Category: Sherm Lollar (Page 2 of 9)
Chicago White Sox Catcher
Continued from Post #2612
As this series continues, there was another small article by Hoffman on Page 4 of the August 3, 1954, edition of the Sporting News, as he continued to examine the career of Sherm Lollar. The headline read:
At 12-14 Years Battled Priddy, Cooper, and Tucker
“Sherman Loller was in the swing of organized baseball long before he actually became an important part of it. The current number one White Sox catcher was a batboy, warm-up catcher, and batting practice backstop in 1936, 1937, and 1938 for the Fayetteville, Arkansas team in the Arkansas-Missouri League. At the ages of 12,13, and 14, then, he was pleased to mingle with such future Major League stars as Jerry Priddy, Walker Cooper, and Thurman Tucker.
“I was big stuff in those days, Lollar laughed as he recalled his youth. Nothing else would’ve suited me better. Little did I know how far I still had to go to get where I am today, and I suppose there’s still a long way ahead. I hope so anyway.”
According to Wikipedia, Gerald Edward Priddy became a second baseman for the Yankees, Senators, Browns, and Tigers. He was five-years older than Sherm and they just missed crossing paths in St. Louis, since Priddy left in 1949 and Lollar joined the team in 1951. He was groomed to be paired with future Hall of Fame shortstop, Phil Rizzuto, as a double-play combination, after playing together in Norfolk. Priddy was one of the league’s best prospects in 1939, hitting .333 with 24 home runs and 107 RBIs. When it came to playing with the Yankees, however, his cockiness apparently got in the way, with respect to another future Hall of Famer, Joe Gordon. Gordon was the final choice to play with Rizzuto while Priddy was eventually traded to the Washington Senators, where he became a solid starter. Joe Priddy also became a baseball hero to then 11-year-old Maury Wills, just as Sherm Lollar influenced me around that impressionable age.
The second Fayetteville player that made it to the Majors was Thurman Lowell Tucker, six years older than Sherm. A center fielder, Tucker played for nine seasons with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians. In 701 career games, he recorded a batting average of .255 and accumulated 24 triples, nine home runs, and 179 runs batted in (RBI). Due to his resemblance to the film comedian Joe E. Brown, Tucker was nicknamed “Joe E”.
The third Fayetteville future Major Leaguer was William Walker Cooper. He was 8-years older than Sherm and most likely his closest mentor, particularly since he went on to serve as a catcher from 1940 to 1957, most notably as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. He won two World Series championships with them and was an eight-time All-Star. After his playing career, he managed the Indianapolis Indians (1958–59) and Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers (1961) of the Triple-A American Association and was a coach for the 1960 Kansas City Athletics, before leaving the game. Cooper is remembered as one of the top catchers in baseball during the 1940s and early 1950s, but like Sherm, apparently not good enough for the Hall of Fame.
It’s time once again for me to get on my soap box when it comes to catchers and the Hall of Fame. As I pointed out in my post titled, Who Was That Masked Man?, a baseball catcher is a special type of athlete. It’s up and down from an uncomfortable squat inning after inning, it’s often guiding and supporting a star pitcher, and it’s being involved in every play. Arguably, no one touches the ball in a game more than the catcher, and no one on the field has a better view of the field of play. They are the field generals and often go on to be managers and coaches. It’s just another reason why these masked men, like Sherm Lollar, deserve more respect from the Baseball Hall of Fame.
As of 2024, there are 346 elected members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including 20-catchers, so these “masked men” make up less than 6 percent of these inductees. Pitchers make up the majority, about a third, so catchers that I’ve written about in this series like Lollar, Cooper, Hayes, and Hegan get left out in the cold, even though many consider them to be the best pitchers of all. Baseball is a team game of nine positions, if we don’t yet count the designated hitter. Ask yourself these questions. What would a pitcher be without a catcher? Or the seven other teammates on the field, for that matter? The other half of the battery deserves more attention. Or, maybe just call it the Pitcher’s Hall of Fame?
We don’t judge pitchers based solely on their hitting skills. We judge them on their ability to pitch, so the main criteria for a catcher should be their defensive skills. Although, this is where the game has evolved. Today’s catchers can do it all, and their statistics now make them more competitive with other stars of the game. In simple terms, however, pitchers pitch and catchers catch – that’s the way the game was designed. Let’s give more credit to those who are fundamentally sound behind the plate like Sherm Lollar.
