#112 Dee Fondy - Chicago Cubs

Dee Virgil Fondy
Chicago Cubs
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  195
Born:  October 31, 1924, Slaton, TX
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1951-1957; Pittsburgh Pirates 1957; Cincinnati Reds 1958
Died:  August 19, 1999, Redlands, CA (age 74)

A veteran of World War II, Dee Fondy was among the Army forces that landed on Utah Beach in Normandy three months after D-Day.  Signed by the Dodgers, but having his path to first base blocked by Gil Hodges (#145), Fondy was traded to the Cubs with Chuck Connors for Hank Edwards and cash on October 10, 1950.  He'd serve as the every day first baseman for the Cubs between 1952 and 1956, having his most successful year in 1953 when he hit .309 with 18 home runs and 78 RBIs.  Unusually speedy for a slugging first baseman, Fondy finished in the top 10 for stolen bases in five different seasons and for triples four different seasons.  He topped the league in stolen base percentage in 1954 with an 80% success ratio.

On September 24, 1957, now with the Pirates, Fondy was the last player to bat at Ebbets Field prior to the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles.  He grounded out to shortstop Don Zimmer (#99) who threw to first baseman Jim Gentile for the final out of the game, and the final out recorded in Brooklyn.  For his career, Fondy appeared in 967 games and hit .286 with 69 home runs and 373 RBIs.

He later served as a scout and a front office executive for the Brewers, and he was responsible for the signing of Paul Molitor in 1977.  He retired from baseball in 1995 after serving as a special assistant to Brewers' general manager Sal Bando.

Building the Set

July 30, 1994 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #128
My Dad and I bought this card at the annual Ocean City baseball card show held within the famous Music Pier during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college.  We spent $41 on six cards for our 1956 Topps set at this show, with the most expensive card being (for some reason) Rip Repulski's (#201) card for $9.  This Fondy card cost us $7.

From the flyer (right), it looks as if The Eastern Pennsylvania Sports Collectors Club (EPSCC) had abandoned its sponsorship of this baseball card show by 1994.  Honestly after they pulled out, the show was never quite the same and the quality definitely suffered.  My Dad would have grumbled at the fact that comic books were now encroaching on the floor space of his beloved baseball card show.  1994 and 1995 were strange years for the baseball card hobby as the player's strike that prematurely ended the 1994 season chased a lot of fans away from the hobby, and some of them have never come back.

Johnny Callison was back signing autographs though, and the former Phillies player was ubiquitous at these events back in the 1980s and early 1990s.

The Card
I had always assumed Fondy is the first baseman in the action shot, but he's the runner, wearing #40, diving back into first base.  Or is this a play at third base?  This is Fondy's first Topps card since 1952 and as he appeared in every Bowman set between 1953 and 1955, I'm assuming he had an exclusive contract with Bowman during that time.  His 1952 Topps card is one that doesn't get enough attention as it's a fantastic looking card.  His strong defense and base running skills are highlighted in the cartoon panels on the back of the card.

Cubs Team Set

1956 Season

Fondy played in 137 games for the Cubs, making 132 starts at first base.  Frank Kellert (#291) was the only other player to get any starts at first for the Cubs in 1956, with 25.  Fondy's numbers slipped from his prior years' production with the 8th place Cubs, as he hit .269 with 9 home runs and 46 RBIs.  The rest of the Cubs regular infield was comprised of Gene Baker (#142) at second, Ernie Banks (#15) at shortstop and Don Hoak (#335) at third.

Phillies Connection
According to his Wikipedia entry, Fondy was reportedly almost part of a nine-player trade between the Phillies and Cubs in early 1957 that would have sent Fondy and Baker to Philadelphia with the main player going to the Cubs being Richie Ashburn (#120).  The trade fell through with Fondy and Baker eventually getting traded to the Pirates on May 1, 1957 for Dale Long (#56) and Lee Walls.  Ashburn was traded to the Cubs a few years later, on January 11, 1960, for John Buzhardt, Alvin Dark (#148) and Jim Woods.

1952 Topps #359

1953 Bowman Black & White #5

1954 Bowman #173

1957 Topps #42

1958 Topps #157

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Bowman #231
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1952, 1956-1958
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1983 Topps 1952 Reprint Series #359

21 - Fondy non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/3/20.

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.

#111 Boston Red Sox Team Card

Topps included full team photos in its baseball card set for the first time in 1956, having previously experimented with team cards in a limited edition 1951 stand-alone set.

