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Dee Virgil Fondy
Chicago Cubs
First Base
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
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
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.
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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.
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