i'm back with more cards - 15 to be exact - from one of the sheets in the 1990 target dodger 100th anniversary set. things get started with my baseball hero, steve garvey.
interesting that his position is identified as 'inf'. true, he did start out at third (he also played one inning of second base and a handful of games in the outfield), but pretty much everyone remembers garvey as a first baseman. he was the dodgers' first baseman, just about every day, for over 9 seasons. four gold gloves, an mvp award, 1968 hits, 211 homers, and a .301 average are what he earned as a dodger. greg brock never had a chance.
randy jackson
a two-time all-star with the cubs before joining the dodgers, 'handsome ransom' played for the dodgers in 1956, '57, and some of '58. he replaced don hoak as the team's third baseman, splitting time with jackie robinson as hoak had done during the 1955 season, although jackie got all of the playing time there in the 1956 world series. he was neither a judge on american idol, nor a member of the jackson 5.
george jeffcoat
jeffcoat, the older brother of hal jeffcoat, pitched for the dodgers in 1936, '37, and '39. he was 6-9 with a 4.68 era in 62 games for brooklyn, and was the last dodger to wear number 42 prior to jackie robinson.
tito landrum
prior to landrum, i think that the only other tito i was aware of was tito jackson, michael's brother, and that was only because eddie murphy had a bit in his 'delirious' special where he is portraying michael and asks tito to get him some tissue. anyway, this tito hit .429 against the dodgers in the 1985 nlcs, so when he was released by the cardinals in 1987, they signed him right away. he was used mostly as a pinch-hitter, and it was in that role that he hit his only home run as a dodger - off of phillie pitcher michael jackson. and that is how you bring something full circle.
billy loes
loes was 50-25 for the dodgers from 1952 through 1955 with a 3.70 era. he had also pitched for the club in 1950, but earned no decisions, and appeared in one game as a dodger in 1956 before having his contract purchased by the orioles. he appeared in three world series (1952, '53, and '55), pitching in four games. he took the loss in game 2 of the 1955 fall classic, but still earned a ring.
heinie manush
manush's given name was henry, and i suppose i see how 'heinie' might have come about. still, the first time i read his name in lawrence ritter's 'the image of their greatness' i laughed. manush had the last laugh, though, as he began his career playing alongside ty cobb in detroit and eventually finding his way to the dodgers for the 1937 season. he hit .333 that year in 132 games, but lasted just 17 games for the dodgers in 1938 before he was lost to the pirates. manush retired a year later with a batting average of .330, and was inducted into the hall of fame in 1964 by the veteran's committee.
jack mccarthy
mccarthy finished his career that began with the reds in 1893 as a member of the brooklyn superbas in 1906 and 1907. he hit .304 in '06, but just .220 in 25 games in '07.
bill mcgunnigle
mcgunnigle was the manager of the brooklyn bridegrooms in 1890 when they joined the national league. he promptly led them to the nl pennant (just as he had led them to the american association title in 1899), but there was of course no world series back then. for some reason, he was replaced as manager prior to the 1891 season, but returned to the majors as the manager of the pirates later that season.
wally millies
millies' first taste of the big leagues came with the dodgers in 1934. he was 0 for 7 while appearing in two games for the club that year, and never got another chance as a dodger. two years later, millies hit .312 in 74 games for the senators. he also played for the senators, and was a longtime scout for the mets, expos, and astros following his playing days.
johnny morrison
morrison pitched for the robins in 1929 and '30 at the tail end of a ten year career spent primarily with the pirates. he was 14-9 with 9 'saves' over those two seasons with brooklyn.
tom niedenfuer
target really screwed up niedenfuer's last name there. mixing up 'i before e' and adding a random d is pretty inexcusable when you consider that he had been with the team as recently as 1987 and had some decent years out of the 'pen. of course, giving up a home run to a left-handed hitting ozzie smith and pitching to jack clark with first base open in the 1985 nlcs is also inexcusable although only one of those things is really his fault.
irv noren
noren is shown here from his coaching days with the oakland a's. more specifically, he is shown following a brawl between the tigers and a's on august 22, 1972 when the two teams were in the heat of the pennant race. noren was punched by a tigers player following a couple of high and tight pitches thrown at a's batters, the second of which resulted in angel manual charging the mound. you can get all the details
here, just scroll down about half way. anyway, noren actually began his professional career with the brooklyn dodgers in 1946, but was purchased by the senators before he could reach the big leagues. he faced the dodgers as a yankee in three world series (1952, 1953, and 1955) and eventually joined the club in 1960, his final big league season. he appeared in 26 games for the blue, all as a pinch hitter, and was 5 for 25 with a walk.
frank o'rourke
o'rourke played for the robins in 1917 and '18, hitting .233 over that span. he broke into the big leagues in 1912 and played into the 1931 season, after which he managed in the minors and then became a scout. he worked for the yankees in that capacity for about 50 years, retiring in 1985. he passed away a year later at the age of 92. a native of ontario, he is enshrined in the canadian baseball hall of fame.
don padgett
padgett began his career as an outfielder with the cardinals in 1937. the cardinals converted him to catcher due to enos slaughter's arrival in 1939, and he wound up hitting .399 in 92 games during that season. he played a total of five seasons in saint louis, and after missing four seasons due to military service in world war ii, padgett joined the dodgers and returned to the majors in 1946. with brooklyn, he hit .167 in 19 games and had his contract purchased by the braves in june of that year.
charley smith
smith was a third baseman who entered the major leagues with the dodgers in 1960. he was traded to the phillies early in the 1961 season, and had a total of 91 at bats in 27 games as a dodger. he is probably best known as the player that the yankees acquired when they traded roger maris to the cardinals following the 1966 season.
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