Building the Set
December 15, 2001 from Apple Valley, MN - Card #230
This purchase is an anomaly, and I wish I had more information in my notes about how and why I decided to head to eBay in late 2001 to purchase this particular team card.  The card was purchased from seller The Ballpark, located in Apple Valley, MN for $6.55.  The post-9/11 time period is one that was filled with fear and anxiety and as best I can guess, I felt the need back then to randomly buy an old baseball card from eBay.  This was actually the second card to enter our set from eBay in December 2001, as a week earlier I had purchased the "Nellie" Fox card (#118) for $12.  eBay was still a relatively new thing back in 2001, and I had established my account back in January 1999 for the sole purpose of buying baseball cards and Beatles bootlegs.

August 2014 -
Our sons at Fenway Park

The Card
The Red Sox are posed in front of the Green Monster in left field of Fenway Park.  It's hard to tell that from the card itself, but I found what appears to be outtakes from this photo session made available by the Boston Public Library.

The back of the card mentions Red Sox legends Babe Ruth, Sam Jones, Lefty Grove and Jimmy Foxx, with no mention of Cy Young, Tris Speaker or Bobby Doerr.  I wasn't familiar with Jones, and looking him up he's a strange choice to be featured among all-time Red Sox greats up until that time.  Jones went 64-59 with a 3.39 ERA with the Rex Sox between 1916 and 1921, with his best season coming in 1921 when he went 23-16 with a 3.22 ERA.

This is the seventh team card in the set, and the first not available with team name variations.  The only version available is with the team name centered, with the prior team cards being available with the name centered, the name to the left or with the name to the left and "1955" listed.

Listed below are the subjects featured on the card, including a listing of their 1956 Topps card if they had one.  The photo was taken after June 17, 1955, as that's the date the Red Sox signed bonus baby Jim Pagliaroni, and he's present in the back row.  Dick Brodowski and Karl Olson were traded together to the Senators on November 8, 1955, and Ellis Kinder was selected off waivers by the Cardinals on December 4, 1955.

Front Row Coach Del Baker Coach Mickey Owens Manager Pinky Higgins Coach Jack Burns Coach Dave Ferriss Coach Paul Schreiber Jackie Jensen (#115) Pete Daley Billy Goodman (#245) Grady Hatton (#26) Batboy Billy O'Donnell (seated) Batboy Del Baker, Jr. (seated)

2nd Row Trainer Jack Fadden Ike Delock (#284) Faye Throneberry Tom Brewer (#34) Eddie Joost Leo Kiely Milt Bolling (#315) George Susce, Jr. (#93) Mel Parnell Frank Baumann Tom Hurd (#256) Ted Lepcio Equipment Mg. Johnny Orlando

Back Row Gene Stephens (#313) Willard Nixon (#122) Bill Henry Jim Pagliaroni Karl Olson (#322 with the Senators) Frank Sullivan (#71) Norm Zauchin (#89) Ted Williams (#5) Sammy White (#168) Ellis Kinder (#336 with the Cardinals) Dick Brodowski (#157 with the Senators) Jim Piersall (#143) Billy Klaus (#217)

The Red Sox have played their home games at Fenway Park since 1912, and they continue to play there today.  We had the pleasure of visiting Fenway Park, and sitting in Section 36, back in August 2014.  Flipping to the back, there are a few categories that need to be updated:

Most Hits - 1,684 in 1997

Most Home Runs - 245 in 2019
Games Won - 108 in 2018
Additional Pennant Winning Teams - 1967, 1975, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1995, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018
Additional Championship Teams - 2004, 2007, 2013, 2018

Baseball Reference credits the team with 215 stolen bases in 1909 and only 190 stolen bases in 1911, a few short of what's featured on the back of the card.

Red Sox Team Set

1956 Season
Manager Higgins guided the Red Sox to a 84-70 record, good enough for fourth place in the American League.  The Splendid Splinter was 37 years old and showed no signs of slowing down.  Williams led the team in both average (.345) and home runs (24) with Jensen topping his 82 RBIs with a team-leading 97.  Piersall completed the outfield and contributed 14 home runs and 87 RBIs while hitting .293.

On the mound, Boston's top starters were Brewer (19-9, 3.50 ERA) and Sullivan (14-7, 3.42 ERA) with Delock leading all Red Sox relievers in appearances (48) and saves (9).

