "Moose" Skowron enjoyed a 14-year career and tallied 211 home runs for the Yankees, Dodgers, Senators, White Sox and Angels.  He was a six-time All-Star, including five straight appearances with the Yankees between 1957 and 1961.

He appeared in eight World Series, winning four rings with the Yankees (1956, 1958, 1961 and 1962) and one ring with the Dodgers (1963) against the Yankee team that had traded him away.  In total, Skowron played in 39 World Series games, hitting .293 (39 for 133) with eight home runs and 29 RBIs.  Although he had struggled during the 1963 regular season, his first and only with the Dodgers, he came alive in the World Series against his former Yankees team, hitting .385 in the four-game sweep.  He found late career with the White Sox, earning his final All-Star nod in 1965.

Skowron retired following the 1967 season, remaining active in his communities and frequently appearing at baseball card shows to sign autographs.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #315
I first shared this story with the Roberto Clemente (#33) post, but I'll repeat myself here.  The way my Dad and I finished the 1956 Topps set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory.  Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set.  Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning.  I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired to finish off the set.  And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards.

Doug and Dad on Christmas Eve, 2007

Our son Doug had just turned one, and on Christmas morning 2007, we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our families to our house to celebrate the day.  I've had a few rough Christmases, but this was one of the worst as my Dad ended up in the hospital that day and it was the beginning of his health struggles that would continue until he passed away in late 2011.  He was discharged from the hospital three days later, and it was only then we celebrated Christmas together, on December 28th, and I opened the package containing the last of the cards needed for our 1956 Topps set.

Dad was understandably distraught that Christmas, but not solely because of his own health issues.  Because of his unselfish nature, he was worried that he had ruined Christmas for everyone since we had spent the holidays in a hospital.  He was also upset that his surprise package containing those last 29 baseball cards sat in the back seat of his car for three days until he recovered enough to come home.  I was just happy to have him out of the hospital, but I do remember feeling confused and somewhat hopeless as we weren't quite sure yet what was wrong with him.

I don't have any pictures from December 28th, which is unusual for me.  I'm assuming I was just happy that Dad was out of the hospital and taking pictures never crossed my mind.

The Card
Topps references Skowron's nickname on the back of the card, but they missed the opportunity to refer to him as "Moose" on the front.  Skowron appeared in every Topps set between 1954 and 1967, and only his 1958 card contains the Moose nickname prominently on the front.  I'm always impressed when the cartoon representation on the backs of these cards actually looks something like the player.  The drawing of the swinging batter in the final panel on the back really does look like Skowron.

I'm not a fan of getting cards graded, but if this card were "slabbed," I think it would receive one of the higher grades.  It's perfectly centered with barely any surface wear and four sharp corners.

1956 Season
Skowron appeared in 134 games for the Yankees, serving as their regular first baseman, but appearing in two games at third base.  He hit .308 with 23 home runs and 90 RBIs, both career highs at the time.  (He'd hit 28 home runs with 91 RBIs in 1961.)  He most typically hit fifth in the Yankees line-up behind Mickey Mantle (#135) and Yogi Berra (#110).

1954 Topps #239

1958 Topps #240

1961 Topps #371

1967 Topps #357

2006 Topps Allen & Ginter #274

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1954 Topps #239
First Topps Card:  1954 Topps #239
Last Topps Card:  1967 Topps #357
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Diamond Kings #51
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1954-1967

I was a little surprised at the sheer volume of Skowron cards available, and he's got the most cards (so far) of any non-Hall of Famer in the 1956 Topps set.  This is most likely attributable to his long career, his popularity as a long-time Yankee, and the fact that he remained an active autograph signer for inserts and high-end sets until he passed away in 2012.

340 - Skowron non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/17/19.

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: #60 Mayo Smith MG - Philadelphia Phillies / #62 Hal Smith - Baltimore Orioles

Order Collected: #33 Roberto Clemente - Pittsburgh Pirates / #122 Willard Nixon - Boston Red Sox