Who’s one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time? Take off your mask Sherm Lollar – with a .992 fielding percentage, a ML record in his era. He also caught a ML record-tying six pop-ups in one game. Look at the statistics chart at the end of this article. It compares the 15 players in the Hall, plus the three “Negro League” inductees and potential inductees, with Lollar’s career. Only Elston Howard, also not in the Hall of Fame, has a higher FP at .993, but he did not play as many years or in as many games as Sherm Lollar. Jorge Pasada ties Lollar, but also played 4 fewer years and 270 less games. He is also not yet in the Hall of Fame. Granted, they were both better hitters, but my point is recognizing the ability to catch and throw out batters. After all, taking away runs from others is equally as important as scoring runs.
Hall of Fame Catchers as of this writing:
Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds 1967-1983
Yogi Berra, New York Yankees 1946-1963
Roger Bresnahan: Washington Senators, 1897; Chicago Orphans, 1900; Baltimore Orioles, 1901 – 1902; New York Giants, 1902 – 1908; St. Louis Cardinals, 1909 – 1912; Chicago Cubs, 1913 – 1915.
Roy Campanella: Brooklyn Dodgers, 1948 – 1957.
Gary Carter: Montreal Expos, 1974 – 1984, 1992; New York Mets, 1985 – 1989; San Francisco Giants, 1990; Los Angeles Dodgers, 1991.
Mickey Cochrane: Philadelphia Athletics, 1925 – 1933; Detroit Tigers, 1934 – 1937.
Bill Dickey: New York Yankees, 1928 – 1943, 1946.
Buck Ewing: Troy Trojans, 1880 – 1882; New York Gothams/Giants, 1883 – 1889; New York Giants, 1890 – 1892; Cleveland Spiders, 1893 – 1894; Cincinnati Reds, 1895 – 1897.
Rick Ferrell: St. Louis Browns, 1929 – 1933, 1941 – 1943; Boston Red Sox, 1933 – 1937; Washington Senators, 1937 – 1941, 1944 – 1945, 1947.
Carlton Fisk: Boston Red Sox, 1969, 1971 – 1980; Chicago White Sox, 1981 – 1993.
Josh Gibson: Homestead Grays, 1930 – 1931, 1937 – 1939, 1942 – 1946; Pittsburgh Crawfords, 1932 – 1936; Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo, 1937; Azules de Veracruz, 1940 – 1941.
Gabby Hartnett: Chicago Cubs, 1922 – 1940; New York Giants, 1941.
Ernie Lombardi: Brooklyn Robins, 1931; Cincinnati Reds, 1932 – 1941; Boston Braves, 1942; New York Giants, 1943 – 1947.
Biz Mackey: St. Louis Giants, 1920; Indianapolis ABCs, 1920 – 1922; Hilldale Giants, 1923 – 1931; Philadelphia Stars, 1933 – 1935, 1937; Newark Eagles, 1939 – 1947.
Mike Piazza: Los Angeles Dodgers, 1992 – 1998; Florida Marlins, 1998; New York Mets, 1998 – 2005; San Diego Padres, 2006; Oakland Athletics, 2007.
Ivan Rodriguez: Texas Rangers, 1991 – 2002, 2009; Florida Marlins, 2003; Detroit Tigers, 2004 – 2008; New York Yankees, 2008; Houston Astros, 2009; Washington Nationals, 2010 – 2011.
Louis Santop: Philadelphia Giants, 1911; New York Lincoln Giants, 1912, 1914 – 1916; Brooklyn Royal Giants, 1917 – 1918, 1919; Hilldale Daisies, 1918, 1919 – 1926.
Ray Schalk: Chicago White Sox, 1912 – 1928; New York Giants, 1929.
Ted Simmons: St. Louis Cardinals, 1968 – 1980; Milwaukee Brewers, 1981 – 1985; Atlanta Braves, 1986 – 1988.
Joe Mauer: Minnesota Twins 2004-2018
Catchers likely to be inducted in the Next 10 Years:
Buster Posey: San Francisco Giants eligible 2027.
