#251 New York Yankees Team Card

Topps included full team photos in its baseball card set for the first time in 1956, having previously experimented with team cards in a limited edition 1951 stand-alone set.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #32
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Walt Dropo (#238) post, back in February.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this Yankees team card is the 14th of 16 from series three.  This is one of three team cards included within the Original 44 along with the Indians (#85) and Cardinals (#134) team cards.  I remember thinking how much cooler team cards used to be, listing out everyone in the photo, including a diagram of the team's home ballpark on the back, along with all-time season records.  The team cards I would have been used to in the early 1980s included a little picture of the manager in the top corner and a checklist on the back.

The Card / Yankees Team Set

This is the 16th and final team card in the set, and Topps saved the best for last.  There are no team cards to be found within the fourth and final series.  Listed below are the players, coaches, and club personnel featured on the card.  Bat boys Ed Carr and Joe Carrieri are seated in front.  Don Larsen's name is misspelled on the front of the card.

The photo was likely taken after a trade on May 11, 1955, when Johnny Sain and Enos Slaughter were dealt to the Athletics for Sonny Dixon and cash.  None of those three players are pictured here.  (Slaughter would come back to the Yankees as a waiver claim on August 25, 1956.)  This card features an impressive six Hall of Famers, highlighted below. 

Front Row Whitey Ford (#240) Billy Martin (#181) Phil Rizzuto (#113) Bobby Richardson Coach Frankie Crosetti Manager Casey Stengel Coach Bill Dickey Coach Jim Turner Irv Noren (#253) Yogi Berra (#110) Charlie Silvera Gil McDougald (#225)

2nd Row Trainer Gus Mauch Frank Leja Tommy Byrne (#215) Jerry Coleman (#316) Bob Turley (#40) Eddie Robinson (#302) Jim Konstanty (#321) Marv Throneberry Don Larsen (#332) Tom Carroll (#139) Bob Cerv (#288) Johnny Blanchard

Back Row Tom Sturdivant Bill Skowron (#61) Andy Carey (#12) Johnny Kucks (#88) Bob Wiesler Hank Bauer (#177) Mickey Mantle (#135) Bob Grim (#52) Tom Morgan Gary "Rip" Coleman Elston Howard (#208) Joe Collins (#21)

Topps had to parse down the list of Yankee Greats to include on the back of the card, and they went with Bob Meusel, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey (who is on the front of the card as a coach), Lefty Gomez, Red Ruffing, Tony Lazzeri, Red Rolfe, Joe DiMaggio, Tom Henrich and George Selkirk.  The Yankees would call the original Yankee Stadium home until 2008, with extensive renovations taking place during the 1974 and 1975 seasons.  As part of the renovations, the center field fence, which had at one point been up to 466 feet away, was moved in to a mere 408 feet.  

Here's a look at which records would need to be updated through the 2022 season: 

Most Home Runs - 306 in 2019

Most Double Plays - 214 in 1956

Most Games Won - 114 in 1998

Additional Pennant Winning Teams - 1956-1958, 1960-1964, 1976-1978, 1980-1981, 1995-2007, 2009-2012, 2017-2020, 2022
Additional Championship Teams - 1956, 1958, 1961-1962, 1977-1978, 1996, 1998-2000, 2009

1956 Season
The Yankees easily won the American League pennant, as they were in sole possession of first place for all but five games during the season.  Mickey Mantle starred for the club, eventually winning the Triple Crown with a .353 average, 52 home runs and 130 RBIs.  Mantle was also the unanimous choice for the league's MVP.  Yogi Berra added to his Hall of Fame resume by hitting .298 with 30 home runs and 105 RBIs.  On the mound, Whitey Ford was 19-6 with a 2.47 ERA and Johnny Kucks was 18-9.  Tom Morgan and Tommy Byrne were the top fireman, although with 50 complete games by the pitching staff, they weren't needed often.  Morgan recorded 11 saves.

On September 18th, Mantle's 50th home run of the season came in the 11th inning in a game against the White Sox.  Mantle became the first Yankee slugger with 50 home runs since Ruth in 1928, and the eventual win would also clinch the pennant for the club.  The Yankees would defeat the Dodgers in seven games in the World Series, with Don Larsen hurling a perfect game in Game 5.

Yankees Cards That Never Were
Here are the Yankees cards I would have included had Topps asked me to put together a fifth series checklist.  Time travel would have been involved.  It's not a surprise the Yankees are already fairly well represented in the 1956 Topps set. 

