The Long and Junior of a Home Run Record
PLUS -- Upper Deck thinks two heads are better than one
Note: When you click on links to various merchants in this newsletter and make a purchase, this can result in this newsletter earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
1956 Topps Dale Long (#56) - Card of the Day
You probably remember that Dale Long set the big league record by homering in eight consecutive games from May 19 through May 28 of 1956.
And you likely also know that Don Mattingly tied that mark in 1987. Maybe you even recall a young Ken Griffey Jr. turning the same trick for the Mariners in 1993.
But do you remember whose record Long broke?
Well, he didn’t just break the previous mark that spring for the Pirates: he shattered it (as much as eight games can shatter anything). Here are the men who had previously hit home runs in six consecutive games before Long made history with his seventh straight on May 26:
Ken Williams (1922)
George Kelly (1924)
Lou Gehrig (1931)
Walker Cooper (1947)
Willie Mays (1955)
That classic 1956 Topps card up there shows Long pretty much as he would have looked during the streak. And so does his 1957 Topps beauty (#3):
But that look wouldn’t last long, because here’s something you might not remember about the lefty first baseman: he made just seven appearances for the Bucs in 1957 before they traded him along with Lee Walls to the Cubs for Gene Baker and Dee Fondy on May 1.
Thus, Long became the first and only player to be traded the season after he hit home runs in eight consecutive games.
Seems like a safe mark, but you can never tell what quirkiness each baseball season will unfurl. We know no one will match his longball-then-traded prowess until at least 2025, though!
For now, we can celebrate the 98th anniversary of Dale Long’s birth.
(affiliate link)
The Two-Headed Homer Monster
By the time Griffey pulled off his streak, the hobby was a lot different than it had been six years earlier, when Mattingly went long in eight straight games.
Back in 1987, there was no such thing as Upper Deck. But thanks in large part to Junior himself, UD was a mainstain market driver in 1993. And the next year, with The Strike looming, Upper Deck decided to celebrate Griffey’s feat.
The 1994 Upper Deck Fun Pack was a 240-card set aimed at younger collectors. With five cards per pack for less than a dollar (or so), these were supposed to help kids stay attached to a hobby that was escalating out of control thanks to “high-end” cards…you know, like Upper Deck.
Anyway, card number 200 in this set celebrates Griffey’s 1993 Long-tying streak, with a nod to Mattingly because a) Donnie Baseball was still active and b) Lou Piniella was the manager for both players when they pulled off their runs.
So we end up with a Griffey card that features a Hydra Mattingly head. Dale Long-ball didn’t merit even a mention.
(affiliate link)
—
That’s a lot of home runs from three guys over the course of about a month of baseball total. All of which got me thinking about the few (but thrilling) major league home runs I’ve seen in person.
How about you? Have you seen a big league home run in person? Bonus points for details.
That’s all for today, though I will say Dale Long had a couple of neat Cubs cards in 1959. Definitely worth looking up — here are some eBay listings (affiliate link).
Thanks for reading.
—Adam