Yadier Molina: St. Louis Cardinals eligible 2028.
Sherm Lollar was far too quiet and humble to say all this for himself, but he and his contemporaries should be recognized as part of this elite group. He wasn’t flashy and outspoken like the great Yogi Berra. Bottom line, catchers should comprise at least 10% of those in the Hall of Fame.
To Be Continued…
Continued from Post #2610
Hoffman of The Sporting News continued to expound on Sherman Lollar’s skills under the sub-heading of “Shotgun for an Arm.” I know he was a reporter, but I also feel he was a fan, traveling with the White Sox for eight years. He was with the Chicago
Sun Times for 25-years and is credited with starting the Golden Jubilee Sports Benefit for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs, according to his October 28, 1964, obituary at 61-years old. At that time, Sherm was the bullpen coach for the World Champion Baltimore Orioles, earning his second ring in 1966 with a pitching staff that included Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Steve Barber, Wally Bunker, Eddy Watt, and Moe Drabowsky.
Before Lollars 18-year catching career ended in 1963, he spent 12-years with the Chicago White Sox. It was Manager Paul Richards, a catcher once himself, that made the trade from the Browns possible in 1952. Some observers may have noted, “you know that boy just saunters from the dugout to the plate and from the plate to the dugout… looks kind of lazy” Richards retorted, “I’m not concerned with what he does going to and from the plate. It’s what he does at the plate and behind it that counts.”
Hoffman went on to point out that “one of the things Lollar did last season (1954) was to throw out the last 18 runners who tried to steal on him. No one in fact stole on him after May 11 and only four of 22 made it all season.
“And one of the things Lollar did at the plate this season (1955) was to hit seven home runs in ten days from April 23 through May 3.”
“If there are any catchers in the American league as good as or better than Lollar they would have to be Cleveland’s Jim Hogan, and the Yankees’ Yogi Berra. Oddly enough he was unable to become the Indians’ catcher because of Hegan, and he missed taking over the number one job with the Yankees because of Berra. It was only natural then that he should move on to other clubs, but still the way wasn’t easy, because it required some imagination and much practical knowledge of catching to appreciate Lollar’s capabilities.”
Browns Price Was High
“Such a connoisseur was Paul Richards, who, (as previously mentioned) was himself a former catcher and manager of the White Sox from 1951 through ’54,” Hoffman continued.
“Lollar was acquired from the St. Louis Browns, November 26, 1951, in a deal which sent Shortstop Joe DeMaestri, First Baseman Gordon Goldsberry, Outfielder Jim Rivera, Southpaw Dick Littlefield, and Catcher Gus Niarhos to the Browns for Lollar, Pitcher Al Widmar, and Infielder Tom Upton.
“At the time, General Manager Frank Lane said:”
“We went all out to get Loller because Richards wanted him. He’s one of the top three catchers in the American League. Two others. of course, are Yogi Berra and Jim Hegen.”
“Said Manger Richards:”
“We might have won the pennant in 1951 if we had had Lollar. He has a better throwing arm than any other catcher we had. He’s as good of glove man as Gus Niarhos, but more durable. He’ll catch more than 100 games for me.”
“Lollar did catch more than 100 games for Richards in each of the three succeeding years. He caught 352 games in three seasons and will catch more than 100 again in 1955.”
However, Lollar’s first season with the White Sox was his worst, after three big years with the Browns. In 1950, he batted .280, hit 13 homers, and drove in 65 runs. Most importantly, ace Pitcher Ned Garver selected Sherm as his personal catcher and won 20-games in 1951. In November of 1951 came the trade and he was “quite flattered by that, but I started pressing in my anxiety to do well for Richards in 1952 and the result was I had a bad season.” Not one to make excuses, he’s also quoted as saying to a Sports Illustrated reporter in 1960 that, “nineteen fifty-two was a nightmare, the worst year I’ve had in baseball. My wife had become ill after the birth of our first son, and that was on my mind. Then I got off to a bad start when the season opened, and nothing seemed to go right. It went on like that for five and a half months.”
That would soon change…to be continued.