• Casey Stengel (manager) - Only two manager's card were included in the set, and it's odd that Stengel wasn't one of them.
• Enos Slaughter (of) - As mentioned above, Slaughter returned to the Yankees in the summer and he's already in the set on an Athletics card.
• Norm Siebern (of) - Norm Siebern appeared in 54 games for the Yankees, the highest total of any player not in the 1956 Topps Yankees team set.
• Bobby Richardson (2b) - Bobby Richardson made his debut on August 5, 1955, and he'd appear in 16 games before his 1957 break-out season.
• Tom Sturdivant (rhp) - Tom Sturdivant went 16-8 with a 3.30 ERA in 32 appearances, and his rookie card appeared in the 1957 Topps set.
• Tom Morgan (rhp) - As mentioned above, Tom Morgan led the team with 11 saves.
• Rip Coleman (lhp) - Lefty Rip Coleman would appear in the 1957 Topps set with the Athletics.

Sources

Baseball Reference

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #250 Larry Doby - Chicago White Sox / #252 Vernon Law - Pittsburgh Pirates

Order Collected: #250 Larry Doby - Chicago White Sox / #252 Vernon Law - Pittsburgh Pirates

#250 Larry Doby - Chicago White Sox

Lawrence Eugene Doby
Chicago White Sox
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  180
Born:  December 13, 1923, Camden, SC
Signed:  Signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians, July 2, 1947
Major League Teams:  Newark Eagles 1942-1944, 1946-1947; Cleveland Indians 1947-1955; Chicago White Sox 1956-1957; Cleveland Indians 1958; Detroit Tigers 1959; Chicago White Sox 1959

As a Manager:  Chicago White Sox 1978
Hall of Fame Induction:  1998

Died:  June 18, 2003, Montclair, NJ (age 79)

Larry Doby was the first African-American player in the American League and the first Black player to go directly from the Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues.  A star with the Newark Eagles, he and teammate Monte Irvin (#194) helped that club with the Negro League World Series in 1946.  Upon joining the Indians in 1947, Doby spent eight and half seasons as the team's everyday centerfielder, helping Cleveland reach and win the World Series in 1948.  He was named to seven straight All-Star teams between 1949 and 1955, leading the league in RBIs with 126 in 1954, and in home runs twice in 1952 and 1954.  He was the league's MVP runner-up in 1954 behind Yogi Berra (#110), as his Indians once again reached the World Series.  Doby would finish out his career with the White Sox, a return trip to the Indians and the Tigers, making a brief comeback in 1962 with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan.

He retired with a .283 average in 1,533 games played, with 1,515 hits, 253 home runs and 970 RBIs.  Doby served as a coach with the Expos (1971-1973, 1976), Indians (1974) and White Sox (1977-1978), briefly taking over as manager of the White Sox when Bob Lemon (#255) was fired in June 1978.  He'd later work in the front office of the NBA's New Jersey Nets.  Doby had his #14 retired by the Indians in 1994, and the Veteran's Committee voted him into the Hall of Fame in 1998.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #31
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Walt Dropo (#238) post, back in February.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this Doby card is the 13th of 16 from series three.  Doby is one of eight Hall of Famers (or future Hall of Famers) from that Original 44 haul, along with Ed Mathews (#107), Berra, Willie Mays (#130), Red Schoendienst (#165), Early Wynn (#187) and Lemon.

The Card / White Sox Team Set
I'm a little stunned to find out, after owning this card for close to 40 years, that it's not an Indians card but a White Sox card.  Topps apparently updated the action photo of Doby to show him in a White Sox uniform, but they didn't update his hat in the portrait, which is the same photo used for his 1954 Topps card.  I've looked at this card hundreds of times and never registered the Chicago White Sox team designation on the front.  Crazy.

The back of the card highlights his trade to Chicago, his big years with Cleveland in 1952 and 1954, and his hitting for the cycle on June 4, 1952 against the Red Sox.

1956 Season

On October 25, 1955, the Indians traded Doby to the White Sox for Jim Busby (#330) and Chico Carrasquel (#230).  (Topps was able to update the hats on the Busby and Carrasquel cards to feature the Indians logo.)  Chicago acquired Doby in the hope of adding a power bat to their line-up, and Doby would hit 24 home runs and drive in 102 runs for the year.  Despite the combined offense of Doby in center field and Minnie Minoso (#125) in left, the White Sox still finished in third place, 12 games behind the Yankees.

