#110 Yogi Berra - New York Yankees

Lawrence Peter Berra
New York Yankees
Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'7"  Weight:  185
Born:  May 12, 1925, St. Louis, MO
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1943 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1946-1963, New York Mets 1965
As a Manager:  New York Yankees 1964; New York Mets 1972-1975; New York Yankees 1984-1985
Hall of Fame Induction:  1972
Died:  September 22, 2015, West Caldwell, NJ (age 90)

1982 Donruss #387

One of the best, if not the best, catchers of his era, Yogi Berra was an All-Star every year between 1948 and 1962, won MVP honors in 1951, 1954 and 1955, and was a key component in bringing 10 World Championship titles to the Yankees.  Berra is one of the most recognizable and beloved baseball figures in history.

Signed by the Yankees in 1943, Berra didn't make his debut until 1946 as he was serving in the Navy during World War II.  He earned a Purple Heart taking part in the Normandy landings.  At the end of the war, Berra quickly established himself as one of the best power hitters and defensive catchers in the majors.  Over 19 seasons, he hit .285 with 2,150 hits, 358 home runs and 1,430 RBIs.  Upon his retirement, he held the records for most plate appearances (8,359), hits, home runs, runs (1,175) and RBIs among all catchers.

Following his playing days, Berra didn't stray far from baseball, keeping busy with both the Yankees and the Mets.  He briefly managed the Yankees in 1964 before moving to the Mets as a coach between 1965 and 1971, and then as manager between 1972 and 1975.  He returned to the Yankees as a coach between 1976 and 1983, and again as manager in 1984 and 1985.  His final coaching job came with the Astros between 1986 and 1989.  The Yankees retired Berra's #8 in 1972, the same year he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Berra and Johnny Bench were named as catchers on MLB's All-Century team in 1999.

The Donruss card above is the first card of Berra's I ever owned, and I remember thinking to myself when I pulled it from a pack back then, "Is this a real person?"

Building the Set
Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #9
One of the Original 44, I recently re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Ed Mathews (#107) post.  There were five current Hall of Famers in that original haul and I think the presence of those five pricier cards gave us the courage to begin collecting the entire set.  Along with Berra and Mathews, we added the cards of Willie Mays (#130), Early Wynn (#187) and Bob Lemon (#255).  In the years that followed, three more players were inducted into the Hall of Fame from our Original 44 - Hoyt Wilhelm (#307) in 1985, Red Schoendienst (#165) in 1989 and Larry Doby (#250) in 1998.

The Card
It appears as if the Indians baserunner is safe at home as Berra looks out towards the field at presumably the ongoing play.  On the back, the Topps' cartoonist did a terrific job capturing Berra's likeness for the first panel.  While not a true "Yogi-ism," the bubble having him say, "It's habit forming," is great too and captures Berra's infectious personality.  Berra was known for such popular quotes as "90 percent of baseball is mental, the other half is physical," and "It ain't over till it's over."

Berra signed reprints of this card for inclusion in the 2005 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.  The card was reprinted again for the 2012 Topps Archives Reprints insert set.

Yankees Team Set

1956 Season

Berra appeared in 140 games for the Yankees, making 134 starts behind the plate.  He hit .298 and his 30 home runs and 105 RBIs were second the team to Mickey Mantle (#135), who had 52 home runs and 130 RBIs in his MVP-winning season.  The Yankees once again faced off in the World Series against the Dodgers, winning in seven games.  Berra drove in 10 runs in the Series with a pair of home runs off the Dodgers' Don Newcombe (#235) in the decisive Game 7.  In Game 5, Berra caught Don Larsen's (#332) perfect game with Larsen saying afterwards he didn't once shake off any of the catcher's pitch selections during the historic game.

