"THIS IS NEXT YEAR!" The Brooklyn Dodgers 1956 Topps Team Set

One of the fun things about a completed set is deciding how you want to organize it. I have the 1956 Topps set in a binder, sorted by team, in the same order that the teams finished in the 1955 Standings. In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers were the National League champions, with a 98-55 record. They would win the World Series in seven games. 

Without Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers were Bums. They had 3 championship teams in the 1800s, but they had little success in the 20th Century. Just 3 National League titles from 1900 to 1947. Once Jackie joined the club in 1947, the team became a perennial contender, going to the World Series in 6 of Jackie's 10 big league seasons. Ironically, the only World Series game that Jackie would miss in his career would be Game 7 in 1955, the first and only Brooklyn World Series Championship victory.

The 1955 Dodgers' team had the best record of any team in MLB, scoring the most runs while allowing the fewest. And yet, they still had to feel like underdogs against the Yankees, a team that had bested them in the championship 4 times in a row since 1947.  The Dodgers had finished with better records in 1941, 42, and '53, but no championship. In 1942, they didn't even reach the World Series, winning 104 games but finishing in 2nd place in the National League. "Wait 'Til Next Year" was the common refrain in Brooklyn (Cubs fans came to embrace it as well.), but in 1955, it finally was next year.

The Dodgers' best hitter in 1955 was the Duke of Flatbush himself, Duke Snider. He was the team leader in hits, doubles, runs scored, walks, homers, RBI, OBP, SLG, etc. Snider would also provide power and clutch hitting during the World Series, adding 4 more homers to the 42 he hit in the regular season.

Snider was the NL leader in runs scored in 1953, '54 and '55. He was in the midst of a run of 7 straight All-Star appearances and would make it 8 overall by the end of his career. He slugged 40 or more homers every year from 1953 through 1957, and had 407 for his career. He'd score over 100 runs in a season 6 times, and drive in 100 or more runs 6 times. It took 11 years on the ballot, but he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.

The best pitcher for the Dodgers in 1955 was their ace for the majority of the decade, Don Newcombe. Newk won 20 games during the regular season, but only pitched in game 1 of the World Series. During the regular season he led the NL in WHIP, with the lowest walk rate (1.5 per nine innings) and the highest rate of strikeouts to walks. He pitched complete games in 17 of his 31 starts, and registered 1 shutout on the season. If he had more plate appearances, you could argue that he was also the team's best hitter- he had 7 homers and a triple slash of .359 / .395 / .632(!) in 1955, which is not too shabby for a pitcher.

Newcombe would have an even better season in 1956, going 27 - 7 and winning both the Cy Young award and the NL MVP award as the Dodgers returned to the World Series. For his career, Newcombe had impeccable control and was able to convert from a power to finesse pitcher later on. Battling personal issues and some career setbacks, Newcombe found success again on the field in Cincinnati and also re-claimed his path in life by dedicating himself to the service of others post retirement. As a recovering alcoholic, he mentored others on their own path towards sobriety.

Jackie Robinson was not in the lineup for Game 7 of the 1955 World Series, and didn't appear in the game as a defensive replacement, pinch hitter, or pinch runner. One teammate (Newcombe) later stated that it was an injured Achilles tendon, while another offered that knee injuries sidelined Jackie. For his own part, Robinson did not mention it in his autobiography. He only talks about the great pitching performance of Johnny Podres, Sandy Amoros making an incredible catch to preserve the lead, and how it was one the greatest thrills of his life to be on a World Series winning team.

