Alvin Dark RIP

[39special]

I just read that Alvin Dark passed away at 92.He had a good career as a player and manager.
I had sent him an autograph request about a year and half ago.His signature was shaky,but he took the time to answer my questions in detail,and also wrote that if I had any more questions,he would be happy to answer them.I wish I would have.
RIP Mr.Dark

[the 'stache]

That's great that he took the time to answer your questions, Steve. The chances of one of today's players doing that are not very good.

I'd never looked at his numbers before. He was better than just good. He was really good. In 1951, which was one of his two best seasons, he hit .303, scored 119 runs on 196 hits and 42 walks in 700 plate appearances. He led the league with 41 doubles, had 7 triples, 14 home runs, 69 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and he only struck out 39 times. In 1953, he scored 126 runs while hitting .300 with 41 doubles, 6 triples, 23 home runs and 88 RBI. The next year he hit .293 with 20 home runs and 80 RBI.

He was a real offensive contributor for the Giants. Seven seasons with over 170 hits, another two with 169 and 164. When you consider some of the big boppers the Giants had in ther early 50s-Bobby Thomson, Montee Irvin, a young Willie Mays--it was nice to have that kind of production from the shortstop position.

[Paul S]

RIP Alvin

[1952boyntoncollector]

like 2 days ago...

not sure how many people are alive that were in the 1952 topps set...

as average age of anyone alive would be in their 80s..

[Chris Counts]

Alvin Dark passed away yesterday at 92. Even though his cards are generally considered commons, he had a pretty remarkable career. He was a football star at LSU, served in the U.S. Marines, won the N.L. Rookie of the Year in 1948, started the rally in the 1951 NL playoffs that set the table for Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World," helped lead the Giants to the 1954 World Series title, hit nearly .290 over his career, had good power and played a solid shortstop, was the manager of the Giants' pennant-winning team in 1962, and managed the Swingin' A's to the World Series title in 1974. RIP Alvin.

[Leon]

I moved this from another section for more to see. It's always sad (to me) to see the old timers leave us... and merged the thread Chris just started (exactly when I moved this one )

[campyfan39]

Mr. Dark was a great ttm signer. Good guy

[calvindog]

My alltime favorite line in "Ball Four" was by Alvin Dark to a young Jim Bouton after he had the temerity to ask for an autograph: "Take a hike, son. Take a hike."

[Peter_Spaeth]

My favorite line about "Ball Four" was Pete Rose's. After it was published, Bouton pitched against the Reds and Pete kept yelling. "%&&^ you, Shakespeare!!"

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

My favorite line about "Ball Four" was Pete Rose's. After it was published, Bouton pitched against the Reds and Pete kept yelling. "%&&^ you, Shakespeare!!"

LOL I remember that.

[tj1943]

Over 25 players in the set remain alive including; Yogi Berra, Ned Garver, Red Schoendienst, Bob Cerv, Joe Garagiola, Bob Cerv, Irv Noren, Sam Mele, Charlie Silvera, Monte Irvin and Al Rosen.

Not bad for a 407 card set issued 62 years ago.

[tj1943]

Sorry for the Cerv duplication. Others alive are Harry Perkowski, Ed Fitzgerald, Tom Wright, Bob Kuzava, Alex Grammas and Randy Jackson.

[mark evans]

Originally Posted by tj1943

Sorry for the Cerv duplication. Others alive are Harry Perkowski, Ed Fitzgerald, Tom Wright, Bob Kuzava, Alex Grammas and Randy Jackson.

OT-- I saw Bob Kuzava pitch in an industrial league game in Norfolk, Va around 1961. My dad took me. I was around 11 years old. Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino played in the same league during his active duty between his Naval Academy and AFL careers.

[Runscott]

Always nice to hear good things about people when they pass. When I think of Alvin Dark, I think of how many quadruplicates I had of his Indians manager cards. I think my bicycle spokes were half Alvin Dark cards.

[Tao_Moko]

He made it just past the USMC birthday. RIP brother. Semper Fi

[ethicsprof]

I remember watching him manage when I was a boy.
I had quite a few of his 60s cards back then and prized them.
my heartfelt condolences to family, friends, fans,

Barry

[T3s]

I had the good fortune of meeting and spending some time with Mr. Dark in the early 1990's. Bob Bolin is a friend and he and Bob were very close. I remember being impressed with how strong and tough he appeared physically. He pulled no punches while speaking, saying things straight but with a kind heart. Mr. Dark held extremely strong Christian beliefs and was often criticized for this in different ways during his playing and managing days. It was a great thrill meeting Alvin Dark. He was a Marine and true patriot, a wonderfully talented baseball player and athlete, a very successful manager, a dedicated Christian and a fine Southern gentleman. Rest in peace Mr. Dark. God bless.

As an aside, I'll always remember Alvin Dark as manager of the A's, a huge smile on his face wearing a bright white cap with a dark green A's emblem.

[exitmusicgreen]

Hats off... rest in peace, Mr. Dark.

[ZenPop]

Originally Posted by T3s

I had the good fortune of meeting and spending some time with Mr. Dark in the early 1990's. Bob Bolin is a friend and he and Bob were very close. I remember being impressed with how strong and tough he appeared physically. He pulled no punches while speaking, saying things straight but with a kind heart. Mr. Dark held extremely strong Christian beliefs and was often criticized for this in different ways during his playing and managing days. It was a great thrill meeting Alvin Dark. He was a Marine and true patriot, a wonderfully talented baseball player and athlete, a very successful manager, a dedicated Christian and a fine Southern gentleman. Rest in peace Mr. Dark. God bless.

