Sunday, March 3, 2024

#127 Leo Durocher - St. Louis Cardinals


Leo Ernest Durocher
St. Louis Cardinals
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  160
Born:  July 27, 1905, West Springfield, MA
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1925, 1928-1929; Cincinnati Reds 1930-1933; St. Louis Cardinals 1933-1937; Brooklyn Dodgers 1938-1941, 1943, 1945
World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1928; St. Louis Cardinals 1934; New York Giants 1951, 1954
As a Manager:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1939-1946, 1948; New York Giants 1948-1955; Chicago Cubs 1966-1972; Houston Astros 1972-1973
Died:  October 7, 1991, Palm Springs, CA (age 86)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1994

As a player, Leo Durocher relied on his confidence, his cockiness and his fine fielding skills to put together a career that spanned two decades.  He was a member of the Yankees squad that won the World Series in 1928, and the regular shortstop for the Bronx Bombers in the early 1930s.  He won another World Series title with the Cardinals in 1934, and he'd find regular work as the starting shortstop for the Cardinals and the Dodgers throughout the 1930s.  Durocher was named to three All-Star teams, including in 1936 when he batted a career-best .286 for the Cardinals.  A light hitter throughout his career, he finished his playing days with 1,320 hits and a .247 lifetime average.

As a manager, Durocher, nicknamed "The Lip," was credited with the phrase, "Nice guys finish last."  He skippered the Dodgers from 1939 to 1946 and was set to welcome Jackie Robinson to the majors when then Commissioner Happy Chandler suspended him for associating with gamblers.  Durocher returned in 1948 as the manager of the Giants, leading the team to pennants in 1951 and 1954.  The Giants swept the Indians in the 1954 World Series, giving Durocher his third World Series ring.  He'd win a fourth ring in 1963 as a coach with the Dodgers.  Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among major league managers with 2,008 wins.  His 100 career ejections trailed only John McGraw upon his retirement, and has since been surpassed by Bobby Cox, who was ejected 162 times.  Durocher was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame in 1994.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1969 Topps blog.

Building the Set
December 16, 2020 from Albion, NY
Within days of officially deciding to collect the Diamond Stars set, I found myself searching for the 1993 extension set consisting of 36 more "what if" cards this time issued by the Chicle Fantasy Company.  Individual cards from this set are very prevalent on eBay, but I wanted to buy a complete set to save myself some time and money.  Given this is a relatively modern set, I was somewhat surprised at the closing auction prices for previously sold complete sets and I was happy to win my set at a lower price.  These cards are gorgeous, and I can tell a lot of hard work and love for the originals went into making this tribute set.  What's more, the set's creators were smart enough to start the numbering with card #120, given the 1981 extension set had left off with #120.

As I slowly collect the originals from the 1930s, I'll also highlight each of the cards from these extension sets with their own posts.

Variations Available
1 - 1993 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1993 copyright

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
That's Dizzy Dean (#124) and manager Frankie Frisch (#17) flanking Durocher in a great pose showing the "All-American Out" exiting the dugout.  Durocher appears to be a victim of a hot foot, likely executed by Dean, and he's moments away from wondering why his sock is suddenly so hot.  The scene may have been inspired by the photo shown above with Dean and Frisch standing on either side of Cardinals' general manager Branch Rickey in 1934.  The write-up on the back of the card is fantastic and covers all the highlights of Durocher's career to date.  It also presciently points toward his future as a big league manager.

1936 Season
This was to be one of Durocher's strongest seasons at the plate.  In 136 games, including 135 starts at shortstop, he batted .286 with 22 doubles and 58 RBIs.  He was the starting shortstop for the National League All-Stars, going 1 for 3 in the game with a single off Lefty Grove (#1).  Durocher was thrown out at second by American League center fielder Earl Averill (#35), trying to stretch the single into a double.

1933 Goudey #147
1939 Play Ball #6
1952 Topps #315
1969 Topps #147
1973 Topps #624

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #147
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1952, 1967-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #31

304 - Durocher non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/19/23.

Sources:

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1 comment:

  1. Tom14411March 3, 2024 at 4:28 PM

    Thanks for your kind words! I can't recall what photo(s?) I used to create that "mash up," but I don't think it was that one. Someplace buried in the Chicle Fantasy archives should lie the answer, but finding that will have to be up to an archeologist! I know hours spent with Cooperstown's photo folders provided lots of help.
    I do recall my idea for the design of the Bob Johnson card - I based it on the style of Goudey's "Indian Gum."

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