#240 "Whitey" Ford - New York Yankees

Edward Charles Ford
New York Yankees
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  178
Born:  October 21, 1928, New York, NY
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1950, 1953-1967

Hall of Fame Induction:  1974

Died:  October 8, 2020, Lake Success, NY (age 91)

A mainstay at the top of the Yankees' pitching rotation throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Whitey Ford, the Chairman of the Board, helped lead his team to six World Series titles in 11 World Series appearances.  He was the MVP of the 1961 World Series when he won Games 1 and 4, pitching a complete game shutout in Game 1 while holding the Reds to two hits.  He won the Cy Young Award that same season after going 25-4 with a 3.21 ERA.  Ford was a 10-time All-Star and led the league in ERA twice in 1956 (2.47) and 1958 (2.01).

One of the greatest left-handed pitchers in the history of the game, Ford retired in May 1967 with 236 wins, a career 2.75 ERA and 1,956 strikeouts.  He is the Yankees franchise leader in wins, shutouts (45), innings pitched (3,170 1/3) and games started by a pitcher (438, tied with Andy Pettitte).  His 11 World Series appearances allowed him to set several World Series records, including consecutive scoreless innings (33 2/3), wins (10), games started (22), innings pitched (146) and strikeouts (94).  He briefly served as a coach with the Yankees in 1964, 1968 and again for two more seasons in 1974 to 1975.  His #16 was retired in 1974, the same year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #329
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.

Doug and Dad on Christmas Eve, 2007

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.  Among the "big" cards in that final haul were the cards of Roberto Clemente (#33), Monte Irvin (#194), this Ford card, Pee Wee Reese (#260) and the Checklist covering Series 1 and 3.  

The Card / Yankees Team Set
Ford is a little beat up here, with a few soft corners and there are crease marks running across the front surface of the card if you look closely at it under a light.  But I don't care.  I like to think of my Dad spending the latter part of 2007 scouring eBay, tracking auctions, and happily crossing off one of the Final 29 whenever he'd come out a winner.  

The cartoon panels on the back are all dedicated to his stellar 1955 season.  Unless I missed it during my review of Ford's many, many baseball cards, this card has never been reprinted by Topps.

1956 Season

In one of the best seasons of his career, Ford was 19-6 with a league-leading 2.47 ERA, throwing 18 complete games and a pair of shutouts.  Ford's 18 complete games are even more impressive once you realize he made only 30 starts.  He was named to his third straight All-Star Game, and he allowed a two-run home run to Willie Mays (#130) in the game's fourth inning.  The staff ace for the Yankees, he started Games 1 and 3 of the World Series against the Dodgers, losing Game 1, but throwing a complete game victory in Game 3.  Ford was warming up in the bullpen in Game 5, in case starting pitcher Don Larsen (#332) needed to be relieved, but Larsen ended up pitching a perfect game.  Ford finished tied for third in the year's Cy Young voting with Warren Spahn (#10) and behind winner Don Newcombe (#235) and runner-up Sal Maglie.

1951 Bowman #1

1953 Topps #207

1961 Topps #160

1962 Topps #315

1967 Topps #5

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #1
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14):  1953-1954, 1956-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Archives #217

1,526 - Ford non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/25/23.

Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #239 Harry Simpson - Kansas City Athletics / #241 Don Mueller - New York Giants

Order Collected: #219  Lew Burdette - Milwaukee Braves / #248 Bob Porterfield - Boston Red Sox

#239 Harry Simpson - Kansas City Athletics

Harry Leon Simpson
Kansas City Athletics
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  December 3, 1925, Atlanta, GA
Signed:  Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Stars 1946-1948; Cleveland Indians 1951-1953, 1955; Kansas City Athletics 1955-1957; New York Yankees 1957-1958; Kansas City Athletics 1958-1959; Chicago White Sox 1959; Pittsburgh Pirates 1959

Died:  April 3, 1979, Akron, OH (age 53)

