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Leo Ernest Durocher
Chicago Cubs
Manager
Born: July 27, 1905, West Springfield, MA
Acquired: Purchased by the New York Yankees from the Hartford Senators (Eastern League) for $12,000
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: 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 (#237), who was ejected 162 times. Durocher was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame in 1994.
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the 101st of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me a little over $2.
The photos for Durocher's 1968, 1969 and 1970 Topps cards were all taken at the same session, likely at some point in 1967. What is Durocher holding behind his back? A rolled up windbreaker? The back of the card highlights the three National League pennants Durocher had won during his time as a manager.
Accuracy Index: The Lip gets a +5.
1969 Season
Durocher guided the Cubs to a first place berth through early September, leading the National League East at one point by nine games on August 16th. His team faltered over the final three weeks of the season, with the Mets ultimately overcoming the Cubs in the standings. The Cubs finished with a 92-70 record, eight games behind the Mets, having gone 8-17 over their final 25 games. The collapse is most often attributed to Durocher's harsh managerial style and the overuse of the team's regular players and pitchers.
The 1969 Cubs boasted four future Hall of Famers in Ernie Banks (#20), Ferguson Jenkins (#640), Ron Santo (#570) and Billy Williams (#450). Santo batted .289 while leading the team in both home runs (29) and RBIs (123). Banks hit 23 home runs and drove in 106 runs while Williams led the team with a .293 average. Bill Hands (#115) and Jenkins were both 20-game winners and Ken Holtzman (#288) threw a no-hitter on August 19th. Closer Phil Regan (#535) recorded 17 saves for "the most celebrated second-place team in the history of baseball."
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
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 304 in the Beckett online database as of 11/14/23.
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First Mainstream Card: 1933 Goudey #147
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1952, 1967-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2018 Panini Diamond Kings #31
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 304 in the Beckett online database as of 11/14/23.
Update Cards
For my 1965 Topps blog, I used the team card posts to come up with five or six candidates per team for an imaginary update series. With no team cards in the 1969 Topps set, I'll use each manager card for this exercise, and come up with a list of deserving cards to be included in an 8th/update series.
- Dick Selma (rhp) - The Cubs and Padres swapped Dick Selma and Joe Niekro (#43) early in the season, and Selma appears in the set (#197) with the Padres.
- Don Young (cf) - Don Young, the regular center fielder, shared a Rookie Stars card (#602) with Jim Qualls (see below) and Alec Distaso.
- Hank Aguirre (lhp) - Hank Aguirre relieved in 41 games, earning a 2.60 ERA and he's in the set with his former team, the Dodgers (#94).
- Paul Popovich (2b) - Infielder Paul Popovich is also in the set with the Dodgers (#47). He made it into 60 games for the Cubs.
- Jim Qualls (of) - Back-up outfielder Qualls gets his own card in my update set.
- Oscar Gamble (of) - Oscar Gamble's rookie card can be found in the 1970 Topps set, but by that time he was with the Phillies. Gamble was called up in late August and played in 24 games for the Cubs.
Baseball Reference - Durocher / Baseball Reference - 1969 Cubs / SABR / Wikipedia
1934-36 Diamond Stars Blog
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