Continued from Post #2609
John C. Hoffman of The Sporting News went on to report that the John Sherman Lollar name spans several generations. I also sourced a PSA Bio and discovered that John Sherman Lollar Senior was an old semi-pro ballplayer who played catch with his son outside their family grocery store in Fayetteville, Arkansas, starting at the age of three. Senior died five years later in 1932. The great-grandfather fought for the North in the Civil War and started the name tradition in honor of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who passed it on to his son, came to be known as “Sherm.” The name connection is even more appropriate after he proved, as a Major League catcher, to be a dependable field general.
The death of Sherm’s father added additional responsibilities for the entire family. His mother, Ruby, who helped support the family as a librarian, sold the store, temporarily moved to Guin, Alabama, but returned to Fayetteville to work for the Veteran’s Administration. There were three younger siblings, Bonnie, Pat, and Jerry. Despite the disruption in his life, Lollar’s interest in baseball never waned. In 1936, shortly before he turned twelve, he became a batboy for the Fayetteville Bears in the Arkansas-Missouri League.
A 1957 Saturday Evening Post article added, “Sherman would warm up the pitchers between innings and do a good job. The crowds would get a big kick out of seeing this frail, skinny kid catch and throw to second base.”
Hoffman then went on to write: “After graduating from Fayetteville High School, a school that had no baseball team, so his sole sports option was to play basketball, the sixteen-year-old Lollar took a job with J.C. Penney in Pittsburg, Kansas. He played with a team affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce in the Ban Johnson League while also studying at Pittsburg State Teachers College (now Pittsburgh State University). Two years later, after the Ban Johnson League folded, Lollar both played for and managed the semipro Baxter Springs (Kansas) Miners, working as a brakeman in a local mine when he wasn’t playing baseball.”
As Hoffman further reported, “the mining team, managed by Barney Barnett, an old semi-pro player, and played three or four times a week. Lollar had been rejected by his draft board in World War II and one of his teammates was a pitcher named Stan West, who belonged to the Baltimore team of the International League. West was engaged in defense work, but he recommended Lollar to Tommy Thomas, former White Sox pitcher, who was then managing the Baltimore team.”
A cyst on his throat kept him from the service, so he was able to continue to play ball, unlike some of his contemporaries whose careers were interrupted by the war. He had to be thinking of his father, who died in the hospital from a carbuncle or cluster of boils caused by bacterial infection. Sherm’s cyst was not related but it was in a similar part of the body. It might have been related to his premature death at the age of 53 in 1977. Cancer was the cause, and I have medallion in my collection from the Sherm Lollar/Nellie Fox Cancer Foundation. Fox died two years earlier at only 48-years-of-age from skin cancer related to smokeless tobacco that always filled his cheek and became a trademark.
“Lollar joined the minor league Orioles in August, 1943 and caught 12 games before the conclusion of the season. The next season he became the regular catcher for the Orioles but batted only .250 in 126 games. However, he had 15 home runs and drove in 72 runs and was the team’s number one catcher again in 1945.”
Sherm was quoted as saying, “I don’t recall that I ever wanted to be anything else except a catcher. It seems like I was born with a catcher’s mitt on my hand. I can remember playing pepper and catching with my arm was still sore from vaccination. That must’ve been before I was six years old.”
“When the time came for me to join the Baltimore team in Buffalo, mother was pleased. She knew it would have been dad‘s wish that I should be a professional ball player and so she gave me her wholehearted support.”
He went on to say, “the Baltimore club sent me my transportation to Buffalo, but it never occurred to me that I should get any kind of a bonus for signing a contract. I was just glad to get the chance to play.”
“Lollar told, too, how he happened to break into the lineup and then became the regular catcher in 1944. Most of the boys had gone into the service, he said, and there wasn’t there weren’t too many players left. Then in 1944, the Cleveland club, which had a working agreement with Baltimore was supposed to send a couple of catchers to the Orioles, but they were late getting around to it. And by the time they got there, I had caught several games and was going pretty good, so Tommy Thomas just left me in the lineup.”
Sherm became the International League MVP in 1945 after a great season with a league-leading “.364 batting average, and 111 RBIs in 139-games. He also hit 34 homers, 27 doubles and four triples. Half a dozen big league teams, including the White Sox had tried to buy him. Chicago offered $50,000 for his contract but Cleveland had first choice. At spring training, he was one of a dozen catchers and one of them, just out of the service was Jim Hegan. Hegan won the job.”