Harry Simpson began his professional baseball career with the Philadelphia Stars in the Negro National League, playing three seasons between 1946 and 1948.  The Indians signed him before the 1949 season and he was one of the earliest black players in the American League when he made his debut in April 1951.  Simpson appeared in a career-high 146 games for the Indians in 1952 as their regular right fielder, batting .266 with 10 home runs and 65 RBIs.  He was sold to the Athletics in May 1955 and he'd enjoy the best stretch of his career between 1956 and 1958.  In 1956, Simpson would experience his best professional season, making his only All-Star Team on the strength of his first half with the Athletics.  He'd lead the league with 11 triples while batting .293 with 21 home runs and 105 RBIs - both career bests.  In June 1957, Simpson would depart Kansas City and move to New York in the deal that exiled Billy Martin (#181), Ralph Terry and a few other players from the Yankees following a nightclub brawl.  With the Yankees, Simpson couldn't recapture his success from 1956 and he was traded back to the Athletics exactly a year later in June 1958.

Simpson played for three different teams in 1959, his final year in the major leagues.  He'd continue to play in the White Sox minor league system, then in Mexico, through the 1964 season, retiring at the age of 38.  In nine seasons in the majors, Simpson appeared in 888 games, batting .266 with 101 doubles, 41 triples, 73 home runs and 381 RBIs.

Building the Set
September 25, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #267
This was a late edition to our set and one of 11 cards we purchased at the 92nd Philadelphia Sports Card Show held at the convention center in Ft. Washington.  My records show we paid $4 for this card. With the Ocean City baseball card shows long gone by now, our only options for local baseball card shows were the "Philly Shows" held in Ft. Washington at the time or the occasional mall baseball card show.

August 14, 2005 - Dad and me at Yankee Stadium

My Dad didn't like the drive to Ft. Washington, and this would have been one of only a few shows we attended together in this location.  Our next show together was a few months later in December, also in Ft. Washington.  Looking at my records of when and where we purchased our cards, a full year would go by before we'd add any more cards to the set after that December show.

The year-long hiatus in collecting the set came at a time my wife and I were expecting our first son and as we moved into our first real house, so we had a pretty good excuse not to be purchasing baseball cards at the time.

The Card / Athletics Team Set
I'm immediately drawn to the action photo here, as it shows Simpson in his follow-through after connecting with the ball in a game that could be in Yankee Stadium with Yogi Berra (#110) making yet another cameo appearance.  A lot of the "action" shots in the 1956 Topps set are posed, or feature game action on the base paths where the outcome is hard to discern.  This is one of more dynamic action photos in the set with batter, catcher, umpire and a sea of fans in the background.  If that is in fact Berra, it would mark his ninth cameo, so far, in the set.  He's potentially on the cards of Bob Kennedy (#38), Sandy Amoros (#42), Roy Campanella (#101), Jim Piersall (#143), Clint Courtney (#159), Billy Pierce (#160), Sammy White (#168) and Carl Furillo (#190).  I'll need to put together a gallery of Berra cameo cards once I've reached the end of the set.

This marks Simpson's return to baseball cards, as he wasn't in any 1954 or 1955 mainstream sets.  He spent all of 1954 in the minor leagues and was omitted from both Bowman and Topps sets in 1955, despite  playing in 112 games for the Athletics.

1956 Season

As mentioned above, this was Simpson's career year.  He was the regular right fielder for the Athletics, on their way to a 102 loss season and guided by manager Lou Boudreau.  In the All-Star Game, Simpson pinch-hit for pitcher Pierce in the third inning, striking out against Pirates' pitcher Bob Friend (#221).

1952 Topps #193

1953 Topps #150

1957 Topps #225

1958 Topps #299

1960 Topps #180

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Bowman #223
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1952-1953, 1956-1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #150

34 - Simpson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/18/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #238 Walt Dropo - Chicago White Sox / #240 "Whitey" Ford - New York Yankees

Order Collected: #228 "Mickey" Vernon - Boston Red Sox / #267 Bob Nieman - Chicago White Sox

#238 Walt Dropo - Chicago White Sox

Walter Dropo
Chicago White Sox
First Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'5"  Weight:  220
Born:  January 30, 1923, Moosup, CT
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1949-1952; Detroit Tigers 1952-1954; Chicago White Sox 1955-1958; Cincinnati Reds 1958-1959; Baltimore Orioles 1959-1961

Died:  December 17, 2010, Peabody, MA (age 87)