1949 Bowman #233

1952 Topps #243

1954 Topps #70

1959 Topps #455

1974 Topps #531

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #233
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1952, 1954, 1956-1959, 1973-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Archives #276

371 - Doby non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/12/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

National Baseball Hall of Fame

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #249 Johnny Klippstein - Cincinnati Redlegs / #251 New York Yankees Team Card

Order Collected: #247 Bill Sarni - St. Louis Cardinals / #251 New York Yankees Team Card

#249 Johnny Klippstein - Cincinnati Redlegs

John Calvin Klippstein
Cincinnati Redlegs
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  173
Born:  October 17, 1927, Washington, DC
Signed:  Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1944 season
Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1950-1954; Cincinnati Reds 1955-1958; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1959; Cleveland Indians 1960; Washington Senators 1961; Cincinnati Reds 1962; Philadelphia Phillies 1963-1964; Minnesota Twins 1964-1966; Detroit Tigers 1967
Died:  October 10, 2003, Elgin, IL (age 75)

Johnny Klippstein enjoyed an 18-year major league career, playing for eight different teams and winning a World Series ring with the Dodgers in 1959.  Klippstein spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Cubs and Reds as a swing man, appearing in at least 30 games and making at least 11 starts in each season between 1950 and 1957.  He was at his peak in 1955 and 1956 with the Reds, going 21-21 over the two-year period with a 3.82 ERA over 76 games pitched, including 14 complete games and two shutouts.  He went 4-0 for the National League Champion Dodgers in 1959, and was often on the move over the next eight seasons.  Along with Jack Baldschun, he was one of the Phillies' most effective relievers in 1963, pitching to a 1.93 ERA over 49 appearances and saving eight games.  Klippstein also played a key role in the Twins' clinching of the American League pennant in 1965, as he appeared in 56 games, all in relief, while compiling an impressive 2.24 ERA over 76 1/3 innings pitched.

He retired following the 1967 season having appeared in 711 games.  Klippstein had a record of 101-118 with a 4.24 ERA and 1,158 strikeouts to go along with 65 career saves.

Some text for this post appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

October 4, 2007 - Before NLDS Game 2

Building the Set
October 3, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchases - Card #306
My records show my Dad gave me this card on my actual birthday, and I received five more cards four days later when we officially celebrated with family.  I'm not sure why my Dad pulled this Klippstein out of the pile of five cards I'd receive a few days later, other than maybe he felt Klippstein didn't have the star power of the other five.  On October 7th, he gave me Roger Craig (#63), Bill Bruton (#185), Bob Feller (#200), Don Newcombe (#235) and Don Larsen (#332).

The day after my birthday, I attended my first ever Phillies playoff game with my wife Jenna.  The Phillies were unceremoniously rocked by the Rockies, 10-5, with Kaz Matsui hitting a crushing grand slam off Phillies' reliever Kyle Lohse in the fourth inning.

The Card / Redlegs Team Set
Klippstein was omitted from the 1955 Topps set, and the portrait photo used here is the same as his 1954 Topps card.  The back of the card highlights his success with the Reds in 1955, following his trade from the Cubs on October 1, 1954, with Jim Willis for Jim Bolger, Harry Perkowski and Ted Tappe.  His one-hitter came on September 11, 1955 in the first game of a double header against the Dodgers at Crosley Field.  Pee Wee Reese (#260) singled to right field with one out in the ninth, spoiling the no-hit bid.

1956 Season

Klippstein won a career-high 12 games with the Reds, appearing in 37 games and making 29 starts.  He was 12-11 with a 4.09 ERA, with 11 complete games and 211 (also a career-high) innings pitched.  Klippstein was a solid number three starter for the third place Reds, behind Brooks Lawrence (#305) and Joe Nuxhall (#218), who won 19 and 13 games respectively.

Phillies Career
The Reds sold Klippstein to the Phillies on March 25, 1963, and he was the team's best reliever that season.  He made one spot start, but relieved in 48 games, going 5-6 over 112 innings pitched.  Five of his relief appearances went at least six innings, and he was one of the reasons the Phillies finished with 87 wins, their highest total since 1952.  Klippstein saw his role in the bullpen diminish in 1964 and he was used only 11 times in the team's first 61 games.  Needing a roster spot for returning starting pitcher Cal McLish, Klippstein was placed on waivers and eventually had his contract sold to the Twins.  The Twins and Phillies fortunes went in opposite directions from that point forward.  In 60 games with the Phillies, Klippstein was 7-7 with a 2.28 ERA and nine saves.

