When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s, the NY Yankees were my team. It was the only time in my life that I could name all the starting players on any sports team, along with their numbers and playing positions. Even as a 10 year old, me and a buddy took the NY City Subway from Queens to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Not too safe to try that in today's world!
Here's a Name Game for you - the NY Yankees 1950s Edition. Can you name these 1950s Yankees players?
HINT: For all but (#7) the number in lower left is the position number according to standard baseball scorekeepers.
HINT 2: One of these guys had a ton of famous quotes, one of which is: "Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical."
I will post the Official Answer key in a few days. Until then, just put the numbers that you know, not the names, so as not to spoil it for other hoggers.
bobbyjohn wrote:
When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s, the NY Yankees were my team. It was the only time in my life that I could name all the starting players on any sports team, along with their numbers and playing positions. Even as a 10 year old, me and a buddy took the NY City Subway from Queens to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Not too safe to try that in today's world!
Here's a Name Game for you - the NY Yankees 1950s Edition. Can you name these 1950s Yankees players?
HINT: For all but (#7) the number in lower left is the position number according to standard baseball scorekeepers.
HINT 2: One of these guys had a ton of famous quotes, one of which is: "Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical."
I will post the Official Answer key in a few days. Until then, just put the numbers that you know, not the names, so as not to spoil it for other hoggers.
When I was a kid growing up in the 1950s, the NY Y... (
show quote)
To start:
#1 - Whitey Ford (pitcher)
#2 - Yogi Berra ("When you come to a fork in the road, take it." - supposedly, he said it.)
#3 - Bill Skowron (1B)
#4 - Bobby Richardson (2base)
#5 - Tony Kubek
#6 - Phil Rizutto (SS)
#7 - Casey Stengel (Manager)
#8 - Mickey Mantle (he and Roger Maris had an honest, gentlemen's battle for the HR King way before the PEDs era HR battle between Sosa and McGuire) - OF
#9 - Roger Maris (OF)
Had Mantle not been injured in the 61 season, he might well have taken the crown from Maris.
However, both were tremendous hitters. I always hated the fact that Maris' record was listed with an asterisk for all those years.
A lot of folks don't know just how fast Mantle could get to first. I believe he was about .2 second faster from the left hand side of the plate (3.1 seconds). For someone to hit with such power, and run with such speed, is nearly unheard of today.
Mantle in center, Maris in right and Lopez, Berra, or Tresh in left. Wow! What an outfield!
Richardson @ 2nd, Rizzuto (later Kubek) @ SS, Skowron @ 1st, and Clete Boyer @ 3rd, made a nice infield.
Add Whitey Ford or Don Larsen @ P, and Elston Howard @ C, and I'd hate to be the other team on most days.
Thanks for the memories!
Great Bobbyjohn! Brought back some memories... and can't help but get nostalgic and so listened to Tom Waits' for the complete experience...
... that we toast to the old days and Dimagio too
and old Drysdale and Mantle, Whitey Ford and to you...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j5ecdHpxTUThanks!
I saw Mickey Mantle hit a home run that hit the facade at the top of the stadium and it was still going up.
My name's not TXYANK for nothing! I recognize all nine. Given a little time, I could also recall all of their uniform numbers, even the ones not in Monument Park.
Where's Gil Mac or McDougal? My Dad took us to most home games growing up. We lived in Southern CT. I hated sitting through double-headers. Wish I knew where my Mickey Mantle bat went to!
Sunnely wrote:
To start:
#1 - Whitey Ford (pitcher)
#2 - Yogi Berra ("When you come to a fork in the road, take it." - supposedly, he said it.)
#3 - Bill Skowron (1B)
#4 - Bobby Richardson (2base)
#5 - Tony Kubek
#6 - Phil Rizutto (SS)
#7 - Casey Stengel (Manager)
#8 - Mickey Mantle (he and Roger Maris had an honest, gentlemen's battle for the HR King way before the PEDs era HR battle between Sosa and McGuire) - OF
#9 - Roger Maris (OF)
Good job, but the OP asked that you post only the numbers of the pics you could identify, not the names, so others could play too😊
I recognized five of them from my "childhood."
Linda S. wrote:
Where's Gil Mac or McDougal? My Dad took us to most home games growing up. We lived in Southern CT. I hated sitting through double-headers. Wish I knew where my Mickey Mantle bat went to!
How about Andy Carey too?
Brings back a ton of memories. I grew up in Queens and had a mix of Yankee, Giant and Dodger fans in the neighborhood. They became our lineups in the schoolyard stickball games. My Dad was a Giants fan so my first games were at the Polo Grounds...even went to the last game they played there before the move. Stuffed some grass from the outfield in my pocket as a souvenir. Forgot to tell my Mom about it so the souvenir got tossed when she washed my pants.
And you’re right about the subway rides! No problem in those days...different story today😊
Dannj wrote:
Good job, but the OP asked that you post only the numbers of the pics you could identify, not the names, so others could play too😊
I apologize. Must admit got carried away due to excitement. Growing up in the other side of the sea (Manila, Philippines), the Yankees was my favorite team. Knew their names and faces and followed their games closely only via the morning daily (Manila Times). No radio, no TV coverage. Couldn't wait for the next day report on how they fared. Then after reading the MLB report, I'd read my next favorite section of the daily - Comics.
A penny for your thought: The 50s Yankees were great. But, how do you think they'd fare against the Yankees of '27?
Hmm... A penny for your thought but 2 cents for mine, someone somewhere is making a lot of money.
I’ve been a Yankee fan all my life, my diapers had pinstripes, so I recognized them all. A minor technicality: If this is meant to be Yankees of the Fifties, the right fielder should be Hank Bauer, one hell of a ballplayer and a Marine Raider. The right fielder pictured didn’t play for the Yankees in the Fifties. By the way, subway is still the best way to get to a game. Not for a ten year old on their own however.
What Sunnely said. That was--and still is, through thick and thin--my team! I love those guys from the ‘50s.
I was also a hopelessly addicted yankee fan at that time. Used the subway from sunny side queens to go to games even at night. I remember when at one of his first games Mickey Mantle camped out under a high pop fly in right field and the ball went right over his head - he never touched it. He was very embarrassed. He went back to his position in right and began toeing the grass with his shoe. I was also a committed Mantle fan also.
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