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John Sherman Lollar
Chicago White Sox
Catcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'1" Weight: 185Born: August 23, 1924, Durham, AR
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1943 season
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1946; New York Yankees 1947-1948; St. Louis Browns 1949-1951; Chicago White Sox 1952-1963
Died: September 24, 1977, Springfield, MO (age 53)
Sherm Lollar was seemingly a man without a home the first six years of his career, appearing with the Indians, Yankees and Browns, but then he settled in with the White Sox in 1952, playing the next 12 seasons as an All-Star and Gold Glove catcher for the club. Often overshadowed by Yogi Berra (#110), Lollar was nevertheless one of the best catchers of his era. Both Lollar and Berra competed for the Yankees' catching job in 1947, with Lollar getting frequent playing time as a September call-up and going 3 for 4 in the World Series as the team's starting catcher in Games 3 and 6. An All-Star for the first time with the Browns in 1950, he was part of an eight-player trade with the White Sox in November 1951. With his new club, Lollar assumed regular catching duties and would go on to be an eight-time All-Star. Known primarily for his defense, he was also a steady hitter, with his offensive output hurt by the unfavorably deep dimensions of Comiskey Park. Lollar had at least 40 RBIs in seven different seasons with the White Sox, with his career high of 84 coming in both 1958 and 1959. He won Gold Gloves in 1957, 1958 and 1959.
1959 was to be a banner year for the Go Go Sox, as they advanced to the World Series for the first time since the Black Sox scandal of 1919. Lollar was a key member of that club along with future Hall of Famers Nellie Fox (#118), Luis Aparicio (#292) and Early Wynn (#187), with Lollar leading the club with a career-best 22 home runs. For his career, Lollar batted .264 with 1,415 hits, 155 home runs and 808 RBIs. His 1,571 games behind the plate are currently 29th all-time, and his caught stealing percentage of 46.8% and fielding percentage of .992 are 61st and 65th all-time, respectively. Lollar would later coach for the Orioles and Athletics in the 1960s. He was chosen for the Chicago White Sox All-Century Team in September 2000.
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| January 19, 2003 - NFC Championship Game at The Vet |
January 18, 2003 in Plymouth Meeting, PA - Card #238
In January 2003, I added seven cards to our set, purchased at a baseball card show held inside the Plymouth Meeting Mall. I paid $45 for the seven cards, which included this pristine Lollar card. My Topps set building had stalled out somewhat in 2003 as I had switched over to become primarily a Phillies collector, and I was also spending my disposable income trying to put together the early Topps Heritage sets. This was the first of only 18 cards we added to our set in 2003, but we did cross the threshold of needing less than 100 cards to complete the set late in the year.
The Card / White Sox Team Set
Lollar is one of the few players to have appeared in both Bowman and Topps sets in 1954 and 1955. The action shot is interesting. It looks as if Lollar is sliding into third base in a game against the Orioles, with the photographer positioned behind the bag. But then why is the background dark? Was this taken during a night game or did Topps want to crop out something happening behind the play? On the back, the cartoon panels highlight his clutch hitting, his defense and his strong throwing arm.
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1950 Bowman #142
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13): 1951-1963
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #39
78 - Lollar non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/18/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
The Trading Card Database
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Order Collected: #176 Alex Kellner - Kansas City Athletics / #256 Tom Hurd - Boston Red Sox
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