1951 Bowman #248

1955 Bowman #152

1959 Topps #152

1964 Topps #533

1967 Topps #588

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1951 Bowman #248
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15):  1952-1954, 1956-1967
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #31

53 - Klippstein non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/6/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #248 Bob Porterfield - Boston Red Sox / #250 Larry Doby - Chicago White Sox

Order Collected: #254 George Crowe - Milwaukee Braves / #63 Roger Craig - Brooklyn Dodgers

#248 Bob Porterfield - Boston Red Sox

Erwin Cooledge Porterfield
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  190
Born:  August 10, 1923, Newport, VA

Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:   New York Yankees 1948-1951; Washington Senators 1951-1955; Boston Red Sox 1956--1958; Pittsburgh Pirates 1958-1959; Chicago Cubs 1959; Pittsburgh Pirates 1959

Died:  April 28, 1980, Charlotte, NC (age 56)

A veteran of a dozen big league seasons, Bob Porterfield spent his best years as a starting pitcher for the Senators in the early 1950s.  Originally drafted by the Yankees, he saw limited playing time with the club between 1948 and early 1951, making a few spot starts in between frequent trips back to the Yankees'  farm teams in Newark or Kansas City.  Porterfield would get a chance for regular pitching appearances when the Senators acquired him with Tom Ferrick and Fred Sanford in June 1951 in exchange for Bob Kuzava.  Inserted into the Senators' starting pitching rotation, Porterfield would make 138 starts over the next five seasons.  His career best year came in 1953 when he was 22-10 with a 3.35 ERA, while leading the league with 24 complete games and nine shutouts.  Porterfield finished seventh in that year's MVP voting and was named The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year.  He was named to the American League All-Stars in 1954, and while his numbers slipped, he still led the league with 21 complete games.

Porterfield was never the same following the 1954 season, which could be a result of his heavy workload while with the Senators.  Struggling with control, he had a few seasons in which his walks exceeded his strikeouts.  He was included in a nine-player trade with the Red Sox in November 1955, and he'd pitch for four more seasons with the Red Sox, Pirates (two stints), and Cubs, primarily as a reliever.  He found some late career success in 1958 with the Pirates, saving five games.  Porterfield had an 87-97 lifetime record with a 3.79 ERA in 318 games pitched, and he was posthumously inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

December 24, 2007 - Dad and Doug

Building the Set
December 28, 2007 from Dad's eBay purchase - Card #330

I last shared this full story with the Whitey Ford (#240) post, but I'll repeat myself, in an edited version, here.  The way my Dad and I finished the 1956 Topps set was somewhat anti-climatic but nevertheless a joyful memory.  Leading up to the Christmas of 2007, my Dad (with the help of my Mom) scoured eBay and other online baseball card stores for the remaining 29 cards we needed to complete the set.  Throughout the weeks and months leading up to the holidays, he knew we had completed the set but he kept it quiet, wanting to surprise me on Christmas morning.  I have no idea, and I'll never know, what the true last card was that he acquired to finish off the set.  And I have no record, nor was he able to tell me, how much they had paid for any of these final 29 cards.  This Porterfield card was one of the final 29.

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
Porterfield appeared exclusively with Bowman in 1954 and 1955, and this marks his return to Topps.  Maybe Topps had time to get new photos of the pitcher in a Red Sox uniform, but he's more likely wearing Senators gear here and the Topps' artists went to work to switch him over to the Red Sox.  The cartoons on the back highlight his acquisition from the Senators, his career year of 1953 and also mentions the injuries that hampered him during 1954 and 1955.

Porterfield's full name is on display on the back, and per his SABR biography, "Erwin's father began calling him 'Bob' when he was 6, for reasons unknown."

1956 Season

Porterfield had a forgettable 1956 season with his new club, going 3-12 with a 5.14 ERA in 25 games, including 18 starts.  He missed time with a sprained ankle and a circulatory problem that caused several fingers in his pitching hand to go numb.  In 126 innings pitched, Porterfield walked 64 and struck out 53.

