1986 Sportflics Decade Greats Eddie Mathews

 

Cards like these are my favorites in the set; multiple color action photos of vintage players. It brings them alive in a way that other cards of players from this era do not.

The player: Never the best hitter on his own team, Eddie Mathews was nevertheless one of the best hitters in the National League in the 1950s and 1960s. A nine-time All-Star, Mathews hit .271 with 512 home runs and 1,453 RBI. Hitting in front of Hank Aaron, Mathews saw lots of good pitches to hit, most notably in the tenth inning of Game 4 of the 1957 World Series, when the Yankees elected to pitch to Mathews with first base open and Aaron on deck; Mathews hit a walk-off homer that turned the tide of that series. The only player to play for the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta, Mathews ended his career with stints in Houston and Detroit, retiring after appearing for the Tigers in the 1968 World Series.

The man: Mathews was a well-respected teammate who frequently got into fights with the opposition, including on-field blows with Frank Robinson, Jackie Robinson and Don Drysdale, among others. He briefly served as Braves manager in the 1970s, and was the team's skipper when Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run in 1974. Mathews was fired later that season, and later admitted that his alcoholism cost him that job and others in baseball. He died of pneumonia in 2001.

My collection: My only vintage cards of Mathews are his last Topps card (1968) and his last card as an active player (1969 Milton Bradley).