The truth was that life for Jackie with the Dodgers hadn't been the same since Walter O'Malley assumed control of the team. The cool relationship between Manager Walter Alston and Robinson didn't help either. Alston benched Jackie about 1/3 of the time in 1955, and roughly the same in 1956. Robinson was not bitter about being benched, he too was aware that his skills had declined due to age and injury. But he would note in his book that Alston and O'Malley seemed to think there was mutual resentment. O'Malley for replacing (forcing out) Branch Rickey, and Alston for taking Chuck Dressen's job as Dodgers manager. I haven't read any O'Malley biographies, but if I extrapolate from Jackie Robinson's and Bill Veeck's books, I have a consistent picture of O'Malley as a powerful man that is suspicious of anyone that might challenge that power. If there's any bitterness, it certainly wasn't on Jackie's side. He stated in no uncertain terms that he benefited from Baseball, and was glad that Baseball had benefited from him. He had been looking for his post career landing spot since the end of the 1954 season, so the timing of his trade to the Giants after the 1956 World Series and the announcement of his retirement / new role with coffee house chain Chock Full 'O Nuts was (mostly) a coincidence. He was genuinely considering the Giants' offer before Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi told the press that Robinson was trying to leverage a higher salary. That was enough for Robinson to just retire like he had been planning.

The 1955 NL MVP was actually Roy Campanella, who edged out Snider in the voting by 5 points. There was a small controversy about this as there was a single ballot from a Philadelphia writer that listed Campanella 1st and also 5th. The assumption was that one vote was meant for Snider. The writer was ill at the time the votes were being counted, so they decided to go with Campanella as written as #1, and made #5 blank. Both players received 8 first place votes, and in terms of total points, Campanella won by 5 points. Another fifth place vote for Snider would have made him the points leader in the MVP race, making him the winner. But in the end, both players made compelling cases. Campy joined Yogi Berra as league MVPs, which they had done previously in 1951. 1955 and 1951 are the only two seasons in which both MVP awards were given to Catchers.

Johnny Podres was known as a humble guy in the clubhouse, a Brooklyn kid that was thrilled to be playing for the team he grew up cheering for. So when he saw the tension on his teammates faces (or maybe just felt the tension himself), he piped up before Game 7 - "Just get me one today, boys and I'll take it from there!" This immediately loosened the mood among the team, and Podres pitched a masterful game to back up his rare boast. He later revealed that he got a great deal of confidence when Walter Alston told him after his Game 3 victory that if the series went the distance, he'd be starting Game 7.
The bullpen was led by Clem Labine, who won 13 games and saved 11 in relief, and Ed Roebuck who led the team with 12 saves.

Don Bessent and Roger Craig both sported ERAs under 3.00, and youngster Sandy Koufax led the team with 2 shutouts despite only being asked to start 5 games. Don Zimmer provided some pop off the bench, contributing 15 homers to the squad in '55. It was Walter Alston's second year as manager, but he was already establishing his style as a close to the vest tactician. He did not show the outward passion of Dodgers managers of the past like Leo Durocher, or the future like Tommy LaSorda, but he would certainly find a way to succeed, winning 7 NL Pennants, 4 World Series titles, and over 2,000 regular season games.

Start Spreading the News The 1956 Topps New York Yankees Team Set

One of the fun things about a completed set is deciding how you want to organize it. I have the 1956 Topps set in a binder, sorted by team, in the same order that the teams finished in the 1955 Standings. In 1955, the New York Yankees were the American League champions, with a 96-58 record. They would lose the World Series in seven games. 

I will say only nice things about the Yankees today, an objectively great team in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Since opening Yankee Stadium, the Yankees had won at least 3 World Series per decade, and by 1955 they had already won 3 championships and were on their way to a total of 5 World Series victories in the 50s. Few things are more "New York" than the Yankees, but how about Frank Sinatra? His album, "Songs for Swingin' Lovers," was released in 1956:

While the AL Champions did not win the 1955 series, they would not have to wait long to return to the Championship -- it would be the first of 4 straight World Series appearances, winning in 1956 and 1958.

The Yankees' best hitter in 1955 was the great Mickey Mantle, who was just 23 years old and the toast of the town, He led the league with a ridiculous 180 OPS+, playing a superb center field while getting on base with a league leading .431 OBP. He hit .306 with 37 homers, and scored 121 runs.

