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Thomas Joseph Byrne
New York Yankees
Pitcher
Born: December 31, 1919, Baltimore, MD
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1940 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1943, 1946-1951; St. Louis Browns 1951-1952; Chicago White Sox 1953; Washington Senators 1953; New York Yankees 1954-1957
Died: December 20, 2007, Wake Forest, NC (age 87)
An alumni of Wake Forest College, Tommy Byrne had his 13-year big league career interrupted by World War II when he spent two years serving in the U.S. Navy. Known for his wildness, Byrne was still an effective pitcher although he led the league in hit batters five times and in walks three times. Byrne was a starting pitcher until the end of his career, winning at least 15 games three times as a member of the Yankees. He was 15-7 in 1949, and 15-9 in 1950, pitching a career-high 203 1/3 innings and making the American League All-Star team. He was a member of four Yankees teams to win World Series Championships in 1943, 1949, 1950 and 1956, although he only appeared in two of those four winning series. Byrne was the last pitcher used by the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1957 World Series, as his team was shutout by the Braves' Lew Burdette (#219). That would be the final big league action of Byrne's career, as he retired following the series loss.
Byrne was 85-69 for his career with a 4.11 ERA. In 1,362 innings pitched he struck out 766 and allowed 1,037 walks. He was also a decent hitter, batting .238 lifetime with 26 doubles, 14 home runs and 98 RBIs. He returned to Wake Forest University following his playing days to complete his college career, and was later mayor of Wake Forest, North Carolina between 1973 and 1987.
Building the Set
June 20, 1992 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #109
This is the 11th and final card my Dad and I bought in June 1992 at the Ocean City baseball card show held on the boardwalk at the Music Pier. We paid $60 for the lot of 11 cards, which at the time was most likely a steal. Chronologically, I have this listed as the 109th card we added to the set. Like the other cards in this lot, this card is gorgeous with four sharp corners. I'd love to get into my time machine and buy whatever other 1956 Topps cards this dealer had for sale as they're some of the finest cards in our set.
It would seem as if we paid the full admission price of $6 as we didn't relinquish the postcard below to receive $0.50 off. I still have a collection of these postcards and flyers dating back to the early 1980s from the various Ocean City baseball card shows. My Dad wasn't much of a night owl, which explains why we wouldn't have waited around for an autograph from Del Ennis (#220) the Saturday of this show. It's a shame too. Ennis was one of my Dad's favorite players and it would have been an amazing keepsake if I had somehow gotten a picture of the two of them together.
June 20, 1992 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #109
This is the 11th and final card my Dad and I bought in June 1992 at the Ocean City baseball card show held on the boardwalk at the Music Pier. We paid $60 for the lot of 11 cards, which at the time was most likely a steal. Chronologically, I have this listed as the 109th card we added to the set. Like the other cards in this lot, this card is gorgeous with four sharp corners. I'd love to get into my time machine and buy whatever other 1956 Topps cards this dealer had for sale as they're some of the finest cards in our set.
It would seem as if we paid the full admission price of $6 as we didn't relinquish the postcard below to receive $0.50 off. I still have a collection of these postcards and flyers dating back to the early 1980s from the various Ocean City baseball card shows. My Dad wasn't much of a night owl, which explains why we wouldn't have waited around for an autograph from Del Ennis (#220) the Saturday of this show. It's a shame too. Ennis was one of my Dad's favorite players and it would have been an amazing keepsake if I had somehow gotten a picture of the two of them together.
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The Card / Yankees Team Set
Like a lot of the cards in this set's third series, Byrne was absent from Topps sets the prior two years and this is first Topps card since appearing in the 1953 set. The first cartoon panel on the back of the card mentions Byrne's return to the big leagues in 1955. He had appeared in just 12 games in 1953 and five games in 1954, spending most of those years in the minor leagues. I had to read the final panel a few times before understanding it. Byrne threw two three-hitters and five four-hitters in 1955, which is a strange statistic to highlight.
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1951 Bowman #73
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5): 1951-1953, 1956-1957
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2006 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-TB
35 - Byrne non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/12/22.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
The Trading Card Database
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Order Collected: #173 Johnny Podres - Brooklyn Dodgers / #30 Jackie Robinson - Brooklyn Dodgers
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