my retired number collection - 32

this is the 32nd post in a series that shares the cards i have in my retired number mini-collection. you can find the links to the previous posts down at the bottom of this post. if you're eager to learn more right now, you can check out the full list of retired numbers along with what this collection will entail over at my want list site.

without further ado, here are the five people for whom number 32 has been retired:

jim umbricht (retired by the astros in 1965) 1964 topps

umbricht was the first non-hall of fame player to have his number retired by a franchise, as the astros (then colt .45s) retired 32 for him posthumously on april 12, 1965. umbricht had been selected by the team in the 1961 expansion draft, and he pitched well in his two seasons with the club. in 1962, he was 4-0 with a 2.01 era, and he followed that up in 1963 with a 4-3 record and 2.61 era despite battling melanoma and receiving treatment during the season. 

umbricht had been diagnosed with melanoma during spring training prior to the 1963 season, but he managed to stay with the team for the entire campaign. the club released him in december of 1963 so that he could focus on his treatment, but he passed away on april 8, 1964. even though it does not show his number, i thought that his 1964 card would be the appropriate one to use for this collection. unlike ken hubbs' card in the set, umbricht's does not reflect his passing as it occurred after the cards were printed. umbricht is the first and only member of the franchise to ever wear number 32.

sandy koufax (retired by the dodgers in 1972) 2018 topps museum collection

i love the fact that the dodgers' jersey numbers on the front are in red, and cards like koufax's 2018 topps museum collection show why. the number just pops. as for koufax's number, the dodgers retired it along with jackie robinson's 42 and roy campanella's 39 on june 4, 1972 during an old-timer's day celebration. this occurred a couple of months before koufax was inducted into the national baseball hall of fame, and i am thinking it is likely that his election by the writers on his first ballot was the impetus for the dodgers to retire numbers for the first time in their history.

koufax was a 3-time cy young award winner, 4-time world series champion, 2-time world series mvp, and he won the 1963 national league mvp award during the regular season as well. simply one of the all-time greats, and he is the last dodger, and only los angeles dodger, to ever wear number 32.

elston howard (retired by the yankees in 1984) 1964 topps

the yankees retired number 32 for howard, who had passed away in 1980, on july 21, 1984. he had spent 12-plus seasons with the franchise from 1955 through the middle of the 1967 season, serving primarily as their catcher during most of the 1960's. his 1964 card shows most of his number on the home pinstripes beneath the yankee stadium facade that appears on so many cards from those early topps sets. 

howard won the mvp award in 1963, and finished third in the voting the following year. he was a part of four yankee world championship teams during his playing days, and when he returned to the club as a coach in the 1970's, he won two more rings when they beat the dodgers in 1977 and 1978. the yankees had not recirculated his number they dealt him to the red sox in 1967, so he would have been the last yankee to wear the number even if he hadn't returned to coach first base for the club.

steve carlton (retired by the phillies in 1989) 1983 fleer

steve carlton retired in may of 1988, and on july 29, 1989 the phillies recognized him by retiring his number as they added him to their wall of fame. a few years later, in 1994, carlton was voted into the national baseball hall of fame. carlton pitched for a few different franchises in his career, but had his greatest success as a phillie.

he was a four-time cy young award winner in philly, and had two other seasons where he finished in the top 4 in the voting. he won the pitching triple crown in 1972, and was 2-0 in the 1980 world series, helping the phillies to their first world series title. 3,031 of his 4,136 career strikeouts came while wearing number 32 for the phillies, and he recorded many of those while wearing the baby blue zip up jersey shown on his 1983 fleer card. 

he remains the all-time franchise leader in starts, wins, and strikeouts, and even though the phillies released carlton during the 1986 season, they did not reissue his number, ensuring that no other phillie would ever take the field with 32 on their back.

roy halladay (retired by the blue jays in 2018) 2009 topps tribute

like umbricht and howard, roy halladay's number retirement by the blue jays was made posthumously. halladay passed away in a plane accident in november of 2017, and the blue jays retired his number on march 29, 2018. canadian scott diamond then became the last blue jay to wear the number, having done so in his lone appearance as a blue jay that occurred during the 2016 season. halladay's 2009 topps tribute card is a great one for this collection, showing his number 32 prominently. with the blue jays rescinding roberto alomar's number from retirement, halladay is currently the only blue jay player to be so honored.

halladay won 148 games for the blue jays in what was really 11 seasons (plus a start in a 12th season). he was a modern day workhorse, leading the league in complete games six times with the blue jays, including in 2003 when he won the american league cy young award. halladay, who had a different number retired by the phillies (more on that in a couple of weeks) was elected to the hall of fame on his first ballot in 2019.