Red Sox Cards That Never Were
If I were put in charge of a fifth series for the 1956 Topps set, here's the Red Sox cards I'd include:

• Pinky Higgins (manager) - Higgins guided the Red Sox between 1955 and 1959, and came back for a second stint between 1960 and 1962.  In 8 years at the helm with Higgins, the Red Sox went 560-556, finishing no higher than third place.  
• Don Buddin (shortstop) - The regular shortstop for the club, Buddin would have to wait until the 1958 Topps set for his rookie card.
• Dick Gernert (utility) - Gernert appeared in 106 games for the Red Sox in 1956, hitting .291 as a pinch-hitter and occasional first baseman/left fielder.
• Ted Lepcio (infield) - Infielder Lepcio played in 83 games, hitting .261.  He's in the 1955 and 1957 Topps sets, but he was omitted in 1956.
• Mel Parnell (starting pitcher) - Parnell made 20 starts and went 7-6 with a 3.77 ERA as the team's fourth starter.  Like Lepcio, he's in both the 1955 and 1957 Topps sets but he was overlooked in 1956.
• Dave Sisler (pitcher) - Sisler's rookie card can be found in the 1957 Topps set.  A top reliever in 1956, he appeared in 39 games and recorded three saves.  Sisler is the younger brother of Dick Sisler and the son of Hall of Famer George Sisler.

Gene Mauch gets an honorable mention too.  The future Phillies manager appeared in 7 games for the Red Sox in 1956, hitting .320 (8 for 25) in his limited time with the club.  He'd appear in 65 games for the Red Sox the following season.

Sources
Baseball Reference

#110 Yogi Berra - New York Yankees

Lawrence Peter Berra
New York Yankees
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'7"  Weight:  185
Born:  May 12, 1925, St. Louis, MO
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1943 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1946-1963, New York Mets 1965
As a Manager:  New York Yankees 1964; New York Mets 1972-1975; New York Yankees 1984-1985
Hall of Fame Induction:  1972
Died:  September 22, 2015, West Caldwell, NJ (age 90)

1982 Donruss #387

One of the best, if not the best, catchers of his era, Yogi Berra was an All-Star every year between 1948 and 1962, won MVP honors in 1951, 1954 and 1955, and was a key component in bringing 10 World Championship titles to the Yankees.  Berra is one of the most recognizable and beloved baseball figures in history.

Signed by the Yankees in 1943, Berra didn't make his debut until 1946 as he was serving in the Navy during World War II.  He earned a Purple Heart taking part in the Normandy landings.  At the end of the war, Berra quickly established himself as one of the best power hitters and defensive catchers in the majors.  Over 19 seasons, he hit .285 with 2,150 hits, 358 home runs and 1,430 RBIs.  Upon his retirement, he held the records for most plate appearances (8,359), hits, home runs, runs (1,175) and RBIs among all catchers.

Following his playing days, Berra didn't stray far from baseball, keeping busy with both the Yankees and the Mets.  He briefly managed the Yankees in 1964 before moving to the Mets as a coach between 1965 and 1971, and then as manager between 1972 and 1975.  He returned to the Yankees as a coach between 1976 and 1983, and again as manager in 1984 and 1985.  His final coaching job came with the Astros between 1986 and 1989.  The Yankees retired Berra's #8 in 1972, the same year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Berra and Johnny Bench were named as catchers on MLB's All-Century team in 1999.

The Donruss card above is the first card of Berra's I ever owned, and I remember thinking to myself when I pulled it from a pack back then, "Is this a real person?"

Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #9
One of the Original 44, I recently re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post.  There were five current Hall of Famers in that original haul and I think the presence of those five pricier cards gave us the courage to begin collecting the entire set.  Along with Berra and Mathews, we added the cards of Willie Mays (#130), Early Wynn (#187) and Bob Lemon (#255).  In the years that followed, three more players were inducted into the Hall of Fame from our Original 44 - Hoyt Wilhelm (#307) in 1985, Red Schoendienst (#165) in 1989 and Larry Doby (#250) in 1998.

The Card
It appears as if the Indians baserunner is safe at home as Berra looks out towards the field at presumably the ongoing play.  On the back, the Topps' cartoonist did a terrific job capturing Berra's likeness for the first panel.  While not a true "Yogi-ism," the bubble having him say, "It's habit forming," is great too and captures Berra's infectious personality.  Berra was known for such popular quotes as "90 percent of baseball is mental, the other half is physical," and "It ain't over till it's over."

Berra signed reprints of this card for inclusion in the 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.  The card was reprinted again for the 2012 Topps Archives Reprints insert set.

Yankees Team Set

1956 Season

Berra appeared in 140 games for the Yankees, making 134 starts behind the plate.  He hit .298 and his 30 home runs and 105 RBIs were second the team to Mickey Mantle (#135), who had 52 home runs and 130 RBIs in his MVP-winning season.  The Yankees once again faced off in the World Series against the Dodgers, winning in seven games.  Berra drove in 10 runs in the Series with a pair of home runs off the Dodgers' Don Newcombe (#235) in the decisive Game 7.  In Game 5, Berra caught Don Larsen's (#332) perfect game with Larsen saying afterwards he didn't once shake off any of the catcher's pitch selections during the historic game.

