This card was printed during the Covid shutdown, and is the only card of Joe Torre I have ever made. It is the 2nd card in the “Peerless” series, the first card being Stan Musial. Doing the research on this card really made me like Torre as a person. He is a man of many talents, interests, and intellect.
Joe Torre is famous for his great career as a player, which was followed by an even greater career as a manager. He is also involved in the highest levels of thoroughbred horse racing, with some big winners over the years.
Almost 20 years ago, Joe and his wife Ali set up the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, an organization that helps to educate and prevent domestic violence. This is something Torre became familiar with as a child, when he witnessed his own mother suffering physical and mental abuse from Joe’s dad. His father was a bully, according to Joe. He knows how it affects kids, and even after all of these years, he cares about that.
Joe always had an uphill climb. When he broke in with the Braves, they already had All-Star Del Crandall behind the plate. He just kept working hard and won the job. As a manager, Torre was successful dealing with lunatic owners like Steinbrenner and Ted Turner, and still produced winning teams.
The son of Italian immigrants and a working class upbringing, Joe is one of those stories of a determined young man who defies the odds and carves a slice of the American dream. I’m not a big Yankees fan, but Joe Torre is now one of my all-time favorites.