Famous New York Yankee OF Tommy Henrich was quoted as saying….“No matter how long a man remains in baseball, he always hankers and looks forward to opening day.”…..which speaks volumes here in 2020….when the Corona Virus Covid-19 totally shut down not only Opening Day of the 2020 MLB season…..but surprisingly, this pandemic shut down most of the world….so, baseball fans in 2020 are still anxiously awaiting Opening Day of the season. In the meantime…..keep in mind that In our L E’s Stories section here at ImaSportsphile….I will always share with all yall some of my favorite videos out of the 5450 videos that I have currently posted here on our site.
MLB – 1956 – Special – History Of The New York Yankees Featuring The 1956 World Championship Season By the time that Bone Daddy was 17 years old and playing center field for the Midland Pony League Yankees…..between his junior and senior year in high school….he had put together a pretty significant Yankee baseball card collection….which began with the 1950 team and carried each year…year by year…. through the 1964 team by this time in his Yankee collection process. Bone Daddy played organized baseball throughout all of his years while growing up in Midland……from Little League to Pony League to High School and City League…..and all the while he was continuing to grow his Yankee baseball card collection on a whopping allowance of $0.25 per week. Heck, his purchasing power was less than a non-bankrolled small market team in foreclosure. In more precise Chiweenee language……“he had an alligator’s appetite on a hummingbird’s pocket book”…..meaning that he didn’t have much to work with….thus dictating that he had to get very creative in acquiring his collection.
MLB – 1956 New York Yankees Player Baseball Cards
Since I have listened to Bone Daddy telling me many stories about the Yankees teams during the first 17 years of his life while growing up….he would go through his collection pointing out some tidbits of interesting information about each Yankee player card that he had from 1949 to 1964. Please understand that all of these stories of his youth in Midland, Tx was before my time….so, stories like these were being told to me some later in 2009….for that is when it became apparent to me that BD was a sports nut….a sports fanatic….a Sportsphile.
During this period of Major League Baseball from 1949 to 1964 was indeed a Golden Age of the New York Yankees baseball franchise…..as the Yankees won the American League Pennant 15 times during the 16 year period….while winning the World Series 10 of those years. To say that the Yankees had dominated MLB during BD’s first 17 years on the Earth was indeed….an obvious understatement. Also by this time in his life…..BD had a pretty darn good cross section of each of those teams by year in his collection….and you know what…you’re gonna at some point of posting this video museum, you are going to get to see them all.
MLB – 1949 To 1964 – Highlights Of The New York Yankees Including Joe Dimaggio’s 56 Game Hitting Streak + Mantle’s MVP + Larsen’s Perfect Game + World Series Champs 5 Yrs In A Row
MLB – 1956 – Original Topps New York Yankees Baseball Cards After hearing all those Yankees stories as told by Bone Daddy over the years we’ve been together….I would have to say that his favorite team to that point in his life…..had to be the 1956 team. Therefore, in the post, I have given you BD’s entire 1956 Yankee team baseball card collection…..along with their stats for the year…..pretty cool huh….so the World Champion 1956 Yankees were as follows:
POSITION PLAYERS
Position Player Hits Batting Average (BA) Home Runs (HR) Runs Batted In (RBI)
C Yogi Berra 155 .298 30 105
1B Bill Skowron 143 .308 23 90
2B Billy Martin 121 .264 9 49
3B Andy Carey 100 .239 7 50 SS Gil McDougal 136 .311 13 56
LF Elston Howard 76 .262 5 34 CF Mickey Mantle 188 .353 52 130 RF Hank Bauer 130 .241 26 84 OF Bob Cerv 35 .304 3 25
IF Phil Rizzuto 12 .231 0 6 OF Joe Collins 59 .225 7 43
IF Tommy Carroll 6 .353 0 0 IF Irv Noren 8 .216 6 6 IF Jerry Coleman 47 .257 0 18 IF Eddie Robinson 12 .222 5 11 OF Enos Slaughter 24 .289 0 4 OF Norm Siebern 33 .204 6 6 IF Jerry Lumpe 16 .258 0 4 C Charlie Silvera 2 .222 0 2 IF Bob Richardson 1 .167 0 1 PITCHERS
Player Win – Loss ERA Strike Outs
Whitey Ford 19 – 6 2.47 141
Johnny Kucks 18 – 9 3.85 67
Tom Sturdivant 16 – 8 3.35 110
Don Larsen 11 – 5 3.26 107
Bob Turley 8 – 4 5.05 91
Bob Grim 6 – 1 2.77 48
Mickey McDermott 2 – 6 4.24 38
Tom Morgan 6 – 7 4.15 21
Jerry Konstanty 0 – 2 4.91 8
Tommy Byrne 7 – 3 3.36 6
MLB – 1986 – NBC Sports Special – World Series 1903 To 1985 A Pictorial Collage Of The World Series
The 1956 Yankees went 97 – 57…..while winning the American League Pennant ….and beating their mighty and ever hated cross town rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers in an outstanding 7 game World Series. “Oh my God Dog…was that the day or what!?!….for many could argue that it just didn’t get any better than the 1956 World Series” The 1956 World Series featured an amazing 14 future Hall of Fame players and managers including C Roy Campanell, 2B Jackie Robinson, SS Pee Wee Reese, P Don Drysdale, P Sandy Koufax, CF Duke Snyder and Manager Walt Alston…..while the Yankees featured C Yogi Berra, P Whitey Ford, CF Mickey Mantle, SS Phil Rizzuto, OF Enos Slaughter and Manager Casey Stengel….which is simply awesome.
