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Waldon Thomas Westlake
Philadelphia Phillies
Outfield
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'0" Weight: 186
Born: November 8, 1920, Gridley, CA
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1940 season
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1947-1951; St. Louis Cardinals 1951-1952; Cincinnati Reds 1952; Cleveland Indians 1952-1955; Baltimore Orioles 1955; Philadelphia Phillies 1956
Died: September 6, 2019, Sacramento, CA (age 98)
The start of Wally Westlake's big league career was delayed while he was serving in World War II, but once he made his debut at 26 with the 1947 Pirates he proved to be a consistent hitter for several seasons. Westlake was an All-Star with the Cardinals in 1951 (following his trade from the Pirates) and was a member of the 1954 Indians team that lost the World Series to the Giants. Over his 10 year career, Westlake hit .272 with 127 home runs and 539 RBIs. His best seasons came in 1948 and 1949 with the Pirates when he hit .285 and .282 with 65 and 104 RBIs respectively, while also hitting for the cycle twice.Building the Set
June 20, 1992 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #106
This is one of 11 cards (and the 8th I've covered on this blog) my Dad and I bought in June 1992 at the Ocean City baseball card show held on the boardwalk at the Music Pier. We paid $60 for the lot of 11 cards, which at the time was most likely a steal. Chronologically, I have this listed as the 106th card we added to the set. Like the other cards in this lot, this card is gorgeous with four sharp corners. I'd love to get into my time machine and buy whatever other 1956 Topps cards this dealer had for sale as they're some of the finest cards in our set.
It would seem as if we paid the full admission price of $6 as we didn't relinquish the postcard below to receive $0.50 off. I still have a collection of these postcards and flyers dating back to the early 1980s from the various Ocean City baseball card shows.
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My Dad wasn't much of a night owl, which explains why we wouldn't have waited around for an autograph from Del Ennis the Saturday of this show. It's a shame too. Ennis was one of my Dad's favorite players and it would have been an amazing keepsake if I had somehow gotten a picture of the two of them together.
The Card
I've looked at this card hundreds of time, and it was only within the past 10 years or so I realized Westlake is wearing a Cardinals uniform in the photo of him swinging a bat. He had last played for the Cardinals in early 1952. It's amazing to me that writing these posts has resulted in me learning (or re-learning) new things, even things that were probably obvious to everyone else. A quick search of Getty Images also turns up the source of the close-up photo of Westlake. That photo was taken during the 1953 season at Yankee Stadium and I've included it above.
The first panel on the back states Westlake is a veteran of 13 seasons, which is accurate if you count his minor league years. Westlake played in the minors between 1940 and 1942 before heading off for military service, and then he played 10 seasons after that between 1946 and 1955. His 1948 cycle came on July 30th against the Dodgers, and his second cycle came on June 14, 1949 against the Braves.
1956 Season/Phillies Career
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| 1977 Fritsch One-Year Wonders #17 |
Westlake was released by the Orioles on July 9, 1955 and he finished the remainder of the 1955 seasons playing for the Oakland Oaks and the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League. The Phillies signed him on November 7, 1955. Now a 34-year-old veteran, Westlake wrapped up his 10-year big league career playing five games for the Phillies in 1956, all on the road and all as a pinch-hitter. He went 0 for 4 with a walk and three strikeouts and the Phillies released him on May 18th. By the time kids were getting this card of Westlake in their packs of 1956 Topps (Series 1), he had signed to play with the unaffiliated Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League. Westlake hit .273 for the Solons over 90 games to finish out the 1956 season and his professional career.
Other than this 1956 Topps card, Westlake's only other Phillies card can be found in the Elder Postcards set released in the 1960s. He also signed a reprinted version of his 1956 Topps card for inclusion as in insert available in packs of 2005 Topps Heritage.
Westlake may have been motivated to sign with the Phillies in late 1955 as his younger brother, Jim Westlake, was playing in the Phillies system at the time. Jim Westlake appeared in one game for the Phillies on April 16, 1955, pinch-hitting for reliever Jack Spring and striking out against the Giants' Jim Hearn (#202).
When Wally Westlake died this past September at the age of 98, he passed on the title of the oldest living Phillies alumnus to former coach Billy DeMars, now 94. (Per a Tweet from Larry Shenk.)
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First Mainstream Card: 1949 Bowman #45
First Topps Card: 1951 Topps Red Backs #27
Representative Phillies Card: 1956 Topps #81
Last Topps Card: 1956 Topps #81
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #RO-WW
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6): 1951-1956
40 - Westlake non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/30/19.
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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Order Collected: #66 Bob Speake - Chicago Cubs / #143 Jim Piersall - Boston Red Sox
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