#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

#21 Joe Collins - New York Yankees

Joseph Edward Collins
New York Yankees
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  185
Born:  December 3, 1922, Scranton, PA
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1939
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1948-1957
Died:  August 30, 1989, Union, NJ (age 66)

Joe Collins played in parts of 10 seasons with the Yankees, serving as their starting first baseman between 1951 and 1954 and winning five World Championships with the club.  He hit four key World Series home runs, including a pair in Game One of the 1955 World Series to give the Yankees a 6-5 win over the Dodgers.  Wearing #15 during his formidable years with the Bronx Bombers, Collins appeared in 908 career games and had a .256 lifetime average.  He finished his career with 86 home runs and 329 RBIs.

Building the Set
January 10, 1999 in Raleigh, NC - Card #175
I indicate clearly in my notes that this card (along with two others) was purchased at the Raleigh Sports Card & NASCAR Collectibles Show, not to be confused with the more benign Raleigh Sports Card & Memorabilia Show.  In any event, the card set me back only $6, which is an absolute bargain considered the card is in pristine shape and it's a card from the highly coveted Yankees team set.

I don't miss my time living in Raleigh, but I do miss these semi-regular baseball card shows which were held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.

The Card
What's happening in the action photo?  My best guess is that Collins is bending over to stop an errant pick-off throw and the runner has scampered back, balancing himself on the corner of the bag.  The portrait of Collins was used on his 1955 Topps card, but not his 1954 Topps card.

On the back of the card, the 14 seasons referenced also include his time playing in the Yankees minor league system.  There's also mention of his two home runs in Game One of the 1955 World Series, perhaps his most memorable feat on the diamond.

1956 Season
By 1956, Collins had lost the every day job as the Yankees starting first baseman to Moose Skowron (#61).  Platooning with Skowron, and starting most games in which the opponent started a right-handed pitcher, Collins still appeared in 100 games that season, hitting just .225.  In the 1956 World Series, Collins hit .238 (5 for 21) with two RBIs.

Phillies Connection
After his 10th season with the Yankees, at the age of 35, Collins was sold to the Phillies.  With Ed Bouchee suspended for the duration of the season, the Phils were in need of a regular first baseman and their hope was that Collins would fill the void.  Rather than report to the Phillies for the 1958 season, Collins announced his retirement, and it was reported by the New York media that he declared, "I want to be remembered as a Yankee."  Collins forfeited a $100,000 salary by declining to report to the Phillies.

1952 Bowman #181

1952 Topps #202

1957 Topps #295

2002 Topps Chrome 1952 Reprints #52R18

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1952 Bowman #181
First Topps Card:  1952 Topps #202
Last Topps Card:  1957 Topps #295
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2002 Topps Chrome 1952 Reprints #52R18
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1952-1957

40 - Collins non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 6/29/16

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
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: #20 Al Kaline - Detroit Tigers / #22 Jim Finigan - Kansas City Athletics

Order Collected: #320 Joe Adcock - Milwaukee Braves / #88 Johnny Kucks - New York Yankees

#12 Andy Carey - New York Yankees

Andrew Arthur Carey
New York Yankees
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  190
Born:  October 18, 1931, Oakland, CA
Signed:  Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1950
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1952-1960; Kansas City Athletics 1960-1961; Chicago White Sox 1961, Los Angeles Dodgers 1962
Died:  December 15, 2011, Newport Beach, CA (age 80)

Wearing #6, Andy Carey was the Yankees primary starting third baseman for five seasons between 1954 and 1958, a period that saw the Bronx Bombers win two more World Championships in 1956 and 1958.  Known more for his glove than his bat, Carey was instrumental in helping to preserve Don Larsen's (#332) perfect game in game five of the 1956 World Series.  Carey led the American League in triples in 1955 with 11.

The Yankees traded him in June 1961 (with Larsen) to the Athletics, and he'd play the final year and a half of his career with the A's, White Sox and Dodgers before retiring.

Dad - Christmas 2004

Building the Set
December 25, 2004 from San Diego, CA - Card #253
This is the first Yankee player to show up in the set, and I still remember the warning we'd receive from baseball card dealers in the late 1980s when my Dad and I informed them we were trying to build a complete 1956 Topps set.  Without fail, at every baseball card show, a dealer would warn us, "Good luck finding the Yankees."

A lot of collectors who grew up rooting for the Yankees were focused on building complete team sets from the 1950s Topps sets. For this reason, it was definitely difficult to track down single Yankees cards of their stars and commons as we were putting together our set.  Dealers who had commons for sale for $4 to $7 would regularly mark up their Yankees commons to $10 to $15, and we'd often pass on these cards.  (To a lesser extent, the same could be said for the Dodgers cards.)

This was one of six 1956 Topps cards my Dad gave to me for Christmas in 2004 and I never asked him how much he paid for the lot.  I do know that he ordered the cards from Kit Young Cards in San Diego, although unlike his purchase of the Ted Williams card, I doubt he actually spoke to Kit this time.  He would have given me these cards at the first house my wife Jenna and I owned, which we affectionately called The Crick.

The Card
That's most likely Carey in the action shot at third base, tagging out what I would guess to be a White Sox runner.  As is becoming the norm, the head shot was re-used from Carey's 1954 and 1955 Topps cards.  Our copy of this card is fantastic, with four sharp corners and not a crease to be seen.

1956 Season
At just 24 years old, Carey was firmly entrenched in the Yankees starting line-up in 1956, appearing in 132 games at third and hitting .237.  He struggled in the 1956 World Series, starting all seven games at third, but going 3 for 19 (.158) at the plate.  He's best remembered for contributing to two of the tougher outs during Larsen's perfect game.

In the second, he deflected a ground ball from Jackie Robinson (#30) to shortstop Gil McDougald (#225), who threw out Robinson at first.  If not for Carey getting a glove on the ball, it would have been a single to left.  In the eighth, he caught a low line drive off the bat of Gil Hodges (#145), again preserving the perfect game.

Phillies Connection
On December 15, 1961, Carey (along with Frank Barnes) was traded by the White Sox to the Phillies for Taylor Phillips and Bob Sadowski.  Carey refused to report to the Phillies in March 1962, as he preferred not to spend his final year in baseball on the last place Phillies and he intended to focus full-time on his growing California brokerage business.  The Phils received Cal McLish from the White Sox as consolation for Carey's refusal to report, and Carey was eventually swapped to the Dodgers where he finished his career closer to home.

For Phillies collectors, Carey is included within the 1962 Salada-Junket coin set, marking his only appearance with the team on any collectibles.  The set's creators originally released the Carey coin featuring him in a White Sox uniform, but the photo was updated to feature him in the Phillies hat and uniform he'd never actually wear.

1953 Topps #188

1962 Salada Coins #86B

1962 Topps #418

2002 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #RO-AC

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1953 Topps #188
First Topps Card:  1953 Topps #188
Representative Phillies Card:  1962 Salada Coins #86B
Last Topps Card:  1962 Topps #418
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2002 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #RO-AC
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1953-1962

50 - Carey non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/15/15

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
Gettysburg Times - February 27, 1962
The Phillies Room
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: #11 Chicago Cubs Team Card / #13 Roy Face - Pittsburgh Pirates

Order Collected: #334 Bob Miller - Philadelphia Phillies / #38 Bob Kennedy - Chicago White Sox