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the 32 posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 32, 42

giants - 3, 4, 11, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 30, 42

pirates - 1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 20, 21, 42

guardians - 3, 5, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 42, 455

red sox - 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 26, 27, 42

phillies - 1, 14, 15, 20, 32, 42

cardinals - 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23, 24, 42, 85

reds - 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 24, 42

braves - 3, 6, 10, 21, 25, 31, 42

astros - 5, 7, 24, 25, 32, 42

mets - 14, 16, 17, 18, 24, 31, 42

orioles - 4, 5, 8, 20, 22, 42

dodgers - 1, 2, 4, 14, 19, 20, 24, 32, 42

twins - 3, 6, 7, 10, 14, 28, 42

white sox - 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, 42, 72

brewers - 1, 4, 19, 42

tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 11, 16, 23, 42

cubs - 10, 14, 23, 26, 31, 42

royals - 5, 10, 20, 42

padres - 6, 19, 31, 42

athletics - 9, 24, 27, 42

angels - 11, 26, 30, 42

expos - 8, 10, 30, 42

rangers - 7, 10, 26, 42

major league baseball - 42

rays - 12, 42, 66

diamondbacks - 20, 42

blue jays - 32, 42

rockies - 17, 42

mariners - 11, 24, 42

nationals - 11, 42

marlins - 42

retired number frequency:

1 - retired by 9 teams

2 - retired by 5 teams

3 - retired by 7 teams

4 - retired by 8 teams

5 - retired by 7 teams

6 - retired by 7 teams

7 - retired by 4 teams

8 - retired by 6 teams (retired by yankees for two players)

9 - retired by 6 teams

10 - retired by 9 teams (retired by expos for two players)

11 - retired by 8 teams

12 - retired by 1 team

13 - retired by 1 team

14 - retired by 10 teams (retired by mets and dodgers for same person)

15 - retired by 2 teams

16 - retired by 4 teams

17 - retired by 3 teams

18 - retired by 3 teams (includes mets who will formally retire the number in 2024) 

19 - retired by 5 teams

20 - retired by 11 teams (retired by orioles, reds, and guardians for same person)

21 - retired by 4 teams

22 - retired by 2 teams

23 - retired by 4 teams

24 - retired by 8 teams (retired by giants and mets for same person)

25 - retired by 4 teams

26 - retired by 4 teams

27 - retired by 3 teams

28 - retired by 1 team

29 - retired by 4 teams (retired by twins and angels for same person)

30 - retired by 3 teams

31 - retired by 4 teams (retired by cubs and braves for same person; retired by cubs for two players)

32 - retired by 5 teams

42 - retired by 30 teams (retired by cardinals and yankees for individuals in addition to jackie robinson)

66 - retired by 1 team

72 - retired by 1 team

85 - retired by 1 team

455 - retired by 1 team

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 132

running total of non-hall of famers: 46

my retired number collection - 12 and 13

this is the 13th post in a series that shares the cards i have in my retired number mini-collection. you can find the links to the previous posts down at the bottom of this post. if you're eager to learn more right now, you can check out the full list of retired numbers along with what this collection will entail over at my want list site.

without further ado, here are the people for whom the numbers 12 and 13 have been retired:

wade boggs (retired by the rays in 2000) 2001 donruss 1999 retroactive

boggs is currently the only player for whom the number 12 is retired. i say currently because the blue jays had retired number 12 in honor of roberto alomar, but the number was put back in circulation and issued to jordan hicks during the 2023 season. alomar had his number removed from display at rogers centre due to an mlb policy violation and misconduct charge back in 2014 and has remained out of favor ever since.

