Specs Toporcer was born on Thursday, February 9, 1899, in New York, New York. Toporcer was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 13, 1921, with the St. Louis Cardinals. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Specs Toporcer baseball stats page.
"If a frail kid with a slight build, weak eyes and no high school or college training could jump directly from playing sandlot baseball to the big leagues - and stick for seven seasons! - then almost any young player with a passion for the game can do the same thing. I was that kid I'm talking about. My baseball career started when one of my grammar school teachers organized a team of kids. I begged for a chance, but he ignored me because I wore thick glasses and I was small and skinny. No one had ever heard of wearing glasses when you played with a 'hard ball' in those days! But one day only eight players (and I) showed up. The teacher-manager had to use me in the outfield. I made a good catch and a couple of hits. From that day on, I was 'in'." - Toporcer, Specs. Specs Toporcer Turns 90. Berkow, Ira. New York Times Staff Writer. 25 December 1988.
Specs ToporcerSpecs Toporcer Autograph on a American Caramel Company Baseball Card (#NNO) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Specs ToporcerSpecs Toporcer Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Specs ToporcerSpecs Toporcer Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1921 | 22 | Cardinals | 22 | 53 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | - | 4 | 1 | - | 0 | - | .264 | .304 | .283 |
1922 | 23 | Cardinals | 116 | 352 | 56 | 114 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 24 | - | 18 | 13 | - | 2 | - | .324 | .370 | .455 |
1923 | 24 | Cardinals | 97 | 303 | 45 | 77 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 41 | - | 14 | 7 | - | 3 | - | .254 | .349 | .340 |
1924 | 25 | Cardinals | 70 | 198 | 30 | 62 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 11 | - | 14 | 3 | - | 4 | - | .313 | .362 | .409 |
1925 | 26 | Cardinals | 83 | 268 | 38 | 76 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 36 | - | 15 | 6 | - | 2 | - | .284 | .373 | .384 |
1926 | 27 | Cardinals | 64 | 88 | 13 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | - | 9 | 6 | - | 2 | - | .250 | .327 | .330 |
1927 | 28 | Cardinals | 86 | 290 | 37 | 72 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 27 | - | 16 | 11 | - | 1 | - | .248 | .314 | .321 |
1928 | 29 | Cardinals | 8 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
8 Years | 546 | 1,566 | 223 | 437 | 76 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 151 | 150 | 0 | 93 | 47 | 0 | 14 | - | .279 | .347 | .373 |
Specs ToporcerSpecs Toporcer Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1921 Cardinals | 2B | 12 | 11 | 291 | 65 | 5.4 | 61 | 24 | 37 | 4 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .938 | 5.66 |
1921 Cardinals | SS | 2 | 1 | 24 | 6 | 3.0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 6.75 |
1922 Cardinals | 2B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 27.00 |
1922 Cardinals | 3B | 6 | 4 | 84 | 11 | 1.8 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .818 | 2.89 |
1922 Cardinals | RF | 1 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .667 | 2.25 |
1922 Cardinals | SS | 91 | 72 | 1,881 | 441 | 4.8 | 414 | 168 | 246 | 27 | 34 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .939 | 5.94 |
1923 Cardinals | 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1923 Cardinals | 2B | 52 | 49 | 1,302 | 309 | 5.9 | 292 | 130 | 162 | 17 | 39 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .945 | 6.06 |
1923 Cardinals | 3B | 1 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.00 |
1923 Cardinals | SS | 33 | 21 | 543 | 146 | 4.4 | 139 | 62 | 77 | 7 | 18 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .952 | 6.91 |
1924 Cardinals | 2B | 3 | 2 | 24 | 5 | 1.7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .800 | 4.50 |
1924 Cardinals | 3B | 33 | 30 | 693 | 78 | 2.4 | 76 | 22 | 54 | 2 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .974 | 2.96 |
1924 Cardinals | SS | 25 | 17 | 450 | 86 | 3.4 | 81 | 32 | 49 | 5 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .942 | 4.86 |
1925 Cardinals | 2B | 7 | 6 | 159 | 25 | 3.6 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .960 | 4.08 |
1925 Cardinals | SS | 66 | 64 | 1,680 | 371 | 5.6 | 356 | 141 | 215 | 15 | 40 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .960 | 5.72 |
1926 Cardinals | 2B | 27 | 12 | 312 | 58 | 2.1 | 57 | 22 | 35 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .983 | 4.93 |
1926 Cardinals | 3B | 1 | 1 | 27 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.00 |
1926 Cardinals | SS | 5 | 0 | 13 | 5 | 1.0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 10.38 |
1927 Cardinals | 1B | 1 | 1 | 24 | 11 | 11.0 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .909 | 11.25 |
1927 Cardinals | 2B | 2 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 2.5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 7.50 |
1927 Cardinals | 3B | 54 | 52 | 1,326 | 147 | 2.7 | 144 | 49 | 95 | 3 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .980 | 2.93 |
1927 Cardinals | SS | 27 | 17 | 471 | 108 | 4.0 | 99 | 37 | 62 | 9 | 13 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 5.68 |
1928 Cardinals | 1B | 1 | 1 | 27 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 10.00 |
1928 Cardinals | 2B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 67.50 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
SS Totals | 249 | 192 | 5,062 | 1,163 | 4.7 | 1,100 | 443 | 657 | 63 | 111 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .946 | 5.87 | |
2B Totals | 105 | 80 | 2,111 | 475 | 4.5 | 451 | 195 | 256 | 24 | 51 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .949 | 5.77 | |
3B Totals | 95 | 89 | 2,157 | 240 | 2.5 | 233 | 74 | 159 | 7 | 11 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .971 | 2.92 | |