Sherm Lollar made his Major League debut April 20, 1946, with the Indians, and caught 28-games as back-up to Frankie Hayes, who held a 312-game streak of consecutive games as well as Hegan, just another future catching legend, like his predecessor, somehow ignored by Cooperstown.
I was disturbed to find that although Lollar was born in Dunham, Arkansas and spent his younger years nearby Fayetteville, the Arkansas Department of Tourism website does not even recognize him as worthy of their list of “famous athletes.” This lack of disrespect extends to the Baseball Hall of Fame, where only a handful of catchers are enshrined, despite their key leadership role on their respective teams. At least, there’s a blurb about him in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Thankfully, The Sporting News has been generous on their reporting of his career.
On the next page of The Sporting News was a side-article written with the headline: Top Moment? Game in ‘53 when his bat beat the Yankees. According to the author Hoffman, “it is doubtful if anyone would have detected it, because Sherm Lollar, ace catcher of the Chicago White Sox staff, is never demonstrative, but he was a mighty pleased young man the evening of May 14, 1953. In fact, it was his biggest thrill of his baseball career. The White Sox were behind four to one in the seventh to the Yankees in a game in New York. Teammates, Tom Wright and Vern Stevens were on base when Lollar hit a homer in the left field stands to tie the game. The score was tied again 5-5 in the eighth and then in the ninth Lollar opened with a single but replaced by a pinch runner, Red Wilson, who scored the winning run.”
The box scores that day showed two singles, a home run, and a walk. Lollar also scored twice and drove in three. Perhaps he had a personal grudge to settle against the Bronx Bombers and Manager Bill Dickey, who first sent him to Newark, favoring left-handed Yogi Berra behind the plate. Lollar was then traded the following year after a wrist injury to the St. Louis Browns, despite a 3-4 performance including two doubles in the 1947 World Series. Yogi replaced him in the batting order in Game 3 and hit the very first pinch-hit homer in Series history.
Maybe the Championship ring that Lollar earned that year never fit him comfortably. “I thought I was in after that,” Lollar said, “but I sat on the bench practically all of the next season. I got into only 22 games, and I guess that kind of shook my confidence, but you just have to take the bad breaks with the good ones in this game.” With the move to the Browns in 1949, he earned his first of 7 career All-Star selections.
It wasn’t until he came to the White Sox for the 1952 season before he got a full-time catching job, after spending six of his eighteen years as a non-starter. I was only one-year old at the time, so it wasn’t until 7-years later that I became one of his biggest fans, during the course of the 1959 World Series.
To be continued…..
The Chicago White Sox can use some positive publicity these days, hinging on their historic losing season of 2024. They officially outdid the 1962 Mets, losing 121 games. Only the 1899 Cleveland Spiders compiled a worse record throughout the entire history of the sport. Maybe, they should be known as the “Black Sox” rather than the 1919 gamblers? Where’s my bleach?
As a result of doing such “dirty” laundry, I’ve decided to write a few sparkling articles about my White Sox childhood hero, John Sherman Lollar, inspired by a recent E-Bay purchase for my growing collection. I bought the August 3,1955 edition of the The Sporting News, based out of St. Louis. It was 25-cents back then but cost me nearly $20 with shipping & handling. The tease read: “Lollar Proving White Sox Pillar – See Page 3.“
On Page 3 of the now-yellowed tabloid was an impressive illustration by Lou Darvis of him in a Sox hat and several related cartoons under the title of “As Catcher, Lollar His Team’s Best Pitcher.” An underlined preview just above read “Nabbed 18 of 22 Base Pilferers” and a sub-title stated: His Motto: ‘They Shall Not Steal’. A series of articles by John C Hoffman of Chicago, Illinois were nicely written on the next few pages.
I will get into more details in subsequent posts, but each of the four cartoons surrounding his caricature had an intriguing caption highlighting his early career and touting his quiet leadership skills:
“His dad, an old semi-pro ballplayer, used to play catch with Sherman outside their grocery store…probably started the first self-serve store in Fayetteville.” The Illustrator drew his butcher’s apron-cladded father behind the counter saying to a woman customer, “Would y’ mind helpin’ yourself, Mrs. Skinner? I wanna catch a few with Shermy.”