as for boggs, he switched from number 26 to 12 when he left the red sox (he will show up in a later post as you probably know) and kept the number when he left the yankees for the inaugural season of tampa bay devil rays baseball. boggs was the franchise's first third baseman, and he delivered their first rbi and home run when he knocked in quinton mccracken with a two-run homer on opening day, 1998. i am guessing that the photo on the 2001 donruss card, made to represent what a 1999 donruss set might have looked like, features a photo from a different hit, but it is nice to think that donruss may have captured that franchise moment on cardboard had they produced a set in '99.

there was a rumor that boggs had agreed to go in to the hall of fame as a devil ray and that arrangement may have had something to do with his number being retired despite having only spent two seasons in tampa before he retired, but he did get career hit number 3,000 (the home run that is more likely shown on the card above) as a devil ray, and his close ties to the tampa area certainly helped. besides, he's in cooperstown with a "b" on his hat after being voted in on his first ballot in 2005. the devil rays did retire his number quickly, however, in a ceremony on april 7, 2000. having his number retired immediately after his retirement means that he was the only player to wear the number for the franchise, and he was also the first player to have his number retired in tampa, (excluding jackie robinson, of course).  

dave concepcion (retired by the reds in 2007) 1983 fleer

concepcion's 1983 fleer card shows his number perfectly, and so was an easy choice for this collection. as i understand it, concepcion chose the number to honor his mother who was born in 1913. it had only been worn by three other members of the franchise (two players and a coach) in their entire existence before concepcion took it in 1970. and, even though it wasn't formally retired by the reds until august 25, 2007, nobody else wore it after concepcion retired following the 1988 season.

as the shortstop for the big red machine, concepcion specialized in defense, winning five gold gloves during his 15 years as their primary shortstop. he could hit, too, however, as attested by a couple of silver sluggers and a career total of 2,326 hits. he appeared in four world series and was the mvp of the 1982 all-star game. while he was a key cog of the reds and their success in the 1970's, he has not been elected to the hall of fame.

[edit - the astros retired number 13 for billy wagner in 2025. this retirement is not reflected in the tracking below]

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the 13 posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

giants - 3, 4, 11

pirates - 1, 4, 8, 9, 11

guardians - 3, 5

red sox - 1, 4, 6, 8, 9

phillies - 1

cardinals - 1, 2, 6, 9, 10

reds - 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13

braves - 3, 6, 10

astros - 5, 7

mets

orioles - 4, 5, 8

dodgers - 1, 2, 4

twins - 3, 6, 7, 10

white sox - 2, 3, 4, 9, 11

brewers - 1, 4

tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 11

cubs - 10

royals - 5, 10

padres - 6

athletics - 9

angels - 11

expos - 8, 10

rangers - 7, 10

major league baseball

rays - 12

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners - 11

nationals - 11

retired number frequency:

1 - retired by 9 teams

2 - retired by 5 teams

3 - retired by 7 teams

4 - retired by 8 teams

5 - retired by 7 teams

6 - retired by 7 teams

7 - retired by 4 teams

8 - retired by 6 teams (retired by yankees for two players)

9 - retired by 6 teams

10 - retired by 9 teams (retired by expos for two players)

11 - retired by 8 teams

12 - retired by 1 team

13 - retired by 1 team

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 76

running total of non-hall of famers: 16

when the dodgers came to my hometown

i teased this topic a while back in a couple of don sutton related posts (here and here) although you wouldn't necessarily know what it's about from the photo of sutton that i included in those posts.  first, this 1983 fleer joe beckwith card

arrived amongst a bunch of other dodger cards i added a few months ago. in addition to being added to my dodger stadium collection, the card reminded me that i never followed up on my promised post because as much as it is about don sutton, it's also about beckwith.

to be fair, i've written about this a couple of other times - here and here - but my dad sent me some pictures that i hadn't seen in over 40 years and i figured i would revisit the event. in the late 1970's and early 1980's, my dad was involved with a group of local businessmen who were raising money for a new ymca facility. don sutton agreed to lend a name to a golf tournament, and in november of 1980, the first don sutton celebrity golf tournament was held.

i was only nine, so i didn't golf, but my dad did. he was assigned to joe beckwith's foursome and took this photo 

of the dodger pitcher from his side of the golf cart.