1B Totals | 3 | 2 | 52 | 21 | 7.0 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .952 | 10.38 | |
RF Totals | 1 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .667 | 2.25 | |
8 Years | 453 | 364 | 9,406 | 1,902 | 4.2 | 1,806 | 730 | 1,076 | 96 | 174 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .950 | 5.18 |
Specs ToporcerSpecs Toporcer Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1921 Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 7 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 13.3 | 26.5 | - | - | - |
1922 Cardinals | 2 | 1 | .667 | 25 | 0 | n/a | 117.3 | 19.6 | 9.8 | - | - | - |
1923 Cardinals | 4 | 3 | .571 | 11 | 1 | n/a | 101.0 | 21.6 | 8.7 | - | - | - |
1924 Cardinals | 2 | 3 | .400 | 10 | 0 | n/a | 198.0 | 14.1 | 8.3 | - | - | - |
1925 Cardinals | 7 | 2 | .778 | 9 | 1 | n/a | 134.0 | 17.9 | 10.3 | - | - | - |
1926 Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 30 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 9.8 | 9.8 | - | - | - |
1927 Cardinals | 5 | 4 | .556 | 8 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 18.1 | 15.3 | - | - | - |
1928 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.7 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
8 Years | 22 | 13 | .629 | 106 | 4 | n/a | 174.0 | 16.8 | 10.4 | - | - | - |
Specs ToporcerSpecs Toporcer Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1921 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1922 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1923 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1924 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1925 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1926 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | Stats |
1927 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1928 St. Louis Cardinals | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
Specs Toporcer Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Did you know that Specs Toporcer was the first position player to wear glasses when he took the field at second base with the St. Louis Cardinals on April 13, 1921? St. Louis Cardinals executive Branch Rickey recalled the first time he ever saw Specs in person in USA Today Baseball Weekly (Koenig, Bill. USA Today Writer. Spectacular players can wear spectacles. 6 June 1996.), "I watched this kid and saw him take off his glasses and, with his hands outstretched, grope his way along the wall to the showers. My captain turned to me and said, 'For God's sake, who sent him up?'"
1974 Fleer Baseball Card (#11) | Baseball Firsts: Players With Glasses
Baseball Almanac Research Library
Specs Toporcer was featured on a 1974 Fleer Baseball Firsts (#11, pictured above) which paid tribute to his unique baseball first. Three pitchers had appeared on the mound before Specs wearing glasses: Will White, whose astigmatism was certainly no handicap - he won 229 games from 1877 through 1886 (including three 40-win, yes 40-win seasons); Lee Meadows, another right-hander who spent 15 years on the mound with the Cardinals, Phillies and Pirates from 1915 to 1929 and finished with 188 wins; and Carmen Hill, also a righty who had the shortest career of the three, "only" a decade, and had a 20-win season in 1927 (yet only won 49 games across his ten years due to limited starts). Here are a few additional spectacled baseball firsts:
Chick Hafey, the first batting champion (1931) who wore glasses.
Jim Konstanty, the first Most Valuable Player Award (1950) who wore glasses.
Clint Courtney, first catcher (1951) who wore glasses.
Frank Umont, the first Major League umpire (1956) who wore glasses.
A Baseball Pioneer, Specs Toporcer, a superb article written by Fred Lieb which appeared in The St. Petersburg Times on January 13, 1971, had this interesting tidbit (which is why we changed Specs' high school to none attended), "The East Side New York kid, handicapped by nearsightedness, had to go to work after graduating from elementary school in the same class with Jimmy Cagney." It also had this Toporcer inspiring quote, "They put glasses on me when I was a kid in elementary school. Boys with glasses weren't supposed to play baseball in this century, but I always loved the game and quickly showed the kids that despite my specs I could play better than most." And Lieb allowed Toporcer to describe how he made the show:
"It was about this time that Branch Rickey, the Cardinal manager and vice president, started his farm system. He entered into an agreement with Landgraf where he took three of the Syracuse players for a look-see. I was one of the trio and was ordered to report to the Cardinal training camp at Orange, Tex. I got a break, as Milt Stock, the regular St. Louis third baseman, was a determined holdout.
"So throughout that training season, Hornsby played third base and I played every inning of the exhibition season at second. I had a particularly good day against the Philadelphia A's, getting four hits, one a homer. Rickey was pleased with me and invited me to his room the next morning. He offered me a contract for $350 a month, which I quickly signed. Branch didn't know it, but I would have signed for $300 as readily. I continued to hit like crazy, right to the end of the training season.
"Milt Stock finally signed before our opening game in Chicago, and Rickey gave him his old job at third base, but, instead of returning Hornsby to his old spot at second, he kept me there and assigned Hornsby to left field. That setup lasted through our first two series, in Chicago and Cincinnati, and Hornsby proved conclusively that he was no outfielder. The payoff came in our last game in Cincinnati, when Hornsby permitted Dode Paskert to go from first to second after Rog caught a routine fly. I didn't set the world on fire, but didn't do too badly. But, the next day, our home opener in St. Louis, Hornsby was back at second and I was on the bench."