“Conducts Clubhouse meetings before each series. Instructs hurlers on how to pitch to opposing pitchers.” In this cartoon insert, Lollar’s, wearing shin guards, is pointing to a body drawn on the chalkboard and advising, “Pitch ‘im close an’ high aroun’ the clavicle.”
“At the age of 12, he was a batboy for Fayetteville, in the Arkansas-Missouri League.” Sherm is portrayed by the artist lugging seven huge bats and saying, “Whew! ‘an those guys big guys carry on’y two bats to th’ plate.”
“No. 1 catcher for the white-hot White Sox, Sherman Lollar hit seven homers in ten days earlier this season.”
“Wrote Sports for his local paper at Pittsburg (Kan.) State Teacher’s College” His character is shown carrying a reporter’s notebook and quipping, “Nuthin’ to this racket – I’d rather make th’ news!
As a young fan who followed his career and now a collector of his memorabilia, I was pleased to see that his skills got some attention. The publication was popular because it combined the appeal of a comic book with some serious background information. You could read the articles or just look at the pictures and learn something about the man. The illustrations were worthy of framing. You can’t frame the current digital version of today’s The Sporting News that discontinued print publication in 2012, but I’m sure that they’ve had lots of illustrative fun lambasting the 2024 version of the Chicago White Sox, who with 121 losses with two games to go, have now officially surpassed the 1962 New York Mets as the worst team in baseball since 1899. Sherm would not be happy!
More on John Sherman Lollar in upcoming posts…
Sherm Lollar would have been 100 years old today and has been gone from our lives for nearly half of those, unable to promote his own cause. I never met the man, but he’s had as big of impact on my life as anyone. I find it difficult to explain, having a childhood sports hero and never outgrowing it. I saw him in the World Series on TV, saw him play in person, and adopted his uniform #10 as my own lucky number. I have his 1955 jersey hanging in my office, several of his catcher gloves, all of his baseball cards, and hundreds of clippings, photos, and endorsed merchandise preserved in binders. There is no sane reason why a grown man like me should have these items, yet others collect memorabilia from stars like Elvis and The Beatles, while sports enthusiasts pay thousands for signatures and game-used items. We’re all crazy about our heroes!
I had a few of his baseball cards and photos when I joined a group of collectors while living in Portland about ten years ago. While they dwelled on the popular names like Mickey Mantle, for example, I decided to focus on Sherm Lollar. They were in it for the investment and paid big dollars for their items, I was in it for the love of the game and the man. Besides, I didn’t have the pocketbook for the big names in baseball. I’ve written about him many times in this blog (See Post #5).
Sherm Lollar should have been a Hall-of-Fame name for his defense alone. There are so few, less than 20, that got this distinction for their work behind the plate. Over 18-years of Major League Baseball he achieved an unbelievable .992 fielding average despite the antiquated equipment that they used back then. The catchers that make it into Cooperstown also made an offensive impact, although the reason I was initially drawn to him was the home run that he hit in the 1959 World Series against the Dodgers, along with five hits. Everyone, including me, is a sucker for the long ball, but it’s the leadership skills and other overlooked talents that should be in the Hall-of-Fame formula.
Sherm Lollar is not a household name and is too often ignored. For example, the State of Arkansas, where he was born and raised, does not even mention him among the athletes on their website. I wrote the director a note yesterday about the significance of Sherm Lollar’s 100th birthday and included these facts:
- Born August 23, 1924, in Dunham, Arkansas
- Bat boy for the Fayetteville Bears Class D Minor League club
- American Legion Post #27 1938-1940 (named Graduate Player of Year in 1958)
- Played for a Kansas semi-pro team in 1943 while working the mines. Signed by the Baltimore Orioles of the International League at age 18.
- International League MVP 1945
- Major League debut April 20, 1946, with the Cleveland Indians. Played for 18 seasons with 4 different teams (Indians, Yankees, Browns, White Sox).
- Cleveland Indians back-up for both Frank Hayes who held the 312-streak of most consecutive games played by a catcher, and up-and-coming All-Star Jim Hegan.
