Mickey Mantle Featured Card of the Week

I had to save the best for last.

Judging by the live listings at VintageCardPrices.com, this 1961 Topps Mickey Mantle card is by far the most valuable one passed down to me in this collection.

Putting the value of the card aside, it still gives me shivers down my spine just looking at it.

My dad always tells me how his mother threw out his baseball cards when he went to college and how upsetting it was to lose them forever. If she didn’t throw those cards out and he didn’t put any in between his bike’s spokes, my dad would have had a very, very valuable collection.

This card isn’t from my dad; it’s from his good childhood friend Neil Wernick. Since I believe this completes the set, I want to send a big thank you to Neil once again for passing down his sacred treasures to me. I can’t even begin to fathom what they must mean to him. But don’t worry, Neil, I’m taking great care of them!

Yankees 1964 Team Featured Card of the Week

I really enjoy this baseball card. It’s not in great shape. You can barely see the players’ faces. But still, it just seems like a card representative of the era.

Nowadays, the team card in a set either isn’t included or a less important card to have. Back then, as my dad says, the team card was always a must-have.

Notables on the 1964 team include:

• Mickey Mantle
• Roger Maris
• Elston Howard
• Bobby Richardson
• Joe Pepitone
• Clete Boyer
• Jim Bouton
• Al Downing
• Whitey Ford

Roger Maris Featured Card of the Week

If you’ve never seen the movie 61*, I advise you get yourself a copy from the video store tonight.

The movie details Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle’s race to 61 homers in 1961. A lot of it shows how the media treated both players differently and how fans felt about both too.

For your information, I have two more cards left from this era. Click here for a full archive of all the old cards I've featured this summer and fall.

Hector Lopez Featured Card of the Week

Hector Lopez played alongside Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris (keep those two players in mind later this month) in the Yankees’ 1961 outfield. Lopez never hit .300 in 12 major league seasons, eight of which with the Yankees.

Lopez is also well known for being the first black manager in Triple-A. Here are his career stats (B-R):

1964 Rookie Stars Pedro Gonzalez, Archie Moore Featured Card of the Week

You probably haven’t heard of the two Yankees on the card shown above. The Yankees signed both Pedro Gonzalez and Archie Moore as amateur free agents, but neither had successful careers despite being dubbed “Rookie Stars” by Topps.

Moore played 40 games over the 1964-65 seasons, hitting just one homer and driving in five runs. Gonzalez had a stronger career, but the majority of it came with the Cleveland Indians.

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Keep in mind, I’ve been running this series of old cards all summer. I’m getting near the bottom of my stack, but I still have a few more.

Clete Boyer Featured Card of the Week

My dad used to always tell me Clete Boyer was one of the best defensive third basemen of all time. He may always be remembered for his two plays in the 1961 World Series in which he dove to stop the ball and threw out the runner from his knees.

But Boyer only won one Gold Glove, and that came in 1969 with the Atlanta Braves. He did have one solid offensive season, also with the Braves, in 1967, but his career OPS+ of 86 says it all.

Here are his career stats:

Elston Howard Featured Card of the Week

The first African American to ever play for the Yankees, Elston Howard was a 12-time All-Star selection, two-time Gold Glove winner, six-time World Series champion and the 1963 MVP.

He isn’t a Hall of Famer, but his No. 32 is retired out in Monument Park.

Here are Howard’s career stats:

Harry Bright Featured Card of the Week

Harry Bright played 64 games for the Yankees in his career and was known more for his extensive minor league career — 14 different clubs, a near-.400 season and 1,752 career hits.

Bright played every position except pitcher and shortstop as a major leaguer, and played third base, right field and first base for the Yankees.

He had two at-bats in the 1963 World Series, but struck out both times.

Phil Linz Featured Card of the Week

Phil Linz was a utility player for the Yankees in the 1960s and might be most remembered for his harmonica playing.

Fittingly, this quirky fact about Linz was made known through Ball Four by Jim Bouton, last week’s FCOTW. Here’s the famous harmonica story from Wikipedia:

On the team bus, after a Yankee loss to the Chicago White Sox, Linz was in the back playing a plaintive version of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on his harmonica. Yankee manager Yogi Berra thought the sad cowboy style mixed with a children's nursery rhyme was mocking the team. He told Linz to pipe down. Linz didn't hear and kept playing. Berra became infuriated and called back from the front of the bus, "If you don't knock that off, I'm going to come back there and kick your ass." Linz couldn't hear the words over the music, so he asked Mickey Mantle, "What he say?" Mantle responded, "He said to play it louder." This led the famous confrontation when Berra stormed to the back of the bus, slapped the harmonica out of Linz' hands, and the instrument hit Joe Pepitone's knee.

As you can tell, Linz is not well recognized for his baseball playing. Although, judging from his career stats he seemed like a serviceable backup infielder and outfielder.

Jim Bouton Featured Yankee Card of the Week

Jim Bouton debuted for the Yankees in 1962, and pitched six more years with New York after that before finishing his career with Astros and Braves.

Bouton lost Game 3 of the 1963 World Series and won Games 3 and 6 in the 1964 Championship, but the Yankees lost both series. Bouton’s career year came in 1963 when he was elected to his only All-Star Game and finished 16th in MVP voting, going 21-7 with a 2.53 ERA.

