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Clement Walter Labine
Brooklyn Dodgers
Pitcher
Born: August 6, 1926, Lincoln, RI
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers 1950-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1960; Detroit Tigers 1960; Pittsburgh Pirates 1960-1961; New York Mets 1962
Died: March 2, 2007, Vero Beach, FL (age 80)
Clem Labine was a two-time All-Star and a three-time World Series Champion, best known for his 11 seasons as one of the Dodgers' best firemen. Labine was a key member of the Dodgers' bullpen throughout the 1950s, leading the league with 60 appearances the year the Dodgers won their only title in Brooklyn in 1955. Labine was 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA and a save in four World Series games against the Yankees in 1955, and although the Dodgers lost their repeat bid in 1956 against the Yankees, he was even better than the year before, throwing 12 scoreless innings. Although not an official statistic at the time, Labine has been retroactively credited with leading the league with 19 saves in 1956, and 17 saves in 1957. Those were also his two All-Star seasons.
Labine moved with the Dodgers to Los Angeles, pitching in 2 1/2 seasons on the West Coast, and winning another ring with the Dodgers in 1959. Moving to Pittsburgh in 1960, Labine would win one more World Series ring with the Pirates, and he retired after appearing in three games for the expansion Mets in 1962. At the time of his retirement, Labine's 94 career saves ranked fourth all-time, and he was the Dodgers' franchise leader in saves and games pitched with 425. Overall, Labine was 77-56 with a 3.63 ERA in 513 games and 1,079 2/3 innings pitched.
Building the SetAugust 13, 1989 in Bridgeton, NJ - Card #83
We went nuts at the Bridgeton Baseball Card Show in August 1989, buying 12 different cards for our 1956 Topps set, all at $1.50 a piece. That's an impressive haul for $18!
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I have no other information on the location of this show, other than it was held in the nearby city of Bridgeton, New Jersey. What I do have however is the checklist I brought with us to the show. I believe this is the second full checklist we carried around, having retired the prior version I created in 1988 and posted with the William Harridge (#1) card.
Just looking at this checklist brings back fond memories of finding the cards, deciding to make a purchase, negotiating a price and then finding a flat surface so that we could cross off the newest additions.
The Card / Dodgers Team Set
I spent a little bit of time trying to figure out the company advertisements behind Labine as the pitcher poses in Ebbetts Field, and I came up empty. Labine was in both the 1954 and 1955 Topps sets, and the main photo here is re-used from his 1955 Topps card. The cartoon panels on the back of the card highlight his 1955 World Series appearances and his low breaking curve. He's also referred to as a "reliefer."
Topps reprinted the card in its 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set.
1956 Season
Labine enjoyed an All-Star season for the National League Champions, going 10-6 with a 3.35 ERA in 62 games pitched. He recorded 19 saves to lead the league, and struck out 75 in 115 2/3 innings pitched. Labine pitched the biggest and perhaps best game of his career in Game 6 of the 1956 World Series. With the Yankees holding a 3-2 series lead following Don Larsen's (#332) perfect game in Game 5, manager Walter Alston (#8) named reliever Labine as his starting pitcher for Game 6. Labine threw 10 scoreless innings, out dueling Yankees' starter Bob Turley (#40). The Dodgers won the game in the bottom of the 10th, forcing a Game 7, when Jim Gilliam (#280) walked and came around to score on Jackie Robinson's (#30) RBI single.
1956 Season
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First Mainstream Card: 1952 Topps #342
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10): 1952-1961
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2006 Topps Heritage Then and Now #TN10
95 - Labine non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/16/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
The Trading Card Database
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Order Collected: #285 Eddie Miksis - Chicago Cubs / #296 Andy Seminick - Philadelphia Phillies
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