 |
 |
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.
|
|
|
|
|
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.
Previous Card / Next Card
Order Collected: #40 Bob Turley - New York Yankees / #67 Vic Power - Kansas City Athletics
No comments:
Post a Comment