While the 1955 season was impressive, it didn't hold a candle to 1956. Mantle would win the triple crown, hitting .353 with 52 homers and 130 RBI. He scored 132 runs and his OPS+ was 210, meaning his season was 110% better than the average Major League outfielder. He'd win 3 MVP awards over his career. The well-known and well-traveled narrative is that injuries would rob Mantle of his full potential, and certainly it directly changed the 1955 Series. Mantle played in just 3 of the 7 games, and had just 2 hits in 10 at bats. For his career, the Hall of Fame, Switch hitting Center Fielder would still hit 536 homers, and have over 1500 RBI despite chronic knee and back pain.

The Yankees' best pitcher shared a nickname -- The Chairman of the Board -- with Sinatra, and the lefty made his teammates sing his praises throughout his career. In 1955, Ford had a 18-7 record with a 2.62 ERA. While his 137 strikeouts in 254 innings is not eye popping by today's standards, it was among the league leaders in '55. He hurled 5 shutouts that year, and was the staff ace all season long. His 18 wins (and 18 complete games) led the AL.

For his career, Ford had a 236 - 106 record. His 45 shutouts ranks 29th All-Time. His best season was 1961, while Maris and Mantle were chasing Babe Ruth, so too was Whitey Ford, but as a pitcher. Ruth's World Series scoreless innings streak was 29 and 2/3 innings, and Ford matched then beat it en route to a World Series MVP award. During the '61 regular season, he won 25 games and his only Cy Young Award. 

Casey Stengel, Yankees' irascible manager, was quoted often for his humor, but he also said -- "I never play a game without my man." That man was Yogi Berra. Berra led the Yankees on the field, and in 1955 had a team high 108 RBI, while hitting 27 homers. Oh yeah, and he was the AL MVP for the second consecutive season.

Berra is a 10 time World Champ, 18 time All-Star, 3 time MVP. As a catcher, Berra never led the league in a single offensive category, but his value was measured as much for his baseball knowledge and on-field leadership. It didn't hurt with sportswriters that he was always ready with a goofy quip, but Yogi was a tremendous baseball player regardless of his funny quotes.

Phil Rizzuto was at the tail end of his Hall of Fame career, and 81 games in 1955, he drove in just 9 runs. Of course, Rizzuto was never known for being a great hitter, but the production had slipped to a point at which he was supplanted at Shortstop by former Oriole Billy Hunter in 1955, and by Gil McDougald in 1956. McDougald was in many ways a forgotten star in the Yankees dynasty. In 1955, he was the Yankees' primary 2nd Baseman hitting 13 homers for the Bronx Bombers. Mantle and Berra were joined by Bill "Moose" Skowron and Hank Bauer as power bats on the '55 team. Skowron had an OPS+ of 140, hitting a team high .319 - Bauer crushed 20 homers.

Ford was the best Yankees pitcher, but their #2 starter Bob Turley wasn't far behind. In fact, Turley struck out 210 batters and had a team high 6 shutouts. Jim Konstanty was a stabilizing force in the bullpen, saving 11 games but finishing 30 games overall with a sterling 2.32 ERA. Don Larsen was just 25, still a year award from the perfect game in the 1956 World Series that made him a baseball immortal.

Even the Yankees' bench was stacked - with the great Elston Howard waiting in the wings to provide relief for Yogi Berra behind the plate. Billy Martin would once again become the Yankees' starting second baseman in 1956 and was already a fixture in Yankees' lore. A host of veterans like Eddie Robinson who hit 16 homers off the bench in 1955, and Jerry Coleman provided sage leadership.

The 1956 Topps Milwaukee Team Set

One of the fun things about a completed set is deciding how you want to organize it. I have the 1956 Topps set in a binder, sorted by team, in the same order that the teams finished in the 1955 Standings. In 1955, MIlwaukee finished in 2nd place in the National League with an 85-69 record.

1955 was the team's 3rd in Milwaukee and they were enjoying the benefits of a rabid fan base. Rookie Catcher Bob Rosselli spoke at length about the generosity and love showered on the players in the city. The city was also selected by major league baseball to host the 1955 All-Star Game, and the fans had the chance to extend their hospitality to the rest of the Major leagues.

