it's been almost a year since whitey herzog passed away at the age of 92. the hall of fame manager led four different clubs following his playing career, and i first knew of him as the royals' skipper thanks to his 1978 topps card. the royals were his third managerial stop, following short stints in texas and california. he is most closely associated, however, with the st. louis cardinals.
after his death, the cardinals added memorial patches to their jerseys in their standard style for legends of the franchise, which includes their retired number and a facsimile signature. they also color coordinate the patches with their various colored uniforms, and i think we have examples of each of them on cardboard.
here's the home whites on masyn winn's 2024 topps archives at the break insert
masyn winn's 2025 topps card features the powder blues
that shows the home white version of sutter's patch. no powder blues (so far) but happy to have this example.
and sonny gray's card from that same set shows the cream throwbacks
and it's back to 2024 topps chrome update to see brandon crawford and the red version of the patch
as part of their city connect unis.
herzog's cardinals won three pennants and one world series in his 11 seasons. he is third all-time in wins behind fellow hall of famers red schoendienst and tony larussa.
bonus content!
in 2023, the cardinals wore a similar patch for bruce sutter. they didn't wear them for long - maybe about a month - and the only example on cardboard that i was aware of shows the away grays. recently i found jordan walker's 2023 topps upate black gold insert
I knew Whitey managed the Royals... but mainly remember him for his years managing the Cardinals. He always reminded me of my childhood buddy's dad. Had no idea he managed the Angels and Rangers too.
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