1948 Bowman #6

1952 Topps #191

1961 Topps #425

1974 Topps #179

1987 Topps #531

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1948 Bowman #6
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21):  1951-1965, 1973-1975, 1984-1985, 1987
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Diamond Kings #12

2,127 - Berra non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/28/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

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Set Order: #109 Enos Slaughter - Kansas City Athletics / #111 Boston Red Sox Team Card

Order Collected: #107 Ed Mathews - Milwaukee Braves / #126 Jim Brady - Detroit Tigers

#99 Don Zimmer - Brooklyn Dodgers

Donald William Zimmer
Brooklyn Dodgers
Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  165
Born:  January 17, 1931, Cincinnati, OH
Signed:  Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1954-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1959; Chicago Cubs 1960-1961; New York Mets 1962; Cincinnati Reds 1962; Los Angeles Dodgers 1963; Washington Senators 1963-1965
As a Manager:  San Diego Padres 1972-1973; Boston Red Sox 1976-1980; Texas Rangers 1981-1982; Chicago Cubs 1988-1991
Died:  June 4, 2014, Dunedin, FL (age 83)

1978 Topps #63

Before he was a successful big league manager and coach, Don Zimmer played 12 seasons and was an All-Star with the Cubs in 1961.  He enjoyed his best season with the Dodgers in 1958, attaining career highs in batting average (.262), home runs (17) and RBIs (60) as the team's everyday shortstop.  He won two World Series rings with the Dodgers in 1955 and 1959.  In 1953, he was hit in the head with a pitch thrown by Jim Kirk and was knocked unconscious for two weeks.  The incident led to the introduction of protective batting helmets.  He was briefly an original member of the expansion Mets in 1962 and he played part of a season in Japan in 1966 with the Toei Flyers.

His coaching career saw him spend time with the Expos (1971), Padres (1972), Red Sox (1974-1976, 1992), Yankees (1983, 1986, 1996-2003), Cubs (1984-1986), Giants (1987), Rockies (1993-1995) and Devil Rays/Rays (2004-2014).  As a manager, Zimmer had a lifetime record of 885-858.  His Red Sox teams won over 90 games in 1977, 1978 and 1979 and he led the Cubs to an N.L. East pennant in 1989.  He won the N.L. Manager of Year Award that year.  Zimmer spent 66 years in professional baseball, and the Rays, for whom he was coaching at the time of his death, retired his #66 in 2015 to celebrate that milestone and to pay tribute to their coach.

Building the Set
June 24, 1989 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #77
My Dad and I purchased this card at the Ocean City IX baseball card show held within the Ocean City Music Pier on the boardwalk.  I have in my notes that we paid $2.50 for this card, along with the cards of Jim Finigan (#22) and Nelson Burbrink (#27).  I would have just finished my freshman year of high school when we bought this card and I was in the middle of collecting the 1973 Topps set.

The windows would have been open inside the showroom floor, and the sounds and smells of the shore served as the background as I poured through binders or boxes of baseball cards.  Above the din of the collectors looking for bargains and dealers hawking their wares, you could hear the occasional sea gull or even the crashing of waves.  I miss those shows and I become more and more nostalgic about them every year.  A perfect day with my Dad would consist of walking among the dozens of tables of baseball cards, finding cards for our sets and taking a break with a birch beer and a slice from Mack & Manco's.

I keep the postcard featured here in my 1988-1989 Phillies baseball card binder.  There's a thumbtack hole in the top left corner, which means at one point it hung on the bulletin board in my bedroom.  The 9th Seashore Baseball Card & Sports Memorabilia Show featured two autograph signers for the weekend - Dick Sisler and Jim Bunning.  My Dad didn't like driving at night, which is why we wouldn't have stuck around for Bunning on Saturday.  I probably never realized we had missed our chance at meeting Sisler the night before, and the names Sisler and Bunning meant nowhere as much to me then as they do now.

The Card
That's a fantastic posed action shot showing Zimmer in mid-air about to make the throw to first.  The main photo is the same used for his 1955 Topps rookie card.  The back calls attention to his timely hitting, prowess as a defender at second base and his speed on the basepaths.  All things I wouldn't have imagined Zimmer had been capable of, knowing what I knew about the Cubs manager when we bought this card in 1989.

