 |
 |
William Benjamin Chapman
New York Yankees
Outfield
Born: December 25, 1908, Nashville, TN
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1930-1936; Washington Senators 1936-1937; Boston Red Sox 1937-1938; Cleveland Indians 1939-1940; Washington Senators 1941; Chicago White Sox 1941; Brooklyn Dodgers 1944-1945; Philadelphia Phillies 1945-1946
World Series Appearances: New York Yankees 1932
As a Manager: Philadelphia Phillies 1945-1948
Died: July 7, 1993, Hoover, AL (84)
The speedy Ben Chapman was a four-time All-Star with the Yankees between 1933 and 1936, serving as their regular center fielder. He had more stolen bases than any other player between 1926 and 1943, leading the league four times and setting a career-high mark with 61 in 1931. That was to be his career year as he batted .315 with career highs in home runs (17) and RBIs (122). Chapman bounced around a bit following his Yankees years, after New York dealt him to the Senators to make way for the arrival of rookie Joe DiMaggio (#126). His racist, anti-semitic and overall bullying tendencies, which would later lead to his ouster from the sport, were first displayed during his Yankees years and may have led to his frequent trades in the years that followed.
 |
| May 9, 1947 - Pregame |
Chapman returned to the majors in 1944 as a pitcher/pinch-hitter and he'd be named player/manager for the Phillies in 1945. It was in 1947 while manager of the Phillies that Chapman cemented his legacy for the racist taunts he continually directed towards the Dodgers' Jackie Robinson during the star's rookie season - see below. Chapman was fired as the Phillies manager in July 1948 and except for a stint as a Reds coach in 1952, he never again worked in baseball.
Building the Set
April 28, 2021 from Rockford, MI - Card #17
This was a spur of the moment eBay purchase from seller rare_stock101 from Rockford, Michigan. I had been browsing Diamond Stars cards, sorted by least expensive, when I came across this card for a very reasonable price.
Variations Available
1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright
The Card / Yankees Team Set
We get an action shot here, with Chapman following through on a swing as an anonymous catcher looks on. The back of the card explains the importance of "coachers" at first base to let baserunners know whenever the opposing first baseman is sneaking in behind the runner for a pick-off throw.
1935 Season
Serving once again as the Yankees' every day center fielder, Chapman appeared in 140 games while batting .289 with eight home runs, 74 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He was named to his third All-Star team, and the Yankees finished second in the American League, three games behind the Tigers.
Chapman was dealt to the Phillies from the Dodgers on June 15, 1945 for catcher Johnny Peacock. Now a full-time pitcher, Chapman took over as the team's player/manager on June 30th following the resignation of Freddie Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons had guided the team to a 18-51 mark thus far into the season, and I suppose out of desperation the Phillies turned to Chapman. Chapman had previously managed in the Class B Piedmont League in 1942 and 1944, missing the 1943 season due to his year-long suspension for punching an umpire.
As a player, Chapman appeared in 24 games in 1945, batting .314 (16 for 51) while pitching in three games to a 7.71 ERA over seven innings pitched. He made one appearance in 1946 before retiring as a player and switching to full-time manager. As mentioned above, during Robinson's first year with the Dodgers in 1947, Chapman, along with several other Phillies players, frequently and repeated shouted racial slurs at Robinson when the two teams first faced off. The ugly incidents were featured prominently in the 2013 film, 42.
When the Dodgers visited Philadelphia in early May that season, Chapman was pressured into apologizing for his behavior and Robinson reluctantly posed for a pre-game photo with the Phillies manager. In 2013, 69 years after the incident, Philadelphia City Council issued a formal apology to Robinson for the "racism he faced as a player while visiting Philadelphia."
Chapman was fired 79 games into the 1948 season and replaced by Eddie Sawyer who would guide the team to the 1950 National League pennant. Chapman's managerial record with the Phillies was 196-276 with his teams never finishing above fifth place.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
|
|
|
|
|
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1933 Goudey #191
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1): 1952
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Conlon Collection TSN #1081
Chapman's role as a Reds coach in 1952 earned him a card in the 1952 Topps set. However, Topps used a picture of Sam Chapman, who had played for the Indians in 1951, instead of Ben.
52 - Chapman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/2/21.
Sources:
Previous Card: #37 "Billie" Urbanski - Boston Braves
Next Card: #39 Carl Hubbell - New York Giants
No comments:
Post a Comment