1948 Bowman #6

1952 Topps #191

1961 Topps #425

1974 Topps #179

1987 Topps #531

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1948 Bowman #6
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21):  1951-1965, 1973-1975, 1984-1985, 1987
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Diamond Kings #12

2,127 - Berra non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/28/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
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.

#109 Enos Slaughter - Kansas City Athletics

Enos Bradsher Slaughter
Kansas City Athletics
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  180
Born:  April 27, 1916, Roxboro, NC
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1935 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1938-1942, 1946-1953; New York Yankees 1954-1955; Kansas City Athletics 1956; New York Yankees 1956-1959; Milwaukee Braves 1959
Hall of Fame Induction:  1985
Died:  August 12, 2002, Durham, NC (age 86)

Enos "Country" Slaughter was coming off two All-Star seasons in 1941 and 1942 when he joined the Air Force during World War II, missing three seasons.  He returned in 1946 and picked up where he had left off, putting together another eight consecutive All-Star seasons through 1953.  He won World Series rings with the Cardinals in 1942 and 1946, bookending his military service, and the biggest moment of his career came when he scored the winning run in Game 7 of the 1942 World Series.  His "Mad Dash" occurred with the Cardinals and Red Sox tied 3-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth in the decisive game of the Series.  Slaughter singled to open the inning and came all the way home to score on a double to center by Harry Walker, blowing through a stop sign from his third base coach.  The play came to represent a perfect example of Slaughter's constant hustle and aggressiveness while playing.  He won two more World Series rings towards the end of his career with the Yankees in 1956 and 1958.

Slaughter retired after 19 seasons with an even .300 batting average and 2,383 career hits.  His three years of military service most likely cost him a shot at the 3,000 hit plateau.  He hit 169 home runs to go with 1,304 RBIs.  Slaughter returned to baseball as the head coach for Duke University between 1971 and 1977.  The Veterans Committee elected him into the Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Cardinals retired his #9 in 1996.

Building the Set
February 21, 1999 in Cherry Hill, NJ - Card #179
This isn't the first time and won't be the last time I mention my memory of the late 1990s/early 2000s is fuzzy at best.  I have no idea what would have brought me north to New Jersey in February in 1999, as I was still living and working in Raleigh at the time.  Given my chosen profession, this would have also been a particularly busy time for me at work.  But my records show I paid $7 for this Slaughter card at the Cherry Hill Mall Mega Baseball Card Show & Sale on this day.  What's more, I've saved the flyer from the show and I've kept it with my 1972 Topps set showing I added 27 cards to that set at this show.

While learning more about Slaughter's career for this post, I read he had been accused of racism specifically towards Jackie Robinson (#30) when Robinson integrated the Major Leagues in 1947.  Slaughter always staunchly denied the charges.  Given the allegations, true or false, it's ironic to me now I purchased this Slaughter card at a show celebrating Black History Month and hosting 16 former players from the Negro Leagues as autograph signers.

The Card
Slaughter's season-plus with the Athletics came in between two separate stints with the Yankees.  Looking at the action photo on the front of the card, I think that's Slaughter diving back to first base on a close play against the Yankees.  If it is Slaughter, and if the opposing team was the Yankees, my best guess as to the first baseman is Joe Collins (#21) who wore #15 for New York in 1955.  Collins played in a number of games at first base against the Athletics between May 11, 1955 (the date Slaughter joined the A's) and the end of the season.

This would have been the tail-end of Slaughter's career, so the final panel on the back of the card diplomatically points out he was mainly a pinch-hitter at this point.  The explanation for the first panel is that Slaughter was hitting just .111 when the Yankees traded him to the Athletics and with his new team he batted .322.

Athletics Team Set

1956 Season

Slaughter started the season with the Athletics and was their opening day right fielder.  The 40-year-old appeared in 91 games with the A's, hitting .278 with a pair of home runs and 23 RBIs.  Only half of those games were starts (32 in right, 15 in left) as Slaughter was primarily used as a left-handed bat off the bench.  On August 25th, the Yankees selected him off waivers for their latest pennant drive, releasing the popular Phil Rizzuto (#113) to make room for him on the roster.

Slaughter played every inning of the first six World Series games in left field for the Yankees, and was left out of the line-up in Game 7 in favor of Elston Howard (#208).  He hit an impressive .350 (7 for 20) with a key three-run home run off the Dodgers' Roger Craig (#63) in Game 3 that gave the Yankees a 5-3 win.  The Yankees would go on to win the World Series in seven games with Johnny Kucks (#88) pitching a complete game shutout in the decisive game.

1941 Double Play #39

1948 Bowman #17

1952 Topps #65

1953 Topps #41

1959 Topps #155

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1941 Double Play #39
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1951-1953, 1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2019 Topps Update Iconic Card Reprints #ICR-40

457 - Slaughter non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/17/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
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.