Al Lopez

Al Lopez

Birthdate	8/20/1908
Death Date	10/30/2005
Debut Year	1928
Year of Induction	1977
Teams	Braves, Dodgers, Indians, Pirates, White Sox
Positions	Catcher, Manager

From 1949-64 the Yankees won the AL pennant every year but two. Al Lopez managed both of those teams, the ’54 Indians and the ’59 White Sox.

In the collection:

Original drawing of Lopez signed by both artist and subject

This beautiful original drawing was sketched sometime between 1951 and 1956 while Al Lopez was piloting the Cleveland Indians. During that 1954 season Lopez guided the Tribe to 111 regular season wins. His overall winning percentage in Cleveland was .617, the

Handwritten letter from Lopez to the artist

Al Lopez praises the artists in this handwritten letter saying, “Enjoyed the sketch very much. Would enjoy one just like it or a bit larger if possible.”. The letter is on “Hotel Denver” stationary that boasts “Air Conditioned Rooms” and is written in fountain pen. While in Cleveland Lopez’ teams averaged 95 wins per season.

A pair of baseball cards autographed by Al Lopez

Al Lopez had great success in Cleveland that followed him to Chicago with the White Sox. In his nine full seasons the Sox won 90 or more five times including the 1959 American League championship. Overall Lopez’ teams won 1,410 big league games while losing 1,004. Shown here are two baseball cards from Topps, a 1958 and a 1962

Al Lopez writes about his greatest thrills in baseball

Al Lopez enjoyed 36 years in a big league uniform, 19 as a player and 17 more as a manager. Here Lopez responds to a fan’s request to identify his greatest thrill. Lopez has difficulty narrowing down his many positive experiences. He does identify playing and managing in All Star games, and

Signed photo of Lopez during his playing career

Al Lopez broke the all-time record for games caught in 1945, a mark previously held by Hall of Fame backstop Gabby Hartnett. Lopez held the mark until it was broken by Bob Boon in 1987. This photo shows Lopez in his catcher’s mask and chest protector and is signed boldly. Overall Lopez spent 1

Comical handwritten not from AL Lopez

A willing signer through the mail for many years Lopez decided to stop signing sometime in the early 1990s. In the collection is a note to a collector who requested that Lopez sign baseball cards. Lopez informs the collector of his change in policy writing, “I have never charged for my autogra

Al Lopez writes about teammate and HoF pitcher Dazzy Vance

For the first four seasons of AL Lopez’ playing career he caught Hall of Fame pitcher Dazzy Vance with the Brooklyn Dodgers. During Lopez’ first big league season, Vance led the senior circuit with 200 strikeouts and a 2.09 ERA while winning 22 games. Here Lopez writes, “Dear Ken,

A Story about Al Lopez

Dodger press box can be a lonely place — just ask Don Hartack

August 1st, 2015

Many boys dream of making it to the major leagues, hitting balls over the fence and into a crowd of wildly cheering fans. They picture toeing the pitching rubber with the crowd hushed in anticipation of the pitch. The big league dream is strong for many, but elusive for all but the special few. Don Hartack, a former high school shortstop, realized early his ability to cleanly field grounders and stay back on a curve ball would not carry him to baseball’s zenith. It’s Hartack’s other skills that would take him all the way to The Show. You’re watching a baseball game and a hard hit one hopper glances off of the infielder’s glove. Quick — is it a hit or an error? The pitch that made its way to the backstop. What do you think, is it a wild pitch or a passed ball? There’s only one person whose opinion matters. With his precise knowledge of the rule book and keen decision-making skills, Hartack got to the majors as Major League Baseball’s official scorer at Dodger Stadium. The uniformed men play and umpire the game, but it’s Hartack who interprets the plays and decides how they will be statistically recorded. When he’s […]