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Ralph George Houk
New York Yankees
Manager
Born: August 9, 1919, Lawrence, KS
Signed: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent before 1939 season
Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1947-54
World Series Appearances: New York Yankees 1947, 1952, 1961-63
As a Manager: New York Yankees 1961-63, 1966-73; Detroit Tigers 1974-78; Boston Red Sox 1981-84
Died: July 21, 2010, Winter Haven, FL (age 90)
As the back-up to Yogi Berra's back-up during his playing days, Ralph Houk saw limited major league action in his parts of eight seasons with the Yankees. He earned the most playing time in his rookie season of 1947, playing in 41 games, and batting .272 with 12 RBIs. Houk had a pinch-hit single in 1947's World Series Game 6, the first of four World Series winners Houk played for between his rookie season and 1952. Between 1948 and 1954, he appeared in a low range of one to a high of 14 games each season, retiring with a .272 lifetime average, 43 hits, no home runs and 20 RBIs. In his last few years as an active player, Houk transitioned into the role of full-time bullpen coach. He'd manage in the minors for a few seasons before assuming the role of Casey Stengel's first base coach in 1958. Houk took over for Stengel as the club's manager beginning in 1961.
His Yankees won 109 games in 1961, and defeated the Reds in five games in the World Series. They'd win the pennant and World Series again in 1962, defeating the Giants in seven games. Houk's 1963 team won 104 games, but were swept in the 1963 World Series by the Dodgers. He'd move into the front office in 1964 as the Yankees' general manager, but return to the dugout in 1966 following the firing of Johnny Keane. Houk's tenure with the Yankees came to an end following the 1973 season, and he'd join the Tigers as their manager between 1974 and 1978. His final managerial stint came with the Red Sox between 1981 and 1984. Houk's record as a manager was 1,619-1,531, including three pennants and a pair of World Championship titles.
As a Manager: New York Yankees 1961-63, 1966-73; Detroit Tigers 1974-78; Boston Red Sox 1981-84
Died: July 21, 2010, Winter Haven, FL (age 90)
As the back-up to Yogi Berra's back-up during his playing days, Ralph Houk saw limited major league action in his parts of eight seasons with the Yankees. He earned the most playing time in his rookie season of 1947, playing in 41 games, and batting .272 with 12 RBIs. Houk had a pinch-hit single in 1947's World Series Game 6, the first of four World Series winners Houk played for between his rookie season and 1952. Between 1948 and 1954, he appeared in a low range of one to a high of 14 games each season, retiring with a .272 lifetime average, 43 hits, no home runs and 20 RBIs. In his last few years as an active player, Houk transitioned into the role of full-time bullpen coach. He'd manage in the minors for a few seasons before assuming the role of Casey Stengel's first base coach in 1958. Houk took over for Stengel as the club's manager beginning in 1961.
His Yankees won 109 games in 1961, and defeated the Reds in five games in the World Series. They'd win the pennant and World Series again in 1962, defeating the Giants in seven games. Houk's 1963 team won 104 games, but were swept in the 1963 World Series by the Dodgers. He'd move into the front office in 1964 as the Yankees' general manager, but return to the dugout in 1966 following the firing of Johnny Keane. Houk's tenure with the Yankees came to an end following the 1973 season, and he'd join the Tigers as their manager between 1974 and 1978. His final managerial stint came with the Red Sox between 1981 and 1984. Houk's record as a manager was 1,619-1,531, including three pennants and a pair of World Championship titles.
Building the Set / Card #395
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
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 103rd of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost a little less than $2.
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The Card / Yankees Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This card is so, so close to using the exact same photo as Houk's 1968 Topps card, but the manager has turned his head ever so slightly here. The back of the card pays tribute to his pennant winning teams from 1961, 1962 and 1963.
This is one of 23 cards available in the set's fifth series available as either "yellow letter" or "white letter" variations, with the yellow letter variations being more prevalent. This is the more prevalent yellow letter variation with Houk's last name printed in yellow.
Accuracy Index: Houk's card just barely scores a +5.
1969 Season
Now 49 years old and in his third full season back at the helm for the Yankees, Houk guided his club to a 80-81 finish in the American League East, 28 1/2 games behind the Orioles and a fifth place finish. Mel Stottlemyre (#470) and Fritz Peterson (#46) were bright spots for the Yankees. Stottlemyre was 20-14 with a 2.82 ERA in 39 starts, while Peterson was 17-16 with a 2.55 ERA in 37 starts. Closer Jack Aker (#612), rescued from the Pilots, had 11 saves and a 2.06 ERA in 38 appearances.
Left fielder Roy White (#25) led the club with a .290 average. Right fielder Bobby Murcer (#657) had a team-leading 26 home runs and 82 RBIs. Mickey Mantle (#500), who had retired following the 1968 season, had his #7 retired on Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium on June 8th. Joe DiMaggio, the player Mantle had replaced, presented him with his plaque. On August 8th, catcher Thurman Munson made his big league debut, catching a complete game shutout thrown by Al Downing (#292).
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First Mainstream Card: 1952 Topps #200
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (21): 1952, 1960-63, 1967-78, 1981, 1983-85
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Topps Fall Classic Covers #FC1961
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 112 in the Beckett online database as of 11/10/24.
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.
- Thurman Munson (c) - Munson's rookie card would appear in the 1970 Topps set, but I'd give him a card in my update series.
- Jack Kenney (3b) - The regular third baseman, Jack Kenney (#519) shared a Rookie Stars card with Len Boehmer in the main set.
- Ron Woods (cf) - Ron Woods (#544) was also on a Rookie Stars card in the main set, but with his former team, the Tigers.
- Bill Burbach (rhp) - Fifth starter Bill Burbach (#658) was on a three-player Rookie Stars card late in the set. He appeared in 31 games overall, making 24 starts.
- Jack Aker (rhp) - Aker is in the set with the Pilots. He came over to the Yankees in a May 20th trade that sent Fred Talbot (#332) to Seattle.
- Jimmie Hall (of) - And finally, Jimmie Hall (#61) was a back-up outfielder with the Yankees, and he appears early in the set with the Indians.
Baseball Reference - Houk / Baseball Reference - 1969 Yankees / SABR / Wikipedia
The Major
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