- Caught a Bob Feller complete game in 1946 and scored the only run.
- Traded to the Yankees at the end of the 1946 season where he competed with Yogi Berra for the starting role in 1947 and earned his first World Series ring.
- Started two games in the 1947 World Series and went 3 for 4 with two doubles. Yogi Berra got the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history in Game 3 after pinch-hitting for him.
- Wrist injury forced his trade to the Browns, after it was determined by HOF Manager Bill Dickey that Yogi’s left-handed bat was more suitable for Yankee Stadium’s short porch in right.
- Earned his first of 7 All-Star selections (nine games) in 1949 with the Browns
- Traded to the Chicago White Sox for the 1952 season, the worst of his career.
- Tied a Major League record in 1955 by getting two hits in each of two innings of the same game.
- Career on-base percentage was higher than Berra’s (.357 versus.348).
- Hit a career-high .293 with 28 doubles in 1956.
- Caught Bob Keegan’s no-hitter in 1957
- Helped the White Sox to their first American League pennant since the Black Sox scandal of 1919, guiding the pitching staff to the lowest ERA in the league.
- Had five hits and five RBI’s, including a home run in the 1959 World Series.
- Caught a record-tying six pop-ups in one game
- Inaugural Major League Gold Glove Award recipient for catcher in 1957. Also won the American League Award in 1958 & 1959.
- .992 Lifetime fielding percentage, a ML record in his era
- Retired from playing in 1963, following a thumb fracture.
- Bullpen coach of the Baltimore Orioles from 1964-1967, earning a 2nd World Series ring in 1966.
- Bullpen coach of the 1968-69 Oakland Athletics (Catfish Hunter perfect game)
- Iowa Oaks Manager 1970-1972
- Tucson Toros Manager 1973 and 1974
- Died September 24, 1977
- Member of the Chicago White Sox All-Century Team.
That’s a remarkable career that is on the very fringe of Hall-of-Fame greatness, as are other historic figures in the game. Not everyone can get in, but some are on the doorstep like Sherm Lollar. I’m hoping that Arkansas answers my e-mail because I would like to discuss what to do with my collection of his stuff. I may very well have the largest in the world and have spent a lot of dollars and time to let it be thrown in a dumpster someday.
Happy 100th Birthday Sherm – I will be celebrating a 73rd myself in a few days. To honor the day, I bought a Sherm Lollar endorsed Rawlings mitt in a stylish glass case that goes nicely with an old newspaper ad of him and Ed Bailey. It reads: “Follow the Leaders…you can’t miss if you take a tip from the pros.”
There is a wealth of knowledge in my neighborhood. Retired accountants, bankers, lawyers, brokers, and doctors – men and women. I learn something new every day or benefit from their expertise when they assist the HOA on contract negotiations. They might help save money on insurance, zoning, or investments, for example, to keep our annual costs down. I often wish I had skills like this, but my media background doesn’t necessarily apply. What do I have to offer?
Sadly, my chief interest and wealth of knowledge these days seems to be baseball cards, for what it’s worth. It’s like going full circle back to childhood and skipping all those years of doing business. In the back of my mind is the hope that I uncover something valuable, but maybe all that matters is that it makes me happy. I keep thinking of my childhood neighbor, who hit me square in the forehead with a rock, requiring stitches. He was a little older and had an impressive assortment of baseball cards and enviable knowledge. As he and his mother came to see me in bed after the accident, they brought me a box of unopened baseball cards as an apology. I’m sure it was the mother’s idea! It took all the pain away and made me want another hit in the head. The baseball cards are long gone but the scar is still there.
Baseball cards tell a story and finding them like a treasure hunt. I have about ten massive binders of them, carefully organized by team and player. All of them are valuable to me, regardless of condition or worth. They bring back memories and inspire me to learn more about the history of the game. I have several neighbors that feel the same way. I spent yesterday afternoon with one of them, who made it his business. For many years, he was a distributor for Topps, the major brand in baseball cards that has bought out everyone else. They are currently capitalizing on the current resurgence of the hobby, that also extends to all other sports, video games, celebrities, and even Disney.