The team would finish in second place in 1955, and again the same in 1956 before pushing their way to the top of the National League. They would play in 2 straight World Series, winning the first in 1957, the only baseball title in Milwaukee history.

The team's best hitter in 1955 was future Hall of Fame 3rd Baseman Eddie Mathews. Mathews was one of five Milwaukee All-Stars, and cranked out 41 homers while driving in 101 runs. Just 23 years old, he led the National League with 109 walks, and scored over 100 runs as well. He led Milwaukee with 7.3 WAR.

He would lead the NL in walks 4 times, and homers twice. The patient slugger would scored over 1500 career runs, and drive in over 1400 more. The 12 time All-Star would play in 3 World Series, winning once with Milwaukee and later with the Tigers in 1968.

It should come as no shock that the team's best pitcher in 1955 was Warren Spahn. The ageless wonder was usually their best pitcher in the 40s and the 50s. Spahn had an atypically average year in 1955, with a 3.26 ERA and a 17-11 record. He had 16 complete games, but just 1 shutout. He would strikeout 110 batters over 245 innings, succeeding by inducing soft contact rather than blowing the ball past the hitter.

Spahn was originally a strikeout artist, leading the NL in Ks in 4 seasons in the late 40s / early 50s. He won 3 ERA titles and was on 17 All-Star games. He would tally 20 or more wins in 13 seasons! His 363 wins ranks 6th All-Time. 

The 21 year old Hank Aaron is joined by Willie Mays on his card here. They even could have been teammates, but Aaron was offered $50 more per month to sign with the Braves. In 1955, Aaron had a very good season, driving in 106 runs while scoring 105 of his own. He hit .314 on the season.

What more do you need to know about Hank Aaron? He's the All-Time leader in RBI and total bases, and easily in the top 5 greatest players ever.

Much of Milwaukee's success in 1955 can be attributed to their potent offense. In addition to Aaron and Mathews, Bill Bruton also scored over 100 runs. Bruton had 12 triples and stole 25 bases as well, providing the team's speed. Catcher Del Crandall was a beefy slugger, smashing 26 homers. Veteran Bobby Thomson added 12 more long balls.

The pitching was so mundane that Topps didn't even bother to make 8 pitcher cards for the team... The team hovered around league average on the mound, with Bob Buhl leading the team with a 3.21 ERA. The best thing that can be said about them is that the starters soaked up innings. Spahn, Burdette and Buhl all had over 200 innings pitched. The relief corps wasn't much to write home about either, saving just 10 games (the starters came in to save 3 more) combined.

Chuck Tanner would go on to be a Manager with over 1300 wins; his best season as a player came with the World Champs in 1957.  Andy Pafko played for the team from 1953 until 1959. His first two seasons in Milwaukee, he played as a regular, and cemented his place as a fan favorite.

I owe you another card back (I opted to not share the images on the back of Spahn's card..), so here's Bob Roselli's card, where he's happy to be playing baseball instead of going to war, and he bruises the moon with his home run power. He'd hit just one in Milwaukee over his career, but had 12 in just 64 games in the minors in 1953.

Cleveland 1956 Topps Team Set

One of the fun things about a completed set is deciding how you want to organize it. I have the 1956 Topps set in a binder, sorted by team, in the same order that the teams finished in the 1955 Standings. In 1955, Cleveland finished in 2nd place in the American League with an 93-61 record.

Baseball in Cleveland was big in the mid-fifties with a championship in 1948 and another World Series appearance in 1954. Even with that success, baseball was still second fiddle to the great football team that shared space in Municipal Stadium. The Cleveland Browns were NFL champions in 1950, 1955, and 1956. appearing in the Championship game every year from their first NFL season in 1950 until that 56 title. The team was also 1st in their previous league for 4 years leading up to their joining the NFL, a full decade of division/league titles with their star QB Otto Graham.

