The front: Another great action shot in front of a packed
house at Yankee Stadium. Smalley played in only one day game at Yankee Stadium
in 1980, a 5-0 loss. Smalley was 0-3 with a walk.
The back: The double plays record is a bit of an odd choice,
since it was actually broken in 1980 by Rick Burleson with 147, a record that
still stands. Kirby Puckett broke Smalley’s doubles record with 4 in a game in
1989.
The player: Shortstop Roy Smalley played sixteen seasons in
the major leagues, mostly for the Twins and Yankees. He was an All-Star in
1979, hitting .271 with 24 HR and 95 RBI. Overall in 1,653 games he hit .257
with 163 HR and 694 RBI, good power numbers for a shortstop.
The man: Smalley’s father, also named Roy Smalley, played
eleven seasons in the major leagues. His uncle was long-time manager Gene
Mauch. While playing for the Yankees Smalley’s neighbor was a banking executive
(later the CEO of EF Hutton) who convinced Smalley to go into banking after his
career. He is currently a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley in Minneapolis.
My collection: I have 38 of his cards, from 1976 to 1988. I
would be interested in trading for 1983 Fleer Star Stickers #37.
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