#270 Billy Loes - Brooklyn Dodgers

William Loes
Brooklyn Dodgers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  165
Born:  December 13, 1929, Long Island City, NY
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1948 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1950, 1952-1956; Baltimore Orioles 1956-1959; San Francisco Giants 1960-1961

Died:  July 15, 2010, Tucson, AZ (age 80)

Known for his oddball and sometimes zany comments to the press, Billy Loes pitched for 11 seasons in the majors, winning a World Series ring with the Dodgers in 1955.  After 10 games in 1950 and missing all of 1951 while in the military, Loes stuck with the Dodgers in 1952 as a 22-year-old swingman.  He'd go 13-8 with a 2.69 that season for Brooklyn in what may have been his best year.  On the eve of the World Series against the Yankees, he made headlines by predicting the Yankees would likely win in seven games.  Helping to prove his prediction, Loes was the losing pitcher in Game 6.  In that game, the Yankees scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning on a ground ball that hit off Loes' leg.  He told reporters afterward he had lost the ground ball in the sun.

Loes also proclaimed he'd never want to be a 20-game winner, "because then I'd be expected to do it every year."  He'd win at least 10 games in five different seasons, including a career-high 14 in 1954.  To add to his persona, Loes was incredibly superstitious, waiting to go to the mound only after the opposing base coaches were in position, and going periods of time without uttering a word to anyone during mound visits.  Sold to the Orioles in May 1956, Loes made the All-Star team in 1957 and was 12-7 with a 3.24 ERA for Baltimore in 1957.  He'd pitch through the 1961 season with the Orioles and Giants, primarily as a reliever, before retiring from the game.  In 316 major league games, Loes was 80-63 with a 3.89 ERA and he recorded 645 strikeouts over 1,190 1/3 innings pitched.

Building the Set

December 25, 2006 from Mays Landing, NJ - Card #286
I was officially given this card on Christmas Day in 2006, but my Dad had purchased it several weeks (months?) earlier at a baseball card show held at the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing, New Jersey.

This was one of nine cards I received that Christmas from my Dad, and he spent a total of $210 on all nine cards with the Hank Aaron (#31) card being the big ticket item at $150.  Like all his purchases, he was extremely proud of this card's condition and I'm sure there was a negotiation story that went along with the acquisition.

Our first son Doug was born a few weeks before Christmas that year and we brought him home just in time for the big day.  He obviously doesn't remember much from his first Christmas, but he spent the holidays being held and loved by his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  One of the great joys of my life was seeing how proud my Dad was to have a grandson.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set
Loes was exclusive with Bowman in 1954 and 1955, returning to Topps in 1956.  In the action photo, his uniform #30 can be seen, and that was the number he wore with Brooklyn between 1952 and 1956.  Behind Loes, several other Dodgers players can be seen warming up, along with some potential autograph seekers lined up in the Ebbets Field box seats.  The cartoons on the back cover his arm injury in 1955, his signing out of high school and his pitch repertoire.  The card was reprinted as part of the 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set.

1956 Season

Loes spent spring training battling shoulder pain, which at one point got so bad he threatened to quit baseball.  He made just one start with the Dodgers on April 29th, lasting 1 1/3 innings and giving up six runs on five hits to the Pirates.  On May 14th, the Orioles acquired him as a waiver claim, paying the Dodgers $20,000.  Loes pitched in 21 games for the Orioles, making six starts, and was 2-7 with a 4.76 ERA in 56 2/3 innings pitched.  He thew a complete game on June 30th against the Red Sox, and also notched three saves.

1952 Topps #20

1953 Topps #174

1954 Bowman #42

1957 Topps #244

1961 Topps #237

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Topps #20
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1952-1953, 1956-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers #160

44 - Loes non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/21/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #269 Jack Meyer - Philadelphia Phillies / #271 Foster Castleman - New York Giants

Order Collected: #241 Don Mueller - New York Giants / #103 Willie Miranda - Baltimore Orioles