A three-sport star at the University of Connecticut, Walt Dropo was drafted by professional basketball and football teams, but turned down those offers to sign with the Red Sox in 1947.  He enjoyed a career-year in his rookie season of 1950, batting .322, hitting 34 home runs and leading the league with 144 RBIs on his way to winning Rookie of the Year honors.  He was also the starting first baseman in the All-Star Game that season, going 1 for 3 for the American League team with a triple off Don Newcombe (#235).  Dropo suffered a broken wrist in 1951, never recapturing the success of his rookie season, but still produced several solid years primarily with the Tigers and White Sox.  Dealt to Detroit on June 3, 1952, he collected 12 consecutive hits between July 14th and July 15th to tie the current major league record.

Over his 13-year big league career, Dropo batted .270 with 152 home runs and 704 RBIs.

Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #29
This Dropo card was one of the Original 44 and the last time I told the full story of the Original 44 was over a year ago within the Early Wynn (#187) post, so I'll repeat it again here.

June 1983 - Ocean City Baseball Card Show

Technically speaking, my Dad and I actually began collecting the set in the summer of 1987, but this card (along with the other Original 44) first entered my collection three or four years before that.

I think it was either the summer of 1983 or 1984 when a shoebox of vintage baseball cards, football cards and a few non-sports cards arrived into my world.  The box contained about a hundred cards dating between 1950 and 1956, and for the most part, they were all in excellent shape.  A friend of the family was in the process of cleaning up and moving into her new house when she found the old shoebox and she wondered if the only kid she knew who collected baseball cards (me) would be interested in looking through it – maybe even taking the box off her hands.

She dropped the box off to my parents and asked them to have me look through the box and take what I was interested in. Turns out, I was interested in everything.  Up to that point, the oldest cards in my collection were cards from the early '70s I had obtained through trades or cards that my Dad had picked up for me at yard sales or small baseball card shows.  (My Dad had given me a few dog-earred and rough Topps cards – Juan Pizzaro and Jim Busby – a few years prior, and I completely forget how or why he had purchased these cards for me.)

My parents asked me to pick out a few cards from the box, and then we’d return the rest to the family friend.  Problem was, I wanted them all.  I really wanted them all.  I diligently and meticulously went through one of my price guides and determined the “value” of the treasure chest. I probably used my Sport Americana Baseball Card Price Guide No. 4, edited by Dr. James Beckett, and I had no way to value the football or non-sports cards.  My memory is fuzzy, and I can't find the original tally, but I think I came up with the box being worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 to $400, which I knew my parents definitely did not have in their discretionary spending budget.  But they could tell how much I wanted those cards, as I lovingly studied each and every one and handled each as if it were some long-lost artifact.

I don’t know the exact details, but I believe my Dad went back to the friend and told her we’d take the whole box, but only if she let him give her some money for it.  I believe she was genuinely shocked that the box of old cardboard pictures had some value, and that someone was willing to give her cash for it.  My Dad shared the list I had created showing the “book value” of the cards and he mentioned how it was going to be close to impossible to get me to pick and choose which ones I wanted.  When all was said and done, the family friend, who had absolutely no intention of making money on this endeavor, walked away with (I think) something in the neighborhood of $100 for the whole lot.

Within the spoils were 44 cards from the 1956 Topps set – by far the most cards from any one set.  I studied them, I sorted them, and I pretty much memorized every detail of those 44 cards.  

And so a few years later, in the summer of 1987 while on a family vacation, I was giddy with excitement when we came across a few ’56 Topps cards in the Walker Gallery on the main drag in Cooperstown, New York.  My Dad and I studied the cards for sale and he casually asked me the question, “Why don’t we try to put together the whole set?” We bought four cards that day for $9.25.  Those cards, along with the 44 from the magic shoebox, became the basis for our 1956 Topps set.

The Card / White Sox Team Set
I clearly remember annoying my Dad with the pronunciation of Dropo's name when we acquired this card, and for many years afterwards.  I thought his last name was pronounced Drop-o, with my Dad having to consistently remind me it was DRO-po, with a long O.  I missed by a little over a week of posting this on what would have been Dropo's 100th birthday.  (Baseball Reference lists him as being born in 1923, while the back of this Topps card shows 1924.)

