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Charles Lenard Neal
Brooklyn Dodgers
Second Base
Born: January 30, 1931, Longview, TX
Signed: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1950 season
Major League Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers 1956-57; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-61; New York Mets 1962-63; Cincinnati Reds 1963
Died: November 18, 1996, Dallas, TX (age 65)
Charlie Neal's career year in 1959 corresponded with the Dodgers winning the National League pennant and ultimately the World Series. Making his debut in 1956, Neal served as a back-up second baseman to Jim Gilliam (#280) and started Game 3 of the 1956 World Series against the Yankees and Whitey Ford (#240). He became the club's regular shortstop in 1957, with future Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese (#260) making the move to third base. In 1958, and now playing in the Dodgers' new home in Los Angeles, Neal tied Gil Hodges (#145) for the team lead in home runs with 22. Neal and left fielder Wally Moon (#55) were the two top sluggers for the Dodgers in 1959. Neal became a World Series hero when he hit two home runs in Game 2 against the White Sox, with the Dodgers eventually won the series in six games. He batted .370 in that World Series, and for the regular season he batted .287 with a league-leading 11 triples, 19 home runs and 83 RBIs. Neal won his only Gold Glove following the 1959 season, and he'd also be named to three All-Star teams between 1959 and 1960.
Dealt to the Mets for their inaugural season, Neal was the opening day second baseman for Casey Stengel's expansion team. He'd bat .260 for the 120-loss Mets in his last full year as a regular. He'd play one more season in 1963 with the Mets and Reds before retiring. Neal batted .259 in 970 big league games, collecting 858 hits, 87 home runs and 391 RBIs.
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| January 28, 2006 - Celebrating Dad's 62nd birthday |
December 3, 2005 in Ft. Washington, PA - Card #275
This was a relatively late edition to our set and one of eight cards we purchased at the 93rd Philadelphia Sports Card Show held at the convention center in Ft. Washington. My notes say we purchased this Neal card for a little over $7. 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 or the occasional mall baseball card show.
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. 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.
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.
The Card / Dodgers Team Set
Bowman beat Topps with Neal's rookie card appearing in their 1955 set. Topps reprinted this card in their 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set. The action shot on the front looks to be a spring training sliding drill, as the player tagging out Neal is also wearing a Dodgers' hat. The cartoons on the back of the card summarize Neal taking on the second base job in 1956 and his speed on the basepaths. He'd steal a career-high 17 bases in 1959, and had 48 stolen bases for his career.
1956 Season
Given the start at second base in Game 3 of the World Series, Neal went 0 for 4 and made an error, leading to an unearned run. It would be his only postseason action until he redeemed himself in the 1959 World Series.
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Bowman #278
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (9): 1956-64
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers #163
74 - Neal non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/13/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
The Trading Card Database
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Order Collected: #195 George Kell - Chicago White Sox / #303 Jim Dyck - Baltimore Orioles
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