1949 Bowman #3

1950 Bowman #216

1953 Topps #108

1957 Topps #118

1959 Topps #181

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1949 Bowman #3
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1952-1953, 1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Topps Archives 1953 #108

39 - Porterfield non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/30/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #247 Bill Sarni - St. Louis Cardinals / #249 Johnny Klippstein - Cincinnati Redlegs

Order Collected: #240 "Whitey" Ford - New York Yankees / #257 Bobby Thomson - Milwaukee Braves

#247 Bill Sarni - St. Louis Cardinals

William Florine Sarni
St. Louis Cardinals
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  180
Born:  September 19, 1927, Los Angeles, CA
Acquired:  Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals from the Shreveport Sports (Texas League) in the 1949 minor league draft, December 5, 1949
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1951-1952, 1954-1956; New York Giants 1956

Died:  April 15, 1983, Creve Coeur, MO (age 55)

As a teenager, catcher Bill Sarni played in parts of four seasons in the Cubs organization, and he was playing with the unaffiliated Shreveport Sports when the Cardinals selected him in the 1949 minor league draft.  Sarni would spend the 1950 season back in the minors before making his big league debut on May 9, 1951.  After appearing in 36 games with St. Louis in 1951, he'd see just three big league games in 1952, and spend all of 1953 back in the minors.  In 1954, he assumed regular catching duties for the Cardinals when Del Rice was injured in early June.  Sarni would enjoy his best season, batting .300 in 123 games with nine home runs and 70 RBIs.  He led all National League catchers with a .996 fielding percentage and with 12 double plays turned.  Sarni would again serve as the most used catcher by the Cardinals in 1955, and was dealt to the Giants as part of a big 10-player trade in June 1956.  Sarni would appear in 78 games for the Giants to finish out the season, his last action in the majors.

During spring training in 1957, Sarni suffered a heart attack at just 29 years old, ending his playing career.  He'd serve briefly as a coach for the Giants in 1957 and as a coach for the Rochester Red Wings in the Cardinals' organization in 1958.  In 390 major league games, Sarni batted .263 with 22 home runs and 151 RBIs.

Building the Set

Summer of 1983 or 1984 in Millville, NJ - Card #30
This was one of the Original 44, and I re-told the story of how my Dad and I started collecting this set with the Walt Dropo (#238) post, back in February.  Seven of the Original 44 came from series one, with 11 coming from series two, and this Sarni card is the twelvth of 16 from series three.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
A quick search of Getty Images led me to the original photograph used for the action shot here.  That's the Dodgers' Jim Gilliam (#280) being tagged out by Sarni in a play at the plate on May 5, 1955.  In the bottom of the fifth, with the game tied at 3-3, Gilliam doubled to lead off the inning, went to third when Pee Wee Reese (#260) grounded to second, and attempted to score on a Duke Snider (#150) grounder to second.  Cardinals' second baseman Red Schoendienst (#165) threw home to catch Gilliam, but the Dodgers would ultimately win, 4-3.  That's home plate umpire Frank Dascoli about to call Gilliam out.

The back of the card highlights Sarni beginning his professional baseball career at the age of 15.  In 1943, he appeared in 33 games for the Double-A Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast League.

1956 Season

Sarni was the opening day catcher for the Cardinals, and in 43 games with the club he batted .291 with five home runs and 22 RBIs.  On June 14th, Sarni, Jackie Brandt, Dick Littlefield, Schoedienst and two players to be named later were traded to the Giants for Al Dark (#148), Ray Katt, Don Liddle (#325), Whitey Lockman (#205) and cash.  Hal Smith (#283) and Katt would become the primary catchers for the Cardinals, with Sarni serving as the primary catcher for the Giants for the rest of the season.  In 78 games for the Giants, he batted .231 with five home runs and 23 RBIs, and his last game as a major leaguer would unexpectedly come that September 18th.

1954 Topps #194

1955 Bowman #30

1957 Topps #86

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1954 Topps #194
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1954, 1956-1957
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #194

11 - Sarni non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/22/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #246 Tom Gorman - Kansas City Athletics / #248 Bob Porterfield - Boston Red Sox

Order Collected: #238 Walt Dropo - Chicago White Sox / #250 Larry Doby - Chicago White Sox

#246 Tom Gorman - Kansas City Athletics

Thomas Aloysius Gorman
Kansas City Athletics
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  190
Born:  January 4, 1925, New York, NY
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1946 season
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1952-1954; Kansas City Athletics 1955-1959

Died:  December 26, 1992, Valley Stream, NY (age 67)

Tom Gorman pitched in parts of eight seasons in the major leagues, winning World Series rings with the Yankees in 1952 and 1953.  As a middle reliever and occasional closer for those Yankees teams, he appeared in two World Series games against the Dodgers, recording the final outs in the ninth inning in Game 3 of the 1952 World Series (the Yankees would lose 5-3), and pitching three innings of relief in a 7-3 loss to the Dodgers in Game 4 of the 1953 World Series.  He was sold to the Athletics, along with Ewell Blackwell and Dick Kryhoski on March 30, 1955, with the Yankees receiving $50,000 for all three players.