He eventually established his own trading card business, having recently sold it, but keeping an active role while in his 80’s. I wanted to drool when he showed me a recent shipment of classic cards that he bought for resale. We’re headed to a local card show today, but just to look, and not as an exhibitor, as is his norm. He’s off to the National Sports Card Convention in Cleveland next week. I wish I had the mad money to attend and participate, but I continue to get satisfaction on a smaller scale, by hanging with neighbors like this. No different than when I was a kid.
If I had an extra quarter growing up, I’d hop on my bike and head to the nearby grocery store to buy five packs of cards (5-cents each). All was right in the world, as I’d sit on the curb and open them like a Christmas package. Back then, they also contained a flat, pink, slab of bubble gum, so the scent became associated with the cards, as I’d begin to organize them once I got back home, sometimes putting together All-Star teams. Then, we’d get out the Whiffle ball and bat to play Home Run Derby as our favorite player. I’d imagine myself as Mickey Mantle, until I found a new hero, Sherm Lollar. These days, I’d be Kyle Schwarber or Shohei Ohtani at the plate.
I’ve been striking out a lot recently while participating in what they call “Card Breaks,” sharing the cost of buying several boxes and paying to keep the cards of the team of your choice. I’m not willing to invest in the higher-priced Dodgers or Yankees, so I tend to stick with the lower-priced White Sox or Cubs. Naturally, all the more desirable autograph and relic cards never seem to come my way. I prefer the random draws, but luck is never in my favor, so I’m still stuck with the less desirables, but content with the Hope.
Despite my better judgement, I keep buying baseball cards. It’s a sad addiction that now seems to be my sole retirement hobby, besides writing about it. I check the Topps Now website daily and recently subscribed to their e-mails, as if I don’t get enough already. I’m also a “Top Fan” of the local Blue Breaks Card Shop and participate in their weekly Hobby RIP Nights. I guess you could say that I now have so many baseball cards that the store owner is starting to display them for me. Most all of my Shohei Ohtani cards (and I’m not even a Dodger’s fan) are stored in a glass case there, hoping for a buyer.
I am a White Sox fan, and follow the Cubs, but most of those player cards have dropped in value to the point that they are worthless. The Sox are easily the worst team in baseball, having lost their 65th game last night. Tim Anderson, following the trade to Miami, was recently designated for assignment, Jose Abreu, traded to the Astros, is washed-up. Yoan Moncada is injured while stars like Luis Roberts and Eloy Jimenez are hitting .230 – no need to dwell. My extensive collection of Sherm Lollar merchandise is unwanted. The Cubs are in last place in the Central division and all my favorites like Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez are playing for other teams.
Last week, on RIP Night, I traded the Blue Jays for the White Sox. I might have had a valuable Vladimir Guerrero card, instead I got a Tim Anderson, just hours before he was sent back to the minors. This week in “The Break” I drew the Twins and Royals, hoping for Jose Miranda, Bobby Whitt, Jr., or Joe Ryan, players that I really don’t care about. I also can’t explain why I bought a Topps Now Miranda yesterday after he made a historical twelve consecutive hits. I guess I did it for trade bait, but I’ve yet to find anyone to trade.
I’ve used the word “Break” in reference to baseball cards during several recent posts. Allow me to have an internet “expert” clarify what it means: “Breaking refers to the practice of opening multiple boxes or cases of a product at the same time, and then distributing the cards to a larger group of paying customers. Breakers sell ‘slots’ to their breaks, and customers receive a defined portion of the opened product. In some cases, the customers will pay for a specific team, which entitles them to any card belonging to a player from that team; in other cases, the customer is simply given a randomized allotment.”
“Breaking has become a major business within the trading card world. Breakers operate websites and often stream their breaks on social media platforms. For high-stakes breaks, it isn’t uncommon for thousands of people to tune in and watch even though they aren’t paying for a slot or receiving any cards.”
I’ve admittedly experimented with Fanatics sites like Mama Breaks and Black Tie Breaks to try and understand this phenomenon. It reminds me of playing fantasy sports where you pick your players, hoping that they perform well. I never had much luck with that game either, because I get too emotional when I pick my players or teams, like the White Sox and Cubs. It’s all gambling, disguised as a hobby, but I’m addicted. In reality, anyone that I pick is likely to “break” an arm or leg.
