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Harry Dorish
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher
Born: July 13, 1921, Swoyersville, PA
Signed: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1941 season
Major League Teams: Boston Red Sox 1947-1949; St. Louis Browns 1950; Chicago White Sox 1951-1955; Baltimore Orioles 1955-1956; Boston Red Sox 1956
Died: December 31, 2000, Wilkes-Barre, PA (age 79)
Harry Dorish, more commonly known by his nickname, Fritz, pitched for 10 seasons in the American League after missing three years in the minors while serving during World War II. Dorish was primarily a reliever throughout his career and his best seasons came in the early 1950s while a member of the White Sox bullpen. During his 5 1/2 years with the White Sox, he went 31-20 over 176 appearances with a 3.02 ERA and 39 saves. He led the league with 11 saves in 1952 and followed that up by saving 17 games in 1953. Dorish was dealt to the Orioles on June 6, 1955 for catcher Les Moss as the White Sox were in need of more offense. He pitched well for the Orioles for the remainder of 1955, reunited with his former mentor and now Orioles manager Paul Richards. Dorish missed time in 1956 after being spiked by the Senators' Clint Courtney (#159) and requiring 12 stitches in his heel and on June 25th that year he was sold back to his original team, the Red Sox. His last action in the majors came with the Red Sox in 1956, and he'd then attempt to play three more seasons in the minors before retiring.
Dorish earned a lifetime record of 45-43 over 323 games with 48 saves. He stayed in baseball through the 1988 season as a minor and major league coach and long-time scout spending time in the organizations of the Red Sox, Astros and Indians. Dorish served as the pitching coach for the Red Sox (1963) and Braves (1968-1971).
Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #318
The Card / Orioles Team Set
I'm not convinced that's Dorish at all in the action photo. The #7 appears to be on the back of the runner's jersey and Dorish wore a uniform number ending in 7 once in his career, with the 1949 Red Sox team. He wore #12 while with the White Sox in 1955, and took #23 when he joined the Orioles. #7 on the Orioles in 1955 was shortstop Willie Miranda (#103). The head shot used for Dorish is the same as his 1954 Topps card, with Topps replacing the White Sox logo on his cap with an Orioles logo. Flipping to the back, the three cartoons celebrate his success as a reliever, his best pitch - the sinker, and his role as the Orioles' top "reliefer" in 1955. Topps shaves a year off his birth date too, as Dorish was actually born in 1921.
1956 Season
In his final year in the majors, Dorish began the season with the Orioles, appearing in 13 games. As mentioned above, Dorish was spiked by Courtney in a game, leading to an ankle injury. On April 22nd, in the top of the seventh inning of an Orioles-Senators game, Courtney pinch-hit for shortstop Jerry Snyder and was retired with a ground ball fielded by Orioles first baseman Gus Triandos (#80) and fed to Dorish, covering first. I'm guessing this is when Dorish suffered the spiking injury, as he wouldn't pitch again until May 3rd. He'd join the Red Sox in early July, appearing in 15 more games. In total, between the two teams, Dorish appeared in 28 games, going 0-2 with a 3.83 ERA over 42 1/3 innings pitched.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1951 Bowman #266
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1952-1954, 1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #110
23 - Dorish non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/11/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #318
The way my Dad and I finished the 1956 Topps set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory. Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set. Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning. I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired to finish off the set. And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards.
Our son Doug had just turned one, and on Christmas morning 2007, we were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our families to our house to celebrate the day. I've had a few rough Christmases, but this was one of the worst as my Dad ended up in the hospital that day and it was the beginning of his health struggles that would continue until he passed away in late 2011. He was discharged from the hospital three days later, and it was only then we celebrated Christmas together, on December 28th, and I opened the package containing the last of the cards needed for our 1956 Topps set.
Dad was understandably distraught that Christmas, but not solely because of his own health issues. Because of his unselfish nature, he was worried that he had ruined Christmas for everyone since we had spent the holidays in a hospital. He was also upset that his surprise package containing those last 29 baseball cards sat in the back seat of his car for three days until he recovered enough to come home. I was just happy to have him out of the hospital, but I do remember feeling confused and somewhat hopeless as we weren't quite sure yet what was wrong with him.
I don't have any pictures from December 28th, which is unusual for me. I'm assuming I was just happy that Dad was out of the hospital and taking pictures never crossed my mind.
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| December 24, 2007 - Dad with his first grandson |
Dad was understandably distraught that Christmas, but not solely because of his own health issues. Because of his unselfish nature, he was worried that he had ruined Christmas for everyone since we had spent the holidays in a hospital. He was also upset that his surprise package containing those last 29 baseball cards sat in the back seat of his car for three days until he recovered enough to come home. I was just happy to have him out of the hospital, but I do remember feeling confused and somewhat hopeless as we weren't quite sure yet what was wrong with him.
I don't have any pictures from December 28th, which is unusual for me. I'm assuming I was just happy that Dad was out of the hospital and taking pictures never crossed my mind.
The Card / Orioles Team Set
I'm not convinced that's Dorish at all in the action photo. The #7 appears to be on the back of the runner's jersey and Dorish wore a uniform number ending in 7 once in his career, with the 1949 Red Sox team. He wore #12 while with the White Sox in 1955, and took #23 when he joined the Orioles. #7 on the Orioles in 1955 was shortstop Willie Miranda (#103). The head shot used for Dorish is the same as his 1954 Topps card, with Topps replacing the White Sox logo on his cap with an Orioles logo. Flipping to the back, the three cartoons celebrate his success as a reliever, his best pitch - the sinker, and his role as the Orioles' top "reliefer" in 1955. Topps shaves a year off his birth date too, as Dorish was actually born in 1921.
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1951 Bowman #266
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4): 1952-1954, 1956
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #110
23 - Dorish non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/11/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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