Joe Collins from the Chronology

Mar 20, 1958 - The Phillies acquire 1B Joe Collins from the Yankees. He decides to retire rather than report‚ thereby canceling the deal.

Jul 1, 1956 - Mickey Mantle‚ who failed to hit a homer in 11 games since June 20‚ switch-hits HRs in the same game for the 4th time in his career. The Yankees win 8-6 over Washington in the 2nd game for a doubleheader sweep. The 2nd homer‚ off Bud Byerly‚ is a 2 run shot in the 9th inning to win it. Pedro Ramos holds the Bombers to 3 hits in the opener‚ but one is a 2-run HR by Joe Collins in the 8th that wins it for New York‚ 3-2. The Nats rap Ford for 12 hits‚ but he picks 2 runners off base and is helped by 4 DPs.

May 24, 1956 - Mickey Mantle goes 5-for-5 with an intentional walk in an 11-4 win against the Tigers. Mantle is hitting .421. He combines with Joe Collins for back-to-back homers‚ off Duke Maas.

Aug 1, 1955 - Joe Collins hits 2 homers‚ one in the 1st and one in the 10th‚ to give the Yankees a 2-1‚ win over the Indians‚ Tommy Byrne‚ batting 7th‚ goes the route to beat Early Wynn. The Yanks trail the White Sox by a game‚ with Boston in 4th place‚ 4 games back.

Sep 6, 1954 - The Yanks only split a pair with the Red Sox‚ but it is not for lack of trying on Stengel's part. Casey uses a (since tied) record ten pinch hitters in the two games‚ including pitcher Tommy Byrne for Phil Rizzuto. Pinch hitter Joe Collins wins the opener for Jim Konstanty‚ 6-5‚ with a homer-one of five hit in the game. The Yanks blow a 6-0 lead in the nitecap to lose‚ 8-7.

Aug 5, 1954 - In front of a Ladies Day crowd of 49‚483 in Cleveland‚ New York beats the front runners‚ 5-2 behind Bob Grim. Mantle starts the scoring with a 4th inning solo shot off Early Wynn‚ then follows an 8th inning homer by Joe Collins by connecting on the next pitch with his 23rd homer of the year. Both are served up by Ray Narleski. Larry Doby's 2-run homer off Johnny Sain in the 8th is his 24th HR of the year‚ putting him back in the AL lead. New York trails the Indians by 1 1/2 games.

Jul 5, 1954 - After splitting their last 13 doubleheaders‚ the Yankees sweep the A's‚ winning 7-4 and 11-2. The Yanks collect 29 hits‚ 12 for extra bases. In the opener‚ Joe Collins and Mickey Mantle hit back-to