This is his return to Topps after a one-year absence, having appeared in just the 1955 Bowman set.  The back of the card celebrates his rookie season in 1950 and his 12 consecutive hits during the 1952 season.  The big six-man deal referenced in the middle panel happened on December 6, 1954, with Dropo, Ted Gray and Bob Nieman (#267) going to Chicago in exchange for Leo Cristante, Ferris Fain and Jack Phillips.  The deal sending Dropo from the the Red Sox to the Tigers in 1952 involved nine players.

1956 Season

In his second year with the White Sox, Dropo was the club's opening day first baseman, starting 91 games overall at the position throughout the season.  In 125 games, he batted .266 with eight home runs and 52 RBIs.

1950 Bowman #246

1952 Topps #235

1954 Topps #18

1959 Topps #158

1961 Topps #489

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1950 Bowman #246
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9):  1952-1954, 1956-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2010 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-WD

53 - Dropo non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/11/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #237 Jose Valdivielso - Washington Nationals / #239 Harry Simpson - Kansas City Athletics

Order Collected: #231 Bob Hale - Baltimore Orioles / #247 Bill Sarni - St. Louis Cardinals

#237 Jose Valdivielso - Washington Nationals

Jose Valdivielso
Washington Nationals
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  175
Born:  May 22, 1934, Matanzas, Cuba
Acquired:  Sent from the Lubbock Hubbers (West Texas-New Mexico League) to the Washington Senators in an unknown transaction, before 1954 season
Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1955-1956, 1959-1960; Minnesota Twins 1961

Jose Valdivielso played 12 seasons professionally, including five seasons in the majors with the Senators/Twins organization.  Somewhat surprisingly, Valdivielso received MVP votes during his 1955 rookie season in which he batted .221 with a pair of home runs and 28 RBIs in 94 games.  Despite the limited playing time, he finished fourth in league with 22 errors.  He'd appear in 90 games with the Senators in 1956, and then spend the next two-plus seasons playing in the White Sox, Giants, Red Sox and Orioles systems, before returning to the Senators.  In 1960, in the team's last year in Washington, Valdivielso was the club's most frequently used shortstop, making 92 starts at the position but eventually yielding to prospect Zoilo Versalles.  Valdivielso would serve as the back-up to Versalles in 1961, the Minnesota Twins' inaugural year.  For three more seasons, Valdivielso would toil in the minor leagues before retiring in 1964.  In 401 major league games, he batted .219.

Building the Set
December 2, 2000 from Raleigh, NC - Card #218
I went nuts and bought 16 cards for our 1956 Topps set on this day at the Sports Card & NASCAR Collectibles Show in Raleigh.  My records show the 16 cards set me back $55 which I would have considered to be a small fortune back then.  I hadn't yet moved back north yet, so I was still living in Raleigh at this time planning for my eventual escape.  I would have provided my Dad with an updated checklist following this show as he was back in New Jersey.

The Card / Nationals Team Set
This is Valdivielso's rookie card and he'd appear in four more Topps flagship sets.  He's demonstrating his bunting form in the action photo, but he only accumulated 15 career sacrifice bunts.  Two of the cartoons on the back highlight his fielding prowess.  While Valdivielso was prone to errors, his Baseball Reference pages shows he was second and first respectively in 1955 and 1956 in range factor per nine innings among shortstops with marks of 5.40 and 5.49.  The middle cartoon panel is missing the letter A in "At" above Charlotte.

1956 Season

Except for a stint in the minor leagues between early May and late June, Valdivielso spent the entire season with the Senators.  He was their opening day shortstop, starting 78 games overall at the position.  Valdivielso appeared in 90 games, batting .236 with career highs in home runs (4) and RBIs (29).  In roughly a month with the Louisville Colonels, he batted .313 in 23 games.

1957 Topps #246

1960 Topps #527

1961 Topps #557

1962 Topps #339

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #237
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1956-1957, 1960-1962
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1962 Topps #339

14 - Valdivielso non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/2/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #236 Kansas City Athletics Team Card / #238 Walt Dropo - Chicago White Sox

Order Collected: #226 New York Giants Team Card / #258 Art Ditmar - Kansas City Athletics