Saturday, February 25, 2023

#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
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