MLB – 1980 – Special – Audrey Kates Interviews Elston Howard On Challenges Of Being 1st Black Yankee
The Brooklyn Dodgers with Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, Charlie Neal, Pee Wee Reese, Jim Gilliam, Duke Snyder, Carl Furillo in field….along with NL MVP P Don Newcombe and P Roger Craig on the mound….when they took on the 1956 New Yankees….and what a series that was!! This video below is really special….for it is the 1st hand held video taken that we have ever posted at ImaSportsphile …..but we certainly hope it is not the last….cuz the video museum at ImaSportsphile is chocked full of rare pieces of video content ….so, every time we add something new to the mix….it just expands our museum so much more…..and although this particular video was taken by a follower of the Brooklyn Dodgers…. they are playing the New York Yankees….which qualifies them for this post.
MLB – 1956 World Series – Special – Brooklyn Dodgers Home Movie
Mickey Mantle was voted the AL MVP after posting incredible numbers with a 150 Games / 188 Hits / .353 BA / 52 HR / 130 RBI / 121 RUNS / 146 BB / 16 SB / .512 OBP / .665 SLUG % / 1.177 OPS….man, what a year….and what a player. The Mick was an incredible athlete….who in baseball was a switch hitter with unbelievable power and speed from either side….for that boy could drag a bunt down the first base line and beat out the throw better than anyone in the game when batting from the left side of the plate…it was truly a thing of beauty. Oh boy, was he ever bit of a five tool ballplayer if there ever was one….and it all came completely natural…..for I don’t think that Mickey ever had to practice at anything….he could just go out and do it. A great center fielder with the ability to cover the vastness of center field at Yankee Stadium….and he had a cannon for an arm……especially when comparing him to present day standards. Damn those degenerative knee joints which cut his career short….which all started in the 1951 World Series when Mickey was playing right field…..and while chasing a “can of corn” fly ball into center field where during his attempt to avoid a collision with his idol….Joltin Joe DiMaggio….who was making the catch in right center field….and that is when The Mick stepped on a rubber sprinkler cover and blew out his knee….as you can see in the video below.
MLB – 1978 – Special – NY Yankees HOF Mickey Mantle Tells The Story Of His Knee Injury in the 1951 World Series
This injury was the start of a series of injuries that eventually cut Mantle’s career short….or he might very well have ended up being the greatest Yankee player of all time….even greater than The Babe or Joltin’ Joe….and what a hero he was to kids growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s…..cuz you can bet your britches that many games of Whiffleball going on around the country in 1956 featured Mickey Mantle vs Willie Mays / Ted Williams / Hank Aaron….but never one of those guys vs Mantle. You will find that I will write many Mickey Mantle stories….cuz he checked the box on every asset of a superhero…..athletic / fast (he was the fastest player in MLB at the time of his injury) / clean cut / down home manners / soft and well spoken / humble…..he literally checked every box.
MLB – 1951 To 1968 – Special – The Legend Of Mickey Mantle – Narrated By John Facenda
The 1956 World Series was a rematch of the 1955 World Series….and was the last all-New York City Series until 44 years later in 2000, as the Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to California after the 1957 season. Additionally, it was the last time a New York team represented the National League until 1969 when the New York Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles in five games.
MLB – 1956 World Series Game 5: Mantle’s Catch Keeps Perfect Game Alive
The Yankees won the 1956 Series in seven games….while capturing their seventeenth championship….. after the Dodgers won Games 1 and 2….but the the Yankee pitching staff threw five consecutive complete games (Games 3–7) to cap off the comeback….with the unquestionable series highlight being Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5…..as Larsen was named the Series MVP for his achievement. The Dodgers scored 19 runs in the first two games….but only six in the remaining five games….with just one in the final three games. This was the last World Series to date not to have scheduled off days….although Game 2 was postponed a day due to rain.
MLB – 1956 – Special – New York Yankees: A Championship Legacy In 1956
By the way….we here at ImaSportsphile are pretty sure that these baseball cards and videos seen in this post will bring back many memories to you, if you were alive and a baseball fan back then….cuz these were the days that everyone was singing the popular song of the day….“Talking Baseball….with Wil –lie, Mic-key and The Duke.”…..and that too is a whole different story in and of itself.
MLB + Music – 1981 – Terry Cashman – Talkin’ Baseball With Wil-lie….Mickey And The Duke
MLB – 1956 New York Yankees Player Baseball Cards