Feel free to ask Bouton a question on his website, jimbouton.com, or purchase either of his books: Ball Four or Foul Ball.

Bud Daley Featured Yankee Card of the Week

Bud Daley, a southpaw knuckleballer in the 1950s and 1960s, was a two-time All-Star for the KC Athletics and ended his career with three-and-a-half years in New York with the Yankees.

His career record was 60-64 with a 4.03 ERA. With the Yankees, he pitched mostly out of the bullpen with his best year coming in 1962.

He may be most remembered by old-timers for winning Game 5 in the 1961 World Series against the Reds. He tossed 6-2/3 innings and allowed two unearned runs on a fifth-inning homer to Wally Post.

Daley also pitched one scoreless inning the 1962 World Series against the Giants.

Steve Hamilton Featured Card of the Week

Steve Hamilton pitched for the Yankees for eight years and was one of the game’s earliest relief pitchers. He finished with a 3.05 career ERA and a 40-31 record.

He was never selected to an All-Star Game and never led the league in a statistical category. He pitched in two World Series, but the Yankees lost both in the 1963-64 seasons to the Dodgers and Cardinals.

Did you know he played in the NBA before debuting for the Indians in 1961?

Mickey Mantle Featured Card of the Week

Because it’s my birthday, I felt like giving you guys a treat. Above is a 1964 Topps Mickey Mantle. Don’t fret, the best is yet to come.

Looking on eBay, the card is valued at anything between $70 and $800. The $800 one is in perfect condition. Mine is clearly not.

Ralph Terry Featured Card of the Week

Ralph Terry really doesn’t deserve to be remembered after what he did in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, but I’m just going right through my collection of old cards.

Terry played eight years for the Yankees, mostly as a starter, pitching to the tune of a 3.44 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. His career numbers were slightly higher in both statistics.

Terry’s best year came in 1962 when he was named to the All-Star team and finished 15th in MVP voting. He went 23-12 with a 3.19 ERA in 298 2/3 innings. He also pitched three games in the World Series that year, winning games five and seven against the San Francisco Giants.

Hal Reniff Featured Card of the Week

Hal Reniff was a true reliever for the Yankees and Mets from 1961-1967. Let’s just say being a true reliever during that era wasn’t a high regard for a pitcher.

He recorded a team-high 18 saves with a 2.62 ERA for the Yankees in 1963 and finished with a career record of 21-23. He played his final 29 games in 1967 with the Mets after struggling with the Yankees early in the season.

He pitched in the 1963 and 1964 World Series, allowing no runs over 3 1/3 innings, but the team lost to the Dodgers and Cardinals.

Pete Mikkelson/Bob Meyer Featured Card of the Week

Pete Mikkelson and Bob Meyer are both labeled star rookies in this card. However, neither turned out to be stars — or last long with the Yankees.

The Yankees let go of Meyer 18 1/3 innings through the 1964 season, allowing the Angels to purchase his contract. He had a 4.91 ERA with the Yankees and a 4.38 career ERA.

Mikkelson had a fairly good rookie campaign, going 7-4 with a 3.56 ERA strictly as a reliever. He started three games with the Yankees in 1965, but those were the only starts of his nine-year career. The Yankees traded him in the offseason that year for Pirates’ longtime hurler Bob Friend.

Stan Williams Featured Card of the Week

Do you remember Stan Williams? He only played for the Yankees in 1963 and 1964, but had a 14-year career with five other teams.

With the Yankees, he spent his first year mostly as a starter, but the second was spent mostly in the bullpen. He was a one-time All-Star for the Dodgers in 1960.

He doesn’t sound like a very integral part of the Yankees, but there is a reason why I had heard of him before making him the featured card of the week. He was born in Enfield, NH! That’s less than a half hour away from my home in Hanover, N.H. New Hampshire pride!

Bill Stafford Featured Card of the Week

Bill Stafford pitched six seasons with the Yankees and two with the KC Athletics before retiring after the 1967 season. Stafford was in the rotation for both of the Yankees championships in the early ‘60s, and had his best year in the memorable ‘61 season.

His career numbers: 43-40, 3.52 ERA, 449 Ks.

Al Downing Featured Card of the Week

Al Downing will forever be remembered as the pitcher who allowed Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, surpassing Babe Ruth’s long withstanding record. Thankfully, Downing was with the Dodgers at that point.

Downing played nine years with the Yankees, the team he was brought up with, and was a one-time All-Star in 1967. His career record: 123-107, 3.22 ERA, 1,639 SO, 1.269 WHIP.

Tom Tresh Featured Card of the Week

Tom Tresh played for the Yankees for seven full seasons, was named Rookie of the Year in 1962, a two-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner.

The Yankees won the World Series in his rookie season, thanks in large part to Tresh, who hit .321 with a homer and four RBIs.

As you can see, this is the most damaged card I’ve posted in this series and is one of the most damaged of the entire collection.

Although it greatly diminishes the book value of the card, I still like the feeling of holding a card that barely made it.

**Sorry this is a day late! I'll be back to usual Wednesday's schedule next week.