Zimmer and Jim Gilliam (#280) had a platoon in 1955 with the Dodgers at second base, with the right-handed batting Zimmer starting 62 games there and the switch-hitting Gilliam starting 91 games.  Zimmer also was the only back-up at shortstop needed for Pee Wee Reese (#260) as Reese started 142 games with Zimmer spelling him 12 times.

Dodgers Team Set

1956 Season

Zimmer only played in 17 games for the Dodgers, hitting .300 (6 for 20) with a pair of RBIs.  He had started the season serving as Reese's back-up at short, but he was hit by Hal Jeffcoat (#289) fastball on June 23rd, breaking his cheekbone and ending his season.

1955 Bowman #65

1959 Topps #287

1965 Topps #233

1982 Donruss #195

1991 Topps #729

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Bowman #65
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (22):  1955-1965, 1973-1974, 1977-1981, 1988-1991
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-DZ

Topps gave Zimmer a 1954 Topps inspired card in its 1994 Topps Archives release.  His 1956 Topps card was reprinted in the 1995 Topps Archives Brooklyn Dodgers set.

158 - Zimmer non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/29/20.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

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Set Order: #98 Camilo Pascual - Washington Nationals / #100 Baltimore Orioles Team Card

Order Collected: #27 Nelson Burbrink - St. Louis Cardinals / #72 Philadelphia Phillies Team Card

#77 Harvey Haddix - St. Louis Cardinals

Harvey Haddix
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  170
Born:  September 18, 1925, Medway, OH
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1952-1956; Philadelphia Phillies 1956-1957; Cincinnati Reds 1958; Pittsburgh Pirates 1959-1963; Baltimore Orioles 1964-1965
Died:  January 8, 1994, Springfield, OH (age 68)

1961 Topps #410

A three-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove winner, Harvey Haddix enjoyed a successful 14-year career in the big leagues, winning 136 games and a World Series ring with the 1960 Pirates.  His most famous feat was pitching a 12-inning perfect game against the Braves on May 26, 1959, a game he ultimately lost when the Braves scored an unearned run in the 13th inning.

Haddix was a 20-game winner in 1953, the first of his three years in a row to make the N.L. All-Star team.  That was his best season, as he went 20-9 with a 3.06 ERA, including 19 complete games and six shutouts.  He won at least 10 games in nine different seasons.  Given the nickname "Kitty" in part because of his fielding prowess on the mound, Haddix went the entire 1959 season without committing an error.  Some sources have him earning the nickname "The Kitten" due to his resemblance to Harry "The Cat" Brecheen (#229), while other sources note he had the nickname before ever becoming a teammate of Brecheen's.

In the 1960 World Series, Haddix started and won Game 5 and was the winning pitcher in Game 7 when Bill Mazeroski hit his game-winning home run against the Yankees' Ralph Terry.  Following his playing career, Haddix went on to coach for the Mets, Reds, Red Sox, Indians and Pirates.

Building the Set
December 11, 1996 from Winston-Salem, NC - Card #147

1982 Donruss #651

I was obsessed with the 1982 Donruss set when it came out.  I think it was a combination of the cards being much brighter than their 1982 Topps counterparts, more readily available than packs of 1982 Fleer and the addition of Diamond Kings cards.  The Babe Ruth puzzle didn't hurt either.  Cards of coaches were also a novelty to me, as I had never had any coach cards in my collection.  Haddix shows up in the 1982 Donruss set as a coach for the Pirates, and it struck me as odd to see someone who had to be at least 90 years old (a) in a baseball card set and (b) wearing the garish yellow jerseys of the Pirates, complete with black pillbox hat.  (Haddix was actually only 56 in 1981.)  Upon pulling the card from a pack, I assumed it had to be worth a small fortune.

