#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