Quote:
Originally Posted by rats60
Stanky had a 1951 Topps Red Back as well as the 1952 Topps as a player. He had manager cards in 1954 Topps and 1955 Topps as well as in the 60s.
|
Forgot about the 51 Topps card.
So, in 1952 was he actually still playing or was he a manager? The back of his 52 Topps card is confusing.
Edward Raymond “Eddie” Stanky (1916-1999) had a knack for getting on base, posting a .410 on-base percentage for his career, but he was most notably the spark that began the rally leading to Bobby Thomson’s 1951 “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” Eddie began his career as a middle infielder with the Chicago Cubs (1943-1944), was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers (1944-1947), then played two seasons with the Boston Braves (1948-1949), the New York Giants (1950-1951) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1952-1953). When Jackie Robinson signed his monumental contract with the Dodgers in 1947, management played the color barrier breaking slugger at first base for his first year in order to keep Stanky at second base. He was part of an excellent fielding infield that included his double play mate, Pee Wee Reese. At second base, Eddie had a .975 career fielding percentage. Stanky led the National League three times in walks, twice in on-base percentage and once in plate appearances and runs scored. During Eddie’s 11-year career, he played in three World Series losing efforts with Brooklyn (1947), Boston (1948) and New York (1951). Eddie Stanky finished his career with a .268 career batting average, 1,154 hits, 811 runs and 364 RBI.
Stanky also served as player/manager in St. Louis before taking over all managerial duties (1952-1955) and then managed the Chicago White Sox (1966-1968) and the Texas Rangers (1977) compiling a 467-435 record in 906 games managed.