#50 "Dusty" Rhodes - New York Giants

James Lamar Rhodes
New York Giants
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  178
Born:  May 13, 1927, Mathews, AL
Signed:  Signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent before 1947 season
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1952-1957; San Francisco Giants 1959
Died:  June 17, 2009, Las Vegas, NV (age 82)

Never quite a regular in the Giants line-up, "Dusty" Rhodes played in parts of seven seasons with the Giants, compiling a lifetime batting average of .253.  He was manager Leo Durocher's top choice as a pinch-hitter between 1952 and 1955.  He won a World Series ring with the Giants in 1954, hitting a torrid .667 (4 for 6) with two home runs and seven RBIs against the Indians.  His pinch-hit three-run home run off Bob Lemon (#255) in the 10th inning of Game 1 won the game for the Giants.  In Game 2, he collected a key pinch-hit in the fifth to tie the game off Early Wynn (#187) and the Giants took the lead shortly thereafter.  In Game 3, he pinch-hit again - and for the third time for future Hall of Famer Monte Irvin (#194) - getting another clutch hit and driving in a pair of runs.  The Giants completed the sweep of the Indians in Game 4.

Building the Set
October 10, 1998 in Winston-Salem, NC - Card #162
This was one of ten cards I purchased for our 1956 Topps set from the Season Ticket baseball card store in Winston-Salem.  This card cost me $4, and I wrote about Season Ticket back in March in my post for the Rudy Minarcin (#36) card.

The Card
He's one of 25 players in the set with a nickname in quotes on the front of his card.  I had always been under the impression that Rhodes was a star or at least a semi-star, given his assignment of the "hero number" of #50 in this set.  Turns out, Topps wouldn't get into the habit of assigning hero numbers (cards ending in 10, 50 or 100) for a few more years.  Then again, Topps gave Rhodes the coveted #1 card in its 1955 set, so maybe the #50 assignment was due to the lingering joy Rhodes had brought to New York Giants fans following the 1954 World Series win.

His 1954 World Series heroics are insensitively celebrated in the final panel on the back of the card.

1956 Season
Rhodes appeared in a career high 111 games in 1956, hitting .217 (53 for 244) with eight home runs and 33 RBIs.  61 of those 111 games were starts in either left field (59 games) or right field (2).  Center field at the time was locked down by Willie Mays (#130).  His SABR biography notes he didn't get along with new manager Bill Rigney, who replaced Durocher following the 1955 season.

1954 Topps #170

1955 Topps #1

1957 Topps #61

2002 Topps Super Teams #9

2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-DR

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1954 Topps #170
First Topps Card:  1954 Topps #170
Last Topps Card:  1957 Topps #61
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-DR
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1954-1957

I find it fascinating that Topps created a 1959 Topps card for Rhodes in 2008 so that they could include his card in the Real One Autographs insert set.  Rhodes did not appear in the actual 1959 Topps set, with his final card as an active player appearing in the 1957 Topps set.

45 - Rhodes non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/15/19.

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.

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Set Order: #49 Pedro Ramos - Washington Nationals / #51 Ernie Oravetz - Washington Nationals

Order Collected: #36 Rudy Minarcin - Cincinnati Redlegs / #84 "Babe" Birrer - Detroit Tigers

#16 Hector Lopez - Kansas City Athletics

Hector Headley Lopez
Kansas City Athletics
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  182
Born:  July 8, 1929, Colon, Panama
Signed:  Purchased by the Philadelphia Athletics with Joe Taylor from Drummondville (Provincial) for $1,500 prior to the 1952 season
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1955-1959; New York Yankees 1959-1966

Hector Lopez, also known as "The Panama Clipper," played 12 seasons with the Athletics and Yankees, serving as the primary left fielder for a Yankees team that would go to the World Series every year between 1960 and 1964.  He patrolled the Yankees outfield alongside Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle (#135) in the early 1960s.

In the 1961 World Series, Lopez hit .333 with five of his seven RBIs coming in Game 5 in which he hit a home run and a triple.  He won World Series rings with the Yankees in 1961 and 1962.  A career .269 batter, Lopez was a true utility player, playing all three outfield positions along with shortstop, second base and third base.  By all accounts he had a tough time with his defensive skills.

Lopez became the first black manager at the AAA level when he managed the Buffalo Bisons in 1969.  He was also the manager for Panama in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Building the Set
July 19, 1997 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #151
This is the third of 11 cards my Dad and I purchased at the Ocean City baseball card show in 1997, with the first two cards being Warren Giles (#2) and Ray Boone (#6).  We spent $39 on those 11 cards that day and my records indicate that this was one of the cheaper cards purchased at $2.

The Card
I enjoy researching and writing posts on guys like Hector Lopez more than I enjoy researching and writing the posts for the well-known players.  Before this post, I knew absolutely nothing about Lopez and his baseball career.

The back of his card gives him two more inches in height than his official Baseball Reference page. Also of note is that Lopez was thought to be three years younger than his actual age during his playing days.  Baseball Reference and other official sources list his year of birth as 1929 but Topps (and everyone else in the 1950s and 1960s) was under the impression that Lopez was born in 1932.

1956 Season
Lopez served as the primary third baseman for the Athletics in 1956, his second full season in the Majors.  He hit .273 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs, trailing only Harry Simpson (#239) for the team lead in both categories.  He was second in the American League with errors committed with 30.

1959 Topps #402

1966 Topps #177

2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-HL

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1956 Topps #16
First Topps Card:  1956 Topps #16
Last Topps Card:  1966 Topps #177
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-HL
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11):  1956-1966

61 - Lopez non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/28/16

Lopez's first non-mainstream baseball card can be found in the oddball 1955 A's Rodeo Meats set. It's also interesting to note that Lopez's actual 1959 Topps cards features him with the Athletics, but his card found within the 2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set features him with the Yankees.  He was traded on May 26, 1959 from the Athletics to the Yankees and Topps took the time to create a Yankees card for him for inclusion in its 2008 autograph set.

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.

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Set Order: #15 Ernie Bank - Chicago Cubs / #17 Gene Conley - Milwaukee Braves

Order Collected: #6 Ray Boone - Detroit Tigers / #54 Bob Keegan - Chicago White Sox