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.
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.
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 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.
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
Voting for Carlton.
ReplyDeleteHalladay was also a Phillies legend, but sometimes great isn't enough.
The first two people who popped into my head were basketball players: Magic Johnson & Shaquille O'neal. And the only baseball player that came to mind was Carlton.
ReplyDeleteAs one of my PCs, had been waiting for Halladay to make his appearance here!
ReplyDelete