Vintage Fridays: Harry Dorish, 1956 Topps #167

Sy Berger passed away last weekend at age 91. If the name doesn't ring bells, just know that Sy was the driving force behind Topps baseball cards in the 1950s. The New York Times had a lovely obituary talking about his impact on the hobby. For my part, I'd just like to say that the 1956 Topps set is everything that is beautiful and good about little cardboard rectangles. Harry "Fritz" Dorish and his devilish grin know I'm right. He seems to be enjoying the fact that Topps chose an action shot of a relief pitcher running the bases. If that image was taken from a 1955 game, it came before the White Sox traded him to Baltimore in early June. He was 1-for-13 with one sac bunt in his limited plate appearances that season, and 0-for-10 with the O's. Things went better on the mound, at least; he went 5-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 48 total games, and 3-3 with a 3.15 ERA in 35 games as an Oriole.

So thanks, Sy, for leading me down this path.