Tuesday, March 31, 2009

#254 Roland Sheldon

#254 Roland Sheldon
As I look desperately for signs of Spring, I can take comfort in this card, which shows Roland "Rollie" Sheldon posing on the sidelines of the Yankees Spring Training field in Fort Lauderdale. You can see one of his teammates warming up in the outfield, and the palm trees on the horizon are a soothing sight. Opening Day is next Monday, and I'm hoping for a little bit of that sunshine at Camden Yards!

Fun facts about Roland Sheldon:

-Pitched collegiately at both Texas A& M University and the University of Connecticut (near his hometown of Putnam).

-Signed with the Yankees in 1960, and made the jump to the majors the following year.

-His first taste of pro ball was widely successful: 15-1, 2.88 ERA with Auburn in the New York-Penn League.

-Had a strong rookie year, setting career highs in wins (11-5), shutouts (2), complete games (6), and ERA (3.60).

-Was a member of two World Champion teams in New York (1961, 1962), but did not pitch in the postseason either year.

-Finally did get postseason experience with the Yanks in 1964, turning in two scoreless relief appearances against the Cardinals in the Series.

-Was traded to the Athletics in 1965. Responded by beating the Yankees twice that year, going the distance in both games: a 6-2 win and a 4-0 3-hitter.

-Because of his early-season trade to the A's, Rollie's card was removed from subsequent printings of the Challenge the Yankees board game, making it something of a rarity.

-Dominated Dick Howser: 0-for-20, 1 BB, 1 K.

-Finished his career with the Red Sox in 1966, winding up with a 38-36 record and 4.09 ERA in five seasons.
#254 Roland Sheldon (back)

4 comments:

  1. A "Challenge the Yankees" reference. I wish I still had mine. It was my first baseball board game and got me hooked on them. It was hard to beat the Yanks on that game, even with them facing the All Stars every time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great news, Commish: the Challenge the Yankees team is launching an Indiegogo campaign soon to fund a relaunch of the game in its original form! If you're interested in getting your hands on a copy of CTY, check out our new website (www.challengetheyankees.co) and add your e-mail to our mailing list (look for the box near the bottom of the page).

      Cheers,

      Michael Sokolow
      Partner, Challenge the Yankees

      Delete
  2. Bob - I should have known when I tossed in that trivia bit that you would have first-hand knowledge of the game! I suppose there was a reason it wasn't called "Beat the Yankees".

    ReplyDelete
  3. A few years ago I saw a pristine set of "CTY" go on ebay for $1000.

    STEVE

    ReplyDelete