Gorman assumed closer duties for the Athletics in 1955, and was one of the team's best pitchers with a 7-6 record to go along with a 3.55 ERA and a team-leading 18 saves over 57 appearances.  He'd finish second that season behind the Indians Ray Narleski (#133) for the league leader in saves as Narleski notched 19.  Gorman continued as a steady and frequently used reliever for the Athletics through the 1958 season, and he appeared in only 17 games in 1959 with his last big league game coming on June 23, 1959.  He'd attempt a brief comeback in 1960, but his pitching days would soon end.  In 289 games, Gorman was 36-36 with a 3.77 ERA over 689 1/3 innings pitched with 44 career saves.

Building the Set

February 9, 2002 in Cooperstown, NY - Card #234
This is one of only four cards I purchased in 2002, which was one of the tougher years for me personally.  I made a solo unscheduled and unplanned trip to Cooperstown in early 2002 in an attempt to clear my mind one weekend.  It was an escape.  Thinking back on that time now 21 years later, I realize Cooperstown was a logical choice for me to make my escape as I could leave my present worries behind and live in the past for a few days.  I spent a lot of time walking around the Hall of Fame, taking my time and actually relaxing.

I didn't have a lot of money for this trip, but I visited Baseball Nostalgia that Saturday afternoon and purchased four cards for our 1956 Topps set, including this Gorman card.  The other three cards purchased were Jim Davis (#102), Don Kaiser (#124) and Joe Frazier (#141) and the four cards together cost me $18.50.  That's a fairly low price to pay for some much needed baseball card therapy.

I took my family to Cooperstown for the first time in November 2021, and I was happy to see Baseball Nostalgia was still open.  Unbeknownst to us at the time, the shop would close permanently (in January 2022) soon after our visit.  Had I known closure was imminent, I would have made a better effort to make one last purchase.

The Card / Athletics Team Set
This is Gorman's first mainstream baseball card to feature him with the Athletics, as he was omitted from both the 1955 Bowman and Topps sets.  This is also his first Topps flagship set appearance.  The middle cartoon panel on the back diplomatically explains Gorman had been buried in the Yankees' farm system for nine seasons and he was finally getting his chance to pitch with the Athletics.  The third panel seems to be inaccurate, as Baseball Reference shows Gorman only combined on one shutout, saving a 2-0 game over the Orioles on June 24, 1955, and securing the win for Arnie Portocarrero (#53).  The Athletics pitching staff threw nine shutouts in 1955, with Gorman only appearing in the June 24th game.

1956 Season

Gorman was 9-10 with a 3.83 ERA for the Athletics, making a career-high 13 starts and relieving in 39 games.  He pitched 171 1/3 innings and converted only four saves, as Bobby Shantz (#261) closed the majority of the team's games and earned nine saves.  Only starting pitcher Art Ditmar (#258) pitched in more innings for the 102-loss Athletics than Gorman, with Ditmar throwing 254 1/3.

Phillies Connection

Gorman wrapped up his professional pitching career with 34 games for the Indianapolis Indians in 1960, then the top farm team for the Phillies.  He's not to be confused with another Tom Gorman, a lefty pitcher, who pitched primarily for the Mets in the mid-1980s.  The lefty Gorman appeared in eight games for the 1986 Phillies, going 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA.

1952 Bowman Black & White #61

1954 Bowman #17

1957 Topps #87

1958 Topps #235

1959 Topps #449

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Bowman Black & White #61
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1956-1959
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1959 Topps #449

15 - Gorman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/16/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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Set Order: #245 Billy Goodman - Boston Red Sox / #247 Bill Sarni - St. Louis Cardinals

Order Collected: #141 Joe Frazier - St. Louis Cardinals / #153 Frank Thomas - Pittsburgh Pirates