that was the only photo he took at the course, but later there was a dinner reception. my dad had both sutton

and beckwith

sign his ticket for me, and he got them to pose for a picture. not this one...

this one.

now i was at the dinner, too, but my role was serving and bussing the tables. still, i was able to mingle a bit after the dinner and get some autographs. in one of the posts i linked to up above, i wrote about meeting al downing. it was a memorable encounter (even if i couldn't remember at the time i wrote that post whether it was the first or second golf tourney). so, it was great to see that my dad had snapped a photo of downing

from earlier in the evening. 

sadly, both sutton and beckwith passed away in 2021 but that is certainly not how they are linked in my memory thanks to this event and their roles on the dodger pitching staff.

another summer come and gone

i know summer isn't officially over for a couple more weeks, but i've always associated labor day with its end. that's because of back to school, of course. these days, the days, weeks, months, seasons just sort of roll along.  anyway, baseball is the primary summer sport, and we are heading towards the end of the regular season. i am happy that i was able to get out to a few games and stadiums this year, but sad that dodger stadium wasn't one of them. i plan to be in los angeles next month, so maybe there is a chance if the dodgers are still playing in the postseason.

this post is going to feature a bunch of cards that contain images taken in the confines of chavez ravine, and i'll kick it off with a 1983 donruss nolan ryan card that i culled from my dad's collection:

i spent some time going through some sets from the 1980s looking for dodger stadium cards that i had to give up to the set build back when we were opening packs, and i found quite a few that i then pursued on sportlots for my dodger stadium collection.

1984 donruss charlie puleo

1985 donruss luis aguayo

1986 donruss vince coleman

hubie brooks

ken oberkfell

jose deleon (the original)

steve kemp

jody davis

leon durham

eddie milner

and tony perez

davis and durham look like they could have been standing next to each other.

i looked through some fleer sets, too, and found some more to add.

1983 fleer atlee hammaker

1985 fleer update dave rucker

herm winningham

mickey mahler

joe sambito

calvin schiraldi

rick schu

gary carter

hubie brooks

dave lapoint

and jeff calhoun

obviously those update cards were part of a box set that i never broke rather than packs. easy and cheap pickings on sportlots now.

i went through the 1986 fleer update set as well, and found this jim deshaies

plus a couple from the flagship set - bill gullickson

and scott sanderson

back to update for this 1987 fleer update dave dravecky

and dave meads

cards. 1987 was the last year i added the boxed fleer update sets, so i went to comc to see images from later sets. i found this 1989 fleer update randy kramer card

plus a few from the 1990 fleer update set to add:

dave hollins

luis salazar

dennis boyd

mariano duncan

there were some dodgers, too, that i hadn't yet added to the dodger stadium collection, such as this 1986 donruss bob welch

and some fleer dodgers, like a 1981 fleer mickey hatcher

1981 fleer star stickers davey (davy) lopes

1983 fleer candy maldonado

1985 fleer update al oliver

and 1987 fleer mike scioscia

i also found some oversized cards to add, like this 1984 donruss action all-stars willie mcgee

and these 1987 donruss all-stars cards of glenn davis

and mike krukow

moving to the 21st century, i added a 2001 topps chrome dodgers team card

to a recent sportlots order so i could put it in the dodger stadium collection, and i also picked up a 2017 topps javy baez card

in a lot of cards i recently purchased. with the full playoff crowd it's somewhat hard to tell that he's in dodger stadium, but he is. many of these cards are not necessarily the best examples of dodger stadium backgrounds, but oh well.

the last two dodger stadium cards i bought haven't arrived yet, but i'll share the images. they are both from 2021 topps now, and are turn back the clock cards. here are vladimir guerrero

who moved in to first place as far as expo home run hitters while in dodger stadium back in 2003, and ernie banks

who became the first cub player to have his number retired back in 1992. of course, the ceremony was held in wrigley field, but topps opted for a photo of banks hanging out by the batting cage in dodger stadium. i'm not complaining.

bonus card:

it's not dodger stadium, but it is a site i have visited on a couple of summer vacations. devils tower in wyoming was featured on the 2016 topps allen & ginter natural wonders insert checklist, so i figured i would add the card to my "meaningful and just because" mini-collection. it reminds me of yet more summers come and gone.