Numbers selected: 12, 19, 27, 47, 65,
I had no idea who Irv Noren was so I looked him up. He was the main centerfielder that bridged the gap between the recently retired Joe Di Maggio and the injured Mickey Mantle. He won 5 World Series also. Two as a player for the Yankees and 3 as the 3rd base coach for the early 70s Oakland A's. He was also born in the same town as Lucille Ball (Jamestown, NY).
Here is an interesting article about his fairly recent passing.
Irv Noren, a Bridge Between DiMaggio and Mantle, Dies at 94 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
I'll choose 65, his career home run total.
Thanks for the contest Kevin!
Jeff, you never fail with some awesome trivia!! You keep these threads fun! I made the card to bridge my Yankees and Cardinals customs, and ended up doing a great deal of rearranging! To bridge between DiMaggio and the Mick....great company!
I read a great story about Irv and his friend Mickey Mantle:
LOCAL SPORTS
The Yankees didn’t win a pennant in 1954 (Cleveland played the New York Giants in the World Series that year), so after the Bronx Bombers’ last game, Irv said he planned to drive home to California. This time, though, he had company: Mantle wanted to hitch a ride.
Along the way, Irv, at Mantle’s urging, pulled off the road when they encountered a group of boys playing baseball in a sandlot. Irv retrieved a few baseballs and a bat from the trunk of his new Chevy and then told one of the kids that he could strike out his traveling companion.
After the youngsters made their way to the far reaches of the outfield, Irv began to pitch to Mantle. One of the offerings Mantle ripped high over the nearby school. That prompted a little play-by-play between Irv and the kid he’d talked to earlier. According to Irv, it went something like this:
Youngster: “You can’t strike that guy out.”
Irv: “You know why? That’s Mickey Mantle.”
Youngster: “Then who are you? Yogi Berra?”
With that, Irv said, Mantle pulled out his driver’s license to prove that he was indeed the Yankees superstar.
Irv still laughed at the memory 60 years later.
“The kid probably went home and said, ‘Dad, you won’t believe it. Mickey Mantle hit a ball over the schoolhouse.’ And then the dad said, ‘Kid, I told you never to lie to me. Go to your room.'”