I remember asking my Dad about Haddix and wanting to know more about the 12-inning perfect game he had thrown in 1959, only to have the Pirates ultimately lose the game.  My Dad had a vivid memory of that game and after he told me all about it, that 1982 Donruss card of an old coach became one of the most prized cards in my growing collection.

I have a vague memory of buying this card back in 1996 right before heading home from college for my winter break.  I paid $7 for the card from Tommy's Collectibles and I would have slipped it into my Dad's Christmas stocking as a Christmas present for "his collection."  When I could, I enjoyed tracking down cards of players that would have had some meaning to my Dad and me, and Haddix fit the bill.

The Card
It's strange to see an action shot of a pitcher as he appears to circle third, having lost his hat, and heading home.  Or is he beating out a play at first base?

Haddix had 1,575 career strikeouts, hitting the 150 strikeout plateau in five different seasons.  His fine 1953 season earned him second place in the N.L. Rookie of the Year voting behind the Dodgers' Jim Gilliam.  I believe this is the first appearance of a cartoon cat on the back of a 1956 Topps card.

1956 Season/Phillies Career
On May 11th, Haddix was traded with Ben Flowers and Stu Miller (#293) to the Phillies for Murry Dickson (#211) and Herm Wehmeier (#78).  Even though he originally didn't want to go to the Phillies, Haddix had a good season, compiling a record of 12-8 after tweaking his mechanics with the help of pitching coach Whit Wyatt.  He would have had 16 wins if not for four blown saves by the Phillies bullpen.  Following the season, and according to his SABR biography, manager Mayo Smith (#60) said the acquisition of Haddix had been the "year's most pleasant surprise."

Haddix was back in the Phillies starting rotation in 1957, appearing in 27 games and going 10-13 with a 4.06 ERA.  His inconsistency landed him in the bullpen for part of the season, but his best game came in July when he threw an 11-inning complete game shutout against the Cubs.  Haddix was dealt to the Reds following the 1957 season for outfielder Wally Post (#158).  In parts of two seasons with the Phillies, Haddix had a record of 22-21 over 58 games and a 3.74 ERA.

Haddix appears in the 1957 Topps set with the Phillies, and a few years back I modified his original 1956 Topps card to update it for his actual team that season.

1953 Topps #273

1957 Topps #265

1959 Topps #184

1961 Topps #100

1965 Topps #67

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Topps #273
First Topps Card:  1953 Topps #273
Representative Phillies Card:  1957 Topps #265
Last Topps Card:  1965 Topps #67
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Panini Golden Age #74
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (13):  1953-1965

108 - Haddix non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/23/19.

Sources:  
1965 Topps Blog
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

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Set Order: #76 Ray Crone - Milwaukee Braves / #78 Herman Wehmeier - Philadelphia Phillies

Order Collected: #161 Joe DeMaestri - Kansas City Athletics / #220 Del Ennis - Philadelphia Phillies

#69 Chuck Tanner - Milwaukee Braves

Charles William Tanner
Milwaukee Braves
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  185
Born:  July 4, 1928, New Castle, PA
Signed:  Signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Braves 1955-1957; Chicago Cubs 1957-1958; Cleveland Indians 1959-1960; Los Angeles Angels 1961-1962
As a Manager:  Chicago White Sox 1970-1975; Oakland Athletics 1976; Pittsburgh Pirates 1977-1985; Atlanta Braves 1986-1988
Died:  February 11, 2011, New Castle, PA (82)

Better known as a long-time manager, Chuck Tanner played in parts of eight seasons in the Majors with the Braves, Cubs, Indians and Angels.  Serving mainly as a backup outfielder, Tanner appeared in 396 games, hitting .261 with 21 home runs and 105 RBIs.  In his first big league at-bat in 1955, pinch-hitting for Warren Spahn (#10), Tanner hit a home run off the very first pitch he saw becoming the seventh player in major league history to accomplish that feat.  His best season came in the 1957, spending time with both the Braves and Cubs, and hitting .279 with career highs in home runs (9) and RBIs (48).

