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Kenton Lloyd Boyer
Los Angeles Dodgers
Third Base-First Base
Born: May 20, 1931, Liberty, MO
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1949 season
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1955-65; New York Mets 1966-67; Chicago White Sox 1967-68; Los Angeles Dodgers 1968-69
World Series Appearances: St. Louis Cardinals 1964
As a Manager: St. Louis Cardinals 1978-80
Died: September 7, 1982, St. Louis, MO (age 51)
Ken Boyer was the best third baseman in the National League in the late 1950s into the early 1960s, winning five Gold Gloves, playing in seven All-Star games and winning the league's MVP award in 1964. He enjoyed a 15-year career, with the first 11 of those years coming with the Cardinals. He's been acknowledged by teammates Tim McCarver (#475) and Stan Musial as the true leader of the Cardinals teams of that era and many view him as the greatest third baseman in Cardinals history. Boyer finished his career with 282 home runs, 1,141 RBIs and a career average of .287.
After his playing career, Boyer managed the Cardinals for three seasons beginning in 1978. He compiled a record of 166-190 before being replaced in June 1980 by Whitey Herzog. Boyer's #14 was retired by the Cardinals in 1984, and he's the only player whose number has been retired by the team who is not in the Hall of Fame.
As a Manager: St. Louis Cardinals 1978-80
Died: September 7, 1982, St. Louis, MO (age 51)
Ken Boyer was the best third baseman in the National League in the late 1950s into the early 1960s, winning five Gold Gloves, playing in seven All-Star games and winning the league's MVP award in 1964. He enjoyed a 15-year career, with the first 11 of those years coming with the Cardinals. He's been acknowledged by teammates Tim McCarver (#475) and Stan Musial as the true leader of the Cardinals teams of that era and many view him as the greatest third baseman in Cardinals history. Boyer finished his career with 282 home runs, 1,141 RBIs and a career average of .287.
After his playing career, Boyer managed the Cardinals for three seasons beginning in 1978. He compiled a record of 166-190 before being replaced in June 1980 by Whitey Herzog. Boyer's #14 was retired by the Cardinals in 1984, and he's the only player whose number has been retired by the team who is not in the Hall of Fame.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1956 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #353
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Dodgers Team Set / Accuracy Index -12
1969 Season
In his final year as a player, Boyer appeared in 25 games for the Dodgers, batting .206 (7 for 34) with a pair of doubles and four RBIs. He made four starts at first base in July for Walter Alston's (#24) club, with his final game action coming on August 9th. Boyer pinch-hit for reliever Pete Mikkelsen in the ninth inning of that game against the Cubs, grounding out to shortstop Don Kessinger (#225). The Dodgers released him following the season.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #125
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1955-69, 1975, 1979-80
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Panini Absolute #81
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 233 in the Beckett online database as of 8/31/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 61st of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost me a little over $1.
The Card / Dodgers Team Set / Accuracy Index -12
Boyer is wearing a Mets jersey in this photo, and it's the same photo used for his 1968 Topps card. The back of the card doesn't have room for a cartoon, and the two lines of text rightfully highlight his grand slam in the 1964 World Series. This is Boyer's final Topps card as an active player.
Accuracy Index: Yet another -12 given the photo had been used before (-4), Boyer is wearing a Mets jersey (-5) and he's hatless (-3).
1969 Season
In his final year as a player, Boyer appeared in 25 games for the Dodgers, batting .206 (7 for 34) with a pair of doubles and four RBIs. He made four starts at first base in July for Walter Alston's (#24) club, with his final game action coming on August 9th. Boyer pinch-hit for reliever Pete Mikkelsen in the ninth inning of that game against the Cubs, grounding out to shortstop Don Kessinger (#225). The Dodgers released him following the season.
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First Mainstream Card: 1955 Topps #125
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (18): 1955-69, 1975, 1979-80
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Panini Absolute #81
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 233 in the Beckett online database as of 8/31/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1956 Topps Blog / 1965 Topps Blog
1956 Topps Blog / 1965 Topps Blog
#378 Jose Herrera - Montreal Expos / #380 Stan Bahnsen - New York Yankees
The two starting 3rd basemen in the 1964 World Series were Ken and Clete Boyer.
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