On the baseball diamond, the 1956 Topps set is interesting as much for what is missing from the 1955 team as for what remains. The team parted ways with Hall of Famers Larry Doby, Ralph Kiner, and Hal Newhouser following the 1955 season- yet retained a talented and formidable core of players.

Even if you counted the seasons by Kiner and Doby, the best hitter on the 1955 squad was Al Smith. "Fuzzy" was the AL leader in runs scored, and was the team leader in hits, doubles, walks, stolen bases, batting average, and of course runs scored. His big season would take him to his first All-Star game, and rank him 3rd in the AL MVP voting.

Smith was an under-the-radar minor star in the 50s - he amassed 1,458 career hits in the majors, having been signed to play in the majors from the Cleveland Buckeyes in the Negro American League. For the Buckeyes, Smith was signed as a 17 year old and led the league in doubles and triples in his 2nd season. He was signed after being scouted on the same day as pitcher Sam "Toothpick" Jones. Smith was a 2 time All-Star and appeared in the World Series in 1954 and again with the White Sox in 1959. During Game 2 of that series, Smith was absolutely soaked with beer by a fan who knocked over a cup reaching for a home run by Tommy Davis.

Cleveland had a tremendous year from their pitching staff, but the biggest surprise was the amazing debut of 22 year old Herb Score. The lefty had a 16-10 record, and struck out a league leading 245 batters in just 227 innings. He was named AL Rookie of the Year, and made his first All-Star team.

He followed it up in 1956 with another season in which he led all AL hurlers in strikeouts, and also had a league leading 5 shutouts, and winning 20 games.  He suffered a freak injury in 1957, struck in his left eye by a line drive that effectively ended his season. He would return in 1958 only to have a torn tendon in his elbow, pitched in the majors for the last time in 1960, and by 1962 he had retired from baseball. He would start as a TV broadcaster in 1964, but was best known for his radio voice for Cleveland for more than 30 years.

When Herb Score burst onto the scene, he was replacing the great Bob Feller in the rotation. Score was even called a "left-handed Bob Feller," which was a very high bar that he would approach only in 1955 and 1956. For Feller, those would be his last two MLB seasons, pitching sparingly for Cleveland, the only team he would ever suit up for.

The Hall of Famer was a legend in the game, and his carefully crafted public persona as a crotchety old man brought decades of fodder for broadcasters and journalists alike, who would regularly name-check Feller anytime they wanted to talk about "the state of pitching today." In his day, Feller was nothing short of remarkable. Despite missing nearly 4 seasons in the prime years of his career, Feller still had 3 no-hitters, 44 career shutouts, and won 268 games. He was a 7 time strikeout leader, and would easily have won nearly that many Cy Young awards if the accolade was given in his prime.

Cleveland acquired Chico Carrasquel in the Larry Doby trade, and Chico did not replace Doby's bat. Instead it would fall on 22 year old rookie Rocky Colavito and veteran Vic Wertz to make up for the vacuum in the lineup left by Doby's departure in '56. Al Rosen was the 1953 AL MVP and was a fixture in Cleveland's lineup for the first half of the 1950s, but his career stalled out in 1956 with just 15 homers. Bobby Avila is credited with being MLB's first major star born in Mexico - he was the AL batting champ in 1954.

You can take your pick of Hall of Fame pitchers here-- Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Bob Feller all received the call from the Hall after their playing days were over. Score had a great 1955, but was 3rd on the team in victories - Wynn won 17 and Bob Lemon won 18. All three would win 20 games apiece for Cleveland in 1956. Don Mossi pitched beautifully out of the bullpen in '55, with a 2.42 ERA (a 166 ERA+) in 57 appearances.  Ray Narleski saved 19 games as the team's closer.

Jose Santiago pitched in 17 games for Cleveland in '55, with a 2.48 ERA. Hal Naragon hit .323 as the reserve catcher in 57 games, and Jim Busby came over to be the regular centerfielder for Cleveland in 1956 after a season split between the Senators and the White Sox.