As a manager, Tanner broke in with the White Sox at the end of the 1970 season, replacing interim manager Bill Adair who had replaced regular manager Don Gutteridge.  He managed the White Sox to a 401-414 record over six seasons, finishing as high as second place in 1972.  Following one season in Oakland in 1976, the Pirates worked out a deal with A's owner Charlie Finley to acquire the home-town Tanner to be their new manager.  All-Star catcher Manny Sanguillen and $100,000 were sent to the A's in exchange.  Tanner spent nine seasons at the helm for the Pirates, guiding the team to their 1979 World Series title.  He finished his managerial career with the Braves, fired by then general manager Bobby Cox at the start of the 1988 season after getting off to a 12-27 start.  Overall, he managed in parts of 19 seasons and compiled a career record of 1,352-1,381.

Building the Set
April 9, 1988 from Millville, NJ - Card #56
We bought this card for $4 from a local card shop called Brokell's in Millville, NJ back in 1988.  My Dad and I frequented this store, and this was one of four cards for our 1956 set we purchased from Brokell's that year.  April 9th was a Saturday so if I had to guess, we most likely acquired this card before or after enjoying a few burgs from Jim's Lunch.  At the time, I knew Tanner solely as a manager and I had collected his cards in Topps sets throughout the 1970s and 1980s.  Little did we know when we purchased this card he'd be fired by the Braves a little over a month later in May 1988.

As an eighth grader in 1988, I realized the need to start tracking these cards as my Dad and I added them to our set.  I wanted a record of where and when and how much we had paid for each card, and so I created a tracking schedule using our very sophisticated Commodore 64.  This was a complicated process, involving typing out the checklist, printing the checklist, taking those pages to the library and using the photocopier to shrink the size of the pages, and then rubber cementing the pages to another piece of paper.  I have two pages similar to the one below for this tracking exercise, which I seemingly quickly abandoned after we had added the Tanner card to the set.  Eventually, my tracking got even more sophisticated as I graduated to a word processing document on our new Commodore 128.

A few years ago, I featured the Ted Kluszewski (#25) card we had purchased from Brokell's, and I tried to find the building on Google Maps.  The photo above is the building I believe was Brokell's, and it appears to be a Tae Kwon Do studio today.

The Card
This is Tanner's second Topps card, and this uses the same portrait photo as his 1955 Topps rookie card.  On the back, his birth year is a year off from the actual date of 1928.

The minor league notes on the back are accurate, and Tanner did in fact hit over .300 for eight seasons in a row in the minors between 1947 and 1954.  The only year he missed the mark was his first professional season in 1946 when he hit .247 in 25 games (20 for 81) for the Evansville Braves and the Owensboro Oilers.

1956 Season
Tanner couldn't crack into the Braves' starting outfield as it was successfully already manned by Bobby Thomson (#257), Bill Bruton (#185) and Hank Aaron (#31).  In 60 games, mostly coming off the bench, Tanner he hit .238 with a home run and four RBIs.  The Braves finished second in 1956, only a game behind the pennant winning Brooklyn Dodgers.

1955 Topps #161

1960 Topps #279

1971 Topps #661

1982 Donruss #150

1988 Topps #134

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1955 Topps #161
First Topps Card:  1955 Topps #161
Last Topps Card (as a player):  1960 Topps #279
First Topps Card (as a manager):  1971 Topps #661
Last Topps Card (as a manager):  1988 Topps #134
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2001 Topps Archives #428
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (23):  1955-1960, 1971-1981, 1983-1988

63 - Tanner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/11/19.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year.  Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.

Previous Card / Next Card

Set Order: #68 Chuck Stobbs - Washington Nationals / #70 Jim Rivera - Chicago White Sox

Order Collected: #269 Jack Meyer - Philadelphia Phillies / #1 William Harridge - A.L. President