As an aside, I'll always remember Alvin Dark as manager of the A's, a huge smile on his face wearing a bright white cap with a dark green A's emblem.

As a die-hard Giants' fan, I always had mixed-emotions about Alvin Dark... So many things to admire... but the accusations of racism REALLY bothered me. How anyone that describes themselves as a "Christian" could hold those beliefs is always a puzzle to me. I hope I'm completely wrong about him... but if he did hold those beliefs, then I really hope he became more enlightened in his later years. Rest in peace.

[howard38]

Originally Posted by ZenPop

As a die-hard Giants' fan, I always had mixed-emotions about Alvin Dark... So many things to admire... but the accusations of racism REALLY bothered me. How anyone that describes themselves as a "Christian" could hold those beliefs is always a puzzle to me. I hope I'm completely wrong about him... but if he did hold those beliefs, then I really hope he became more enlightened in his later years. Rest in peace.

Now that the elephant in the room has been mentioned here is the 1964 quote that dogged his later career:

"We have trouble because we have so many Negro and Spanish speaking players on the team. They are just not able to perform up to the white players when it comes to mental alertness. You can't make most Negro and Spanish speaking players have the pride in their team that you get from white players".

At the time Dark said that the quote was taken out of context (I'm not sure if he ever claimed that he was mis-quoted) and several black players including Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson defended him as someone who treated blacks as equals.

[ZenPop]

From a friend of mine passed this along to me: ...on Alvin Dark becoming a different man in his later years... (and I'm thrilled that he changed like this!):

From this great obit by the San Francisco Chronicle's fabulous John Shea:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A...-s-5891185.php

Orlando Cepeda said: "I was a young kid when I played for Alvin — 22, 23. It’s a sad day. He was a great baseball man. Looking back, he made some mistakes, and he said, 'I want to apologize to you and Felipe and Jose Pagan.’ It takes a man to do that.

“He found out Latin players come from a different culture. He said he wanted me to forgive him. I said, 'Alvin, that’s in the past. I know you want the best for me.’ We had a nice visit every time we saw each other. Sometimes we make mistakes. We’re human beings. We grew up in different environments. Times change. We all change.”

I think so much better of the man, now. Well done, Alvin. Rest in peace.

[Section103]

Thank you, John. That's a great piece of the story to close things out.

[deadballfreaK]

I saw an interview with Ozzie Smith a few years back. He gave a lot of credit to Alvin for helping him get started. Ozzie called him a great friend and mentor.

[ZenPop]

Originally Posted by Section103

Thank you, John. That's a great piece of the story to close things out.

I was kind of elated to get that message... Redemption of sorts...

Cheers!

[tjb1952tjb]

RIP Alvin Dark. My 1952 Bowman "Al Dark":

[benderbroeth]

I also believe that Don Johnson is still alive

[powderfinger]

Don Johnson passed away in either December or January. Al Rosen also passed earlier this year. Harry Perkowski hasn't returned mail for approximately 10 months and I don't think Grammas was in the 52 set, though I didn't check before writing this. The list of living players from that iconic set grows shorter all the time. Yogi is still with us, but his mail is being returned with a note that he's no longer able to sign. Willie Mays is virtually blind and only signs on rare occasions for a large fee. Players like Ned Garver and Ed Fitz Gerald still sign for free and others, like Wayne Terwilliger, Charlie Maxwell, Ed Robbinson and others charge $5 or $10 per request. Al Dark was a great signer, though his autograph was very shaky over the past few years. The men still living are very accommodating signers, and with most being in their 80s or 90s the hobby should be thankful they're such good guys.

[egri]

Originally Posted by powderfinger

and others, like Wayne Terwilliger, Charlie Maxwell, Ed Robbinson and others charge $5 or $10 per request. Al Dark was a great signer, though his autograph was very shaky over the past few years. The men still living are very accommodating signers, and with most being in their 80s or 90s the hobby should be thankful they're such good guys.

All postwar collectors should write to Wayne Terwilliger while he's still with us. "Twig" saw action with the Fourth Marine Divison on Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima during World War II. He has some amazing stories to tell, and is well worth the $5 fee. When I wrote to him, I mentioned that my neighbor was a USMC officer during the Vietnam War, and Terwilliger wrote back "Semper Fi to your neighbor, and tell him thanks for his service".

I wrote to Dark about a month and a half before his passing, and he was still signing even then. My SASE was stamped on the back "Unable to sign/Thank you for understanding", but he still signed my card. It must have been one of the last autographs he ever signed. I recall reading somewhere that Dark was stationed in China after the war, and the route they patrolled took them through territory controlled by the Chinese Communists, and they'd always make faces at each other. Then two weeks after Dark's unit was rotated out, the ChiComs massacred the Marines patrolling there.



I don't have a count of living players from the 1952 Topps set, but for my 1953 project, there were about 50 players still living when I started in July 2014, and 44 of them signed TTM for me. Some of those 44 have since died (Dark, Rosen, Pierce, Miller, Minoso...) but overall there are probably 40 or so players alive. That set was about 25% smaller than the 1952 set, and there is a lot of overlap between the two, so I would expect maybe 50-60 players from the 1952 set to still be alive.

[Bob Lemke]

This was posted on my blog on Aug. 1, 2015 . . .

On June 10, this blog featured a necrology of the players (and managers and coaches) who had appeared in the iconic 1952 Topps set.

On that date, there were 50 surviving players. Now there are 49.

Long-time Chicago White Sox left-handed ace Billy Pierce died Friday, July 31, at the age of 88.

Here's the current roster of surviving subjects from 1952 Topps.

1952 Topps old to young.jpg

[Drew]

Thanks Bob