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Enos Bradsher Slaughter
Kansas City Athletics
Outfield
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.
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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 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.
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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.
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Order Collected: #8 Walter Alston MG - Brooklyn Dodgers / #26 Grady Hatton - Boston Red Sox
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