#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