December 3 – Happy Birthday Joe Collins
By 1949, Joe Collins had been in the Yankee farm system for eleven years, starting as a sixteen year old with the Easton (Maryland) Yankees in the old D-level Eastern Shore League. During his last three seasons in the minors, the Scranton, PA native had torn up the pitching at the triple A level and was more than ready to play in the Majors. The problem was that Casey Stengel’s 1949 Yankees had more first baseman than some teams had pitchers. They included Tommy Henrich, Johnny Mize, Billy Jones, Fenton Mole, Jack Phillips and Dick Kryhoski. But Collins had averaged 25 home runs during his last three Minor League seasons and by 1950, the Yankee brass decided the then 26-year-old prospect needed a shot at the big leagues. Joe then became the team’s most frequently used first baseman until Moose Skowren took over the position in 1955. When that happened, Stengel continued to use Collins as an outfielder for two seasons until the New York front office sold him to the Philadelphia Athletics. Collins chose to retire rather than play in a uniform other than the Yankee pinstripes, ending the career of one of the classiest Yankees ever. Collins’ Yankee teams got into eight World Series, winning five of them. He never displayed as much power as he showed at the Minor League level during his Major League career but he did hit 18 home runs during the the 1952 season and 17 more in 1953. Collins, who was born in 1922, passed away in 1989.
Collins shares his December 3rd birthday with this former Yankee teammate and this one-time Yankee starting pitcher.
One of my best Yankee memories was summer of ’54 or ’55 — my dad took me to a game at the Stadium. We were in the lower right field seats, five rows back. Collins hit two home runs that afternoon, the first landed two rows in front of us, the second about five rows behind us. The home runs made the back page of the Daily News — and one of the shots showed my father looking back at where the second homer landed.
Thanks for sharing Larry. Great memory and great seats! Collins must have been a great teammate because everything I’ve read indicates every teammate of his adored the guy.