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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
October 10, 1998 in Winston-Salem, NC - Card #164
In what had to have been a post-birthday purchase, I spent $52 in the Season Ticket baseball card store in Winston-Salem for 10 1956 Topps cards. This Athletics team card cost me $10, and was the priciest of the bunch along with the Braves team card (#95) which was also $10. I say it had to have been a post-birthday purchase as I didn't have a lot of disposable income back then, but I made sure that any birthday money from my parents went towards something fun and not towards something practical. Looking back at pictures from this period, I was in town for a wedding for a good friend of mine.
October 10, 1998 in Winston-Salem, NC - Card #164
In what had to have been a post-birthday purchase, I spent $52 in the Season Ticket baseball card store in Winston-Salem for 10 1956 Topps cards. This Athletics team card cost me $10, and was the priciest of the bunch along with the Braves team card (#95) which was also $10. I say it had to have been a post-birthday purchase as I didn't have a lot of disposable income back then, but I made sure that any birthday money from my parents went towards something fun and not towards something practical. Looking back at pictures from this period, I was in town for a wedding for a good friend of mine.
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| October 12, 1998 - With my friends John and Heather |
And I loved it in there. I took my Dad a few times when my parents visited me, and he couldn't wait to get out of the store and back into some fresh air.
The Card / Athletics Team Set
The back of the card states the Athletics kept their nickname when they moved to Kansas City due to the team's "rich tradition." There were definitely some lean years for the team while in Philadelphia, but they did win five World Series titles. Given accolades on the back are manager Connie Mack (1901-1950), along with stars Rube Waddell (1902-1907), Chief Bender (1903-1914), Al Simmons (1924-1932, 1940-1941, 1944), Jimmie Foxx (1925-1935), Mickey Cochrane (1925-1933) and Lefty Grove (1925-1933). The Athletics would play only 13 seasons in Kansas City before moving to Oakland in 1968. With the Athletics' lease expiring for Oakland Coliseum after the 2024 season, the team might be on the move again soon to a possible fourth home.
1956 Season
In their second year in Kansas City since relocating from Philadelphia, the Athletics lost 102 games, finishing 45 games behind the Yankees in the American League standings. Their best position player was probably third baseman Hector Lopez, who batted .273 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs. Right fielder Harry Simpson was the best power hitter with a team-leading 21 home runs and 105 RBIs.
Athletics Cards That Never Were
There are some easy choices here and if I were put in charge of a fifth series for the set, listed below are the additional Athletics cards I'd include.
The Card / Athletics Team Set
This is the penultimate team card in the set, with just the highly desirable Yankees team card (#251) to go. Topps didn't hold back any team cards for the fourth and final series. Listed below are the players, coaches, and club personnel featured on the card. The photo was taken at some point after May 31, 1955, as that's the day the team had signed Clete Boyer as an amateur free agent. As a bonus baby, Boyer had to stay on the Athletics team, where he joined his brother Cloyd, also in the team photo. The Boyer's are one of two sets of brothers in the team photo, joining brothers Bobby and Billy Shantz. Interestingly enough, Hall of Famer Burleigh Grimes isn't in the team photo, even though Grimes was one of four Athletics coaches in 1955. He'd leave the coaching staff and become an Athletics scout in 1956.
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The back of the card states the Athletics kept their nickname when they moved to Kansas City due to the team's "rich tradition." There were definitely some lean years for the team while in Philadelphia, but they did win five World Series titles. Given accolades on the back are manager Connie Mack (1901-1950), along with stars Rube Waddell (1902-1907), Chief Bender (1903-1914), Al Simmons (1924-1932, 1940-1941, 1944), Jimmie Foxx (1925-1935), Mickey Cochrane (1925-1933) and Lefty Grove (1925-1933). The Athletics would play only 13 seasons in Kansas City before moving to Oakland in 1968. With the Athletics' lease expiring for Oakland Coliseum after the 2024 season, the team might be on the move again soon to a possible fourth home.
Here are the updated statistical categories through the 2022 season, adding the four additional World Championships the Athletics have won since moving to Oakland.
Most Home Runs - 257 in 2019
Most Stolen Bases - 341 in 1976
Additional Pennant Winning Teams - 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2020
Additional Championship Teams - 1972, 1973, 1974, 1989
Additional Championship Teams - 1972, 1973, 1974, 1989
1956 Season
In their second year in Kansas City since relocating from Philadelphia, the Athletics lost 102 games, finishing 45 games behind the Yankees in the American League standings. Their best position player was probably third baseman Hector Lopez, who batted .273 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs. Right fielder Harry Simpson was the best power hitter with a team-leading 21 home runs and 105 RBIs.
Art Ditmar went 12-22 with a 4.42 ERA in 44 games, including 34 starts. Pitcher Wally Burnette had the top bWar on the club with a 2.6 mark, and he was 6-8 with a 2.89 ERA in just 18 games. Bobby Shantz, the 1952 American League MVP, led the team with nine saves.
There are some easy choices here and if I were put in charge of a fifth series for the set, listed below are the additional Athletics cards I'd include.
- Lou Boudreau (manager) - Hall of Famer Boudreau had won a World Series with the Indians in 1948, and his managing career was on its downside by the time he took over the Athletics when they moved to Kansas City. He'd be out as manager before the 1957 season ended.
- Tim Thompson (c) - The most regularly used catcher for the team, Thompson would appear in the 1957 Topps set.
- Al Pilarcik (cf) - As would Pilarcik, the Athletics' regular center fielder.
- Lou Skizas (of) - Skizas made it into 83 games, batting .316 with 11 home runs.
- Clete Boyer (2b) - At just 19 years old, the future Yankee would appear in 67 games with the Athletics.
- Wally Burnette (rhp) - The MVP of the club (?), Burnette's rookie card would also appear in the 1957 Topps set.
- Tommy Lasorda (lhp) - Lasorda was sold to the Athletics by the Dodgers on March 2, 1956, and he'd pitch in 18 games for Kansas City during his brief exile from the Dodgers' organization. Bob Lemke created a Lasorda card in the style of the 1956 Topps set back in 2012, shown above.
Sources
Baseball ReferencePrevious Card / Next Card
Order Collected: #183 Stan Lopata - Philadelphia Phillies / #35 Al Rosen - Cleveland Indians
I still need to add this card to my A's collection at some point. This post includes some really cool trivia that I didn't know about. Had no idea Grimes was a coach or scout for the team... or that Lasorda once pitched for them.
ReplyDeleteGrimes was news to me. It's been interesting seeing which stars from the 1930s and 1940s show up as coaches on these team cards. And I didn't know about Lasorda pitching for the A's until Bob Lemke posted the card a decade-plus ago.
ReplyDelete