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William DeKova White
St. Louis Cardinals
First Base
Born: January 28, 1934, Lakewood, FL
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1953 season
Major League Teams: New York Giants 1956; San Francisco Giants 1958; St. Louis Cardinals 1959-65; Philadelphia Phillies 1966-68; St. Louis Cardinals 1969
World Series Appearances: St. Louis Cardinals 1964
Bill White found his greatest success as a player with the Cardinals in the early 1960s, earning a spot on eight National League All-Star teams. He drove in over 100 runs in four different seasons, and was one of the top first baseman in the league between 1961 and 1966, batting .297 and averaging 22 home runs and 96 RBIs over that period. White reached career highs in home runs (27) and RBIs (109) in 1963, and he helped the Cardinals win their World Championship in 1964. A fine fielder as well, White won seven Gold Gloves. For his career, White batted .286 with 202 home runs and 870 RBIs.
After retiring as a player, White served on the Yankees television broadcast crew between 1970 and 1988 as both a play-by-play announcer and color commentator. In 1989, he was elected President of the National League, replacing A. Bartlett Giamatti who had succeeded Peter Ueberroth as MLB Commissioner. White served as the National League President until 1994, becoming the first African-American to hold a high-ranking executive position in one of the major sports leagues. He was elected into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2020.
Bill White found his greatest success as a player with the Cardinals in the early 1960s, earning a spot on eight National League All-Star teams. He drove in over 100 runs in four different seasons, and was one of the top first baseman in the league between 1961 and 1966, batting .297 and averaging 22 home runs and 96 RBIs over that period. White reached career highs in home runs (27) and RBIs (109) in 1963, and he helped the Cardinals win their World Championship in 1964. A fine fielder as well, White won seven Gold Gloves. For his career, White batted .286 with 202 home runs and 870 RBIs.
After retiring as a player, White served on the Yankees television broadcast crew between 1970 and 1988 as both a play-by-play announcer and color commentator. In 1989, he was elected President of the National League, replacing A. Bartlett Giamatti who had succeeded Peter Ueberroth as MLB Commissioner. White served as the National League President until 1994, becoming the first African-American to hold a high-ranking executive position in one of the major sports leagues. He was elected into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2020.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #496
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Reacquired from the Phillies by the Cardinals at the start of the season (see below), White saw his final big league action in 1969. In 49 games, he batted .211 with only one extra base hit, a double. He was with the Cardinals all season, making seven starts at first base to occasionally give Joe Torre (#460) a day off. Primarily a pinch-hitter, he struggled in that role, batting just .167 (5 for 30). He announced his retirement on October 2nd and promptly began his broadcasting career with the Yankees.
Phillies Career
White was the Phillies' opening day first baseman in 1966 and he enjoyed his last big season. In 159 games, he batted .276 with 22 home runs and 103 RBIs. Only Dick Allen (#350), with 40 home runs and 110 RBIs was ahead of him in both power categories. White suffered a torn Achilles tendon while playing paddle ball and was limited to 110 games in 1967 with his average dropping to .250. He slumped further in 1968, batting .239 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs over 127 games and losing playing time at first base to either John Briggs (#73) or Rick Joseph (#329). In three seasons with the Phillies, White appeared in 396 games, batting .258 with 39 home runs and 176 RBIs. On April 3, 1969, he was traded back to the Cardinals for Jerry Buchek and Jim Hutto.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #359
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1959-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Upper deck All-Time Heroes #65
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 109 in the Beckett online database as of 5/4/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the 52nd of 98 commons pulled from the binder. After a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me a little less than $2.
The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This is White's final appearance in a Topps flagship set, and I'm fairly certain the photo is from his first stint with the Cardinals between 1959 and 1965. That's a #12 peaking through on the front of his jersey, and White wore #7 in his second stint with the club. The back of the card informs collectors why White is pictured with the Cardinals and not the Phillies, and the cartoon highlights his seven Gold Glove wins.
Accuracy Index: White's card receives a +5 in spite of the older photo.
1969 Season
Reacquired from the Phillies by the Cardinals at the start of the season (see below), White saw his final big league action in 1969. In 49 games, he batted .211 with only one extra base hit, a double. He was with the Cardinals all season, making seven starts at first base to occasionally give Joe Torre (#460) a day off. Primarily a pinch-hitter, he struggled in that role, batting just .167 (5 for 30). He announced his retirement on October 2nd and promptly began his broadcasting career with the Yankees.
White was the Phillies' opening day first baseman in 1966 and he enjoyed his last big season. In 159 games, he batted .276 with 22 home runs and 103 RBIs. Only Dick Allen (#350), with 40 home runs and 110 RBIs was ahead of him in both power categories. White suffered a torn Achilles tendon while playing paddle ball and was limited to 110 games in 1967 with his average dropping to .250. He slumped further in 1968, batting .239 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs over 127 games and losing playing time at first base to either John Briggs (#73) or Rick Joseph (#329). In three seasons with the Phillies, White appeared in 396 games, batting .258 with 39 home runs and 176 RBIs. On April 3, 1969, he was traded back to the Cardinals for Jerry Buchek and Jim Hutto.
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First Mainstream Card: 1959 Topps #359
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1959-1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Upper deck All-Time Heroes #65
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 109 in the Beckett online database as of 5/4/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room
#587 Joe Rudi - Oakland Athletics / #589 Joe Peptone - New York Yankees
White was one of the last 5 active New York Giants:
ReplyDeletehttps://mlb1960s.blogspot.com/2009/11/last-active-new-york-giants.html