Don Drysdale (1936-1993) was a pitcher in MLB for 14 seasons. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (later the Los Angeles Dodgers) from 1956 to 1969.
As one of the best pitchers in his era, he had a 209-166 win-loss record, 2,486 strikeouts, and a 2.95 ERA. He was a nine time All Star, a three time World Series Champion, and a two time MLB strikeout leader. In 1962 he led MLB in wins and strikeouts which led to his Cy Young Award that year.
Drysdale was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984 on the tenth ballot with 78.41% of the vote. Additionally, the Dodgers retired
his number 53 jersey.
Born in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, Drysdale eventually grew to be 6 feet, 5 inches tall. He would use his size advantage for his entire career, and he was nicknamed “Big D” as a professional.
Drysdale joined the Dodgers in 1956. He formed one of the great pitching duos with Sandy Koufax. He soon gained a reputation for aggressive pitching, and he was known for throwing very close to batters to get in their heads. He often hit them too, and his 154 hit batsmen is still a NL record today.
Drysdale also did well as a hitting pitcher with a .186 batting average over 1,169 at bats, 113 RBIs, 29 home runs, and 96 runs. Sometimes he was used as a pinch hitter, which included one at bat during the World Series.
Drysdale was a part of three World Series championships during his career. In 1963, he won Game 3 against the Yankees 1-0, and in 1965 he came off a 23 win season to help the Dodgers win their third Series.
In 1963, Sandy Koufax refused to pitch Game One of the World Series because it was on Yom Kippur. Drysdale gave up seven runs in 2 ⅔ innings, and when the manager came to take him off the mound, Drysdale said, “I bet right now you wish I was Jewish too.” The Dodgers lost the game but won the Series in Seven.
Drysdale and Koufax made national headlines in 1966 by negotiating their contracts together in a salary holdout. As a result, they became the first pitchers to earn over $100,000 per year.
Drysdale stayed strong in his later career, and in 1968, the year before he retired, he recorded six consecutive complete game shutouts.
Shortly after winning the California Presidential primary in 1968 and shortly before he was assassinated, RFK gave a speech. A few sentences in he stated, “I want to first express my high regard to Don Drysdale, who pitched his sixth straight shutout tonight and I hope that we have as good fortune in our campaign.” The speech was given in LA, and the crowd cheered and cheered. After he died, it was discovered that Drysdale carried a cassette tape of that speech with him on every trip.
Due to shoulder issues, Drysdale’s career was cut short at 33. After retiring in 1969, Drysdale began a career in broadcasting. He worked for several different broadcasts, MLB teams and national distributors, and he finished with the Dodgers from 1988 until his death in 1993.
In addition, he had a broadcasting career for NFL and college football games, as well as odds and ends events here and there.
His most famous call came from the NLCS Game Four in 1984 in the best of five series. The Padres were down 2-1 in the series, and they were losing in the bottom of the ninth, when Steve Garvey hit a walk-off.
Drysdale called, “Deep right field, way back. Cotto going back to the wall… it’s gone! Home run Garvey! And there will be tomorrow!”
The Padres won Game Five, and they lost in the World Series to the Detroit Tigers.
A few years after releasing his autobiography, “Once a Bum, Always a Dodger,” Drysdale died suddenly from a heart attack at 56. People were stunned. He may have been a great player and a wonderful announcer, but he was a beloved husband, father, and friend.
There are a few cards to discuss, and this article will cover the best Drysdale cards out there.
1957 Topps Don Drysdale Rookie Card
There are 407 cards in the 1957 Topps set, and each card is standard size (2 ½” x 3 ½”). This year actually began the
standard measurement. Drysdale’s rookie card sits at #18.
Including Drysdale, a few key rookie cards include Rocky Colavito, Tony Kubek, Bobby Richardson, Brooks Robinson, and Jim Bunning.
For reference, PSA has over 300,000 cards registered from this set, and over 3,500 cards are Drysdale copies.
There were two high-value sales 2021 when a PSA Mint 9 sold for $27,060 in April, and another sold for $29,520 in May. On the whole though, a PSA 9 is a rare find.
On a budget of $1,000, a PSA 7 should be likely, but prices for these cards have been rising steadily.
1958 Topps Don Drysdale
There are 494 cards in the Topps set of 1958, and each card is standard sized. A few keys to the set include Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Sandy Koufax.
For reference, PSA has about 250,000 cards from this set registered, and well over 1,000 copies are Drysdale cards.
A PSA Mint 9 copy sold for $3,734 in 2019, and prices have mostly increased since. You can most typically find a PSA 8 copy for around $500 to $750.
1959 Topps Don Drysdale
There are 572 cards in the 1959 Topps, and Drysdale sits at #387. A few keys to the set include Duke Snider and Ernie Banks.
For reference, PSA has over 330,000 copies registered from this set, and over 2,500 are Drysdale copies.
A rare PSA Gem Mint 10 copy sold for $3,600, but Mint copies have more commonly sold for about $500.
1960 Topps Don Drysdale
There are 572 cards in the 1960 Topps, and each card is standard size. Drysdale’s card sits at #475. Two key rookie cards of the set are Willie McCovey and Carl Yastrzemski.
For reference, PSA has around 300,000 cards from this set registered, and over 1,500 copies are Drysdale cards.
An uncommon PSA Gem Mint 10 sold for $7,575.60 in January of 2020, and a Mint card sold for $692.64 in November of 2020. Since 2008, PSA Mint 9’s have sold for around $250 to $300 pretty consistently.
1961 Topps Don Drysdale
There are 587 cards in this set, and each card is standard size. Drysdale sits at #260. A few key rookies include Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and Juan Marichal.
For reference, PSA has over 330,000 cards registered from this set, and about 1,500 cards are Drysdale copies.
PSA Gem Mint copies sold for $4,248.80 in 2008 and $3,567.24 in 2015, but do not be surprised if you need to spend in the ballpark of $5,000.
Conclusion
Drysdale produced a show called Radio Baseball Cards. Over 162 episodes, he collects stories from the great baseball players of the century. It was syndicated nationally, and in 2007, the stories were collected into a podcast, which is available on every major podcast distributor.
Though he died at a younger age, Drysdale left his mark on baseball and sports broadcasting. His cards represent that legacy.