Happy after his fourth straight victory over the New York Yankees, Tiger pitcher Don Mossi poses with his batterymate, Lou Berberet, in the dressing room following last night's 3-1 win. It was Mossi's fifth triumph and boosted the Tigers into a tie for third place. DATE: 1959 ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Type 3 - Second or later-generation photo, printed from a duplicate negative or wire photo process, within about 2 years of when it was shot TEAM: Detroit Tigers SUBJECTS: Don Mossi, Lou Berberet ISSUER: Associated Press APPROXIMATE SIZE: 8-1/2"x8-1/8" MARKS / STAMPING: Clipping from original article remains affixed to the verso. NUMBER OF PHOTOS: 1 COMMENTS / CONDITION: This is one of a large accumulation of vintage sports photographs, slides and negatives that we will be listing over the coming months. Wear on these, if any, is mostly confined to minor corner and edge wear, but see scans for further details including condition. We do not deal in stock images or modern reprints, and all scans shown are of the actual vintage photograph, slide or negative being sold. If you have any questions about a particular piece, please ask before the auction ends. BIO: Donald Louis Mossi (The Sphinx, Ears) was born in 1929 in St. Helena, CA and died in 2019 in Nampa, ID. He played major league baseball from 1954 to 1965 as pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Athletics, appeared in the 1954 World Series, and was selected in 1957 as an All-Star. Cited by Bill James and others as one of the least handsome players ever to wear an MLB uniform, Mossi was good-natured about having a funny-looking face. Louis Joseph Berberet was born in 1929 in Long Beach, CA and died in 2004 in Las Vegas, NV. He went to college at Santa Clara University. He played major league baseball from 1954 to 1960 as catcher for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Longtime Washington Senators announcer Bob Wolff tells of the time Berberet, the team's catcher, settled under a pop fly, threw away the glove and attempted to make the catch with his mask but never touched the ball. In another instance, he was catching and chewing a chaw of tobacco when a player came down the line and collided with him. Berberet swallowed the tobacco and almost choked. He had to be revived on the field. Aside from the humor in Lou's career, he was an outstanding defensive receiver who made just one error in 59 games in 1956. He then became one of the few catchers to field 1.000 with no errors in 77 games in 1957, and is one of the most efficient catchers in history in throwing out would-be base stealers (51%). After his playing days, Berberet spent several years as a sales manager for a liquor distributor in Long Beach, CA. He then moved to Las Vegas in the mid-seventies where he was a general manager for the Nevada Liquor Company. SKU: X03276
Item: X03276
|