1952 Yankee of the Past: Jerry Priddy

PRIDDY MEMORY
"'If I had to take all the things in my baseball career, shuffle them up and pull out just one that gave me the top thrill, it would be a game that had nothing at all to do with a World Series or any big game like that,' says Jerry Priddy of the Detroit Tigers.
'Remember in 1948 when the Senators sold me to the Browns? I'd only hit .214 in 1947 for Washington and there was a lot of talk going around that I was a trouble-maker. That I was trying to get Ossie Bluege's job as manager and kind of rot like that.
'When I was sold to St. Louis I still hated to leave Washington. I figured the fans were on me and I wanted to prove to them that I wasn't the kind of guy some painted me.
'Anyway, we go into Washington on the Brownies' first Eastern swing in 1948 ... my first time back there. I don't know what kind of reception I'm going to get. I guess I was ready for pop bottles, boos and almost anything.
'Anything, that is, but what happened.
'When they announced me as the hitter, it sounded like everybody in the Washington park ...  and there was a big crowd that day ... stood up and cheered like I was the greatest guy in the world.
'It really hit me. For the first and only time in my life I had tears come to my eyes. I choked up like a baby and had to step back out of the box for them to go away. It was the biggest thrill I've ever got out of baseball.
'I'll never forget it. I won't forget that I stepped back in there and singled on the first pitch, either ...'"

-Lyall Smith in the Detroit Free Press (Baseball Digest, August 1950)

"Jerry batted .260 for 154 games in 1951. His 152 hits included eight homers, six triples and 22 doubles and he drove 57 runs across the plate. Jerry fielded .980 and tied a major league record with five double plays at second base in one game.
He began in 1937 and worked his way up the Yankee chain."

-1952 Bowman No. 139

"When Jerry took part in 150 double plays in 1950, he set a new major league record for second basemen.
Outside of two years of military service, he's been in the big leagues since 1941, playing with the Yankees, Senators, Browns and Tigers. A top-notch fielder, Jerry led American League second basemen in putouts in 1947, '48, '49 and '51 and in assists in 1948, '50 and '51. He had his best seasons at the plate in 1948 and '49, hitting .296 and .290."

-1952 Topps No. 28