Bob Turley
| Birthdate | 9/19/1930 |
| Death Date | 3/30/2013 |
| Debut Year | 1951 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | Angels, Browns, Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees |
| Position | Pitcher |
In his dozen big league seasons, 1958 Cy Young and World Series MVP Bob Turley saw his team appear in seven Fall Classics and win four of them.
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Though Turley played for four MLB teams, his time with the Yankees is remembered best
Though Turley played for four MLB teams, his time with the Yankees is remembered best
Bob Turley had a big league career to remember. A four-time World Series champ and three-time All Star, he had the good fortune of playing for dynastic New York Yankees of the 1950s.
Turley debuted with the St. Louis Browns ten days past his 21st birthday in 1951. When the franchise relocated to Baltimore and became the Orioles in 1954, Turley emerged as a star. That season he led the AL in strikeouts and topped Oriole twirlers in starts, innings, wins, and ERA.
In the offseason Baltimore GM Paul Richards sent him to New York in a 17-player deal – the largest in major league history. During his eight seasons with the Yankees, the team appeared in seven World Series, and came away with four titles.
Turley’s dream season came in 1958. The starting pitcher in the All Star Game, his 21 wins topped the league. Turley also placed third in strikeouts and sixth in ERA. The Yankees ran away with the pennant, winning the AL championship by ten games.
In the World Series New York faced the defending champion Braves. Milwaukee raced out to a 3-games-to-1 lead. On the brink of elimination, the Yankees gave the ball to Turley. He responded with a five-hit, 10-strikeout, complete-game, shutout victory over reigning World Series MVP Lew Burdette.
Game 6 featured a matchup between Hall of Fame starting pitchers Warren Spahn and Whitey Ford. After nine innings, the game was tied 2-2. The Yankees pushed across two runs in the 10th. New York reliever Ryne Duren needed just three outs for the win.
Already four innings into his outing, Duren ran into trouble. A walk, and Hank Aaron’s RBI single cut the lead to 3-2. Joe Adcock’s hit back through the box put men on the corner, the tying run 90 feet away. Yankee manager Casey Stengel summoned Turley to record the final out. Turley retired Frank Torre to earn the save.
In the winner-take-all Game 7, Stengel turned to Turley once more. The pitcher responded with his second Series win in three days. With two wins and a save in the final three Fall Classic contests, Turley was named the Series MVP.
Turley remained in New York through the 1962 season before the Angels purchased his contract in November. He went 2-7 before the Halos released him on July 24th. The Red Sox picked him up the same day. Turley won one more game for Boston before calling it quits at the end of the season.
Shown here is a 1959 Topps card featuring Turley and Yankee infielders Gil McDougald and Bobby Richardson. Each of the New York trio has signed the card.