They Might Be The New York Giants 1956 Topps Team Set

One of the fun things about a completed set is deciding how you want to organize it. I have the 1956 Topps set in a binder, sorted by team, in the same order that the teams finished in the 1955 Standings. In 1955, the New York Giants finished in 3rd place in the National League with an 80-74 record.

1951 had the "Shot Heard Round the World," 1954 had "The Catch," but all 1955 had was a 3rd place finish and a season ending Triple Play turned against them by the Phillies. The Polo Grounds were literally falling apart, and the team owner Horace Stoneman was looking West to potentially expand Major League Baseball's reach. With a franchise moving from Boston to Milwaukee, Minneapolis seemed like a possible landing spot. The Giants still controlled the minor league Minneapolis Millers, and the region had started plans to build a new major league ready stadium in the suburbs to the south west of the Twin Cities near the new airport. The team's future in Manhattan was now very much in doubt, and if not for a few key players, the Polo Grounds would be a very depressing place to be. 

It should be no surprise that the Giants' best hitter in 1955 was Willie Mays. He was now back from military service for a full year, and at age 24 Mays was just hitting his stride. Mays was the National League's leader in triples and home runs in 1955. That's remarkable. With the exception of Stan Musial in 1948, triples hitters are not power hitters-- to lead in both categories in the same season in almost unheard of. He also led the NL in Slugging , OPS, and total bases. He finished 4th in the MVP vote, behind Ernie Banks and a pair of Dodgers.

Mays was the MVP in 1954, as the Giants were World Series bound, and somehow Mays only won that award twice in his career. Starting in 1956, Mays led the NL in steals 4 straight seasons. He was very nearly the first 40/40 man, hitting 36 homers in '56 with 40 steals, then 36/38 the next year. The milestone would of course not be reached until 1988 when Jose Canseco did it. Mays finished his career with 660 homers, which was 3rd best in MLB history at the time, and is one of the first players mentioned whenever the discussion of greatest player of all time comes up. He was a 24 time All-Star, won 12 Gold Gloves, hitting for average and power, with great speed and defense.

The Giants' pitching in 1955 was suspect, but their best pitcher was southpaw starter, Johnny Antonelli. He won 14 games with a pair of shut outs, and a 3.33 ERA. Antonelli struck out 143 batters in 235 innings.

Like much of the Giants team, 1954 had much better results for Antonelli. He won 21 games and led the NL with a 2.30 ERA. He followed the 1955 season with another 20 win season. Over his career, he was a 6 time All-Star, and in the 1954 World Series had a great start and saved a second game.

The other Hall of Famer on the squad was knuckball reliever Hoyt Wilhelm. He led the Giants with 59 appearances tossing 103 innings and finishing 14 games in 1955. He was just a shade better than league average, sporting a 104 ERA+.

So, this card could probably use an upgrade, there was some tape used on the back at some point in the past. Wilhelm is best known for his Knuckleball and the longevity of his career - but did you know he is one of the rare MLB players to have hit a home run in their first career at bat? The 8 time All-Star pitched for 21 seasons, and he won a pair of ERA titles.

The only other Giant with an OPS+ above 100 was Hank Thompson, who hit just .245 with 17 homers. Don Mueller managed to drive in 83 runs despite only hitting 8 homers,  I suspect it was thanks in no small part to hitting after Willie Mays in the lineup, as Mays scored 123 runs in 1955. Wayne Terwilliger is a personal favorite of mine, he coached for the MN Twins and later the Saint Paul Saints well into his 90s.

Marv Grissom, the Giants' closer, actually had a very good season out of the bullpen. He saved 8 games, pitching 89 innings with an ERA under 3. Jim Hearn had an identical 14-16 record to Johnny Antonelli, but got there with fewer strikeouts and more walks...

1954 World Series Hero "Dusty" Rhodes was still on the Giants, providing timely pinch hitting and occasional relief in the outfield. Bobby Hofman added 10 homers as a part time infielder. Foster Castleman and Daryl Spencer would be regulars in 1956, which might explain how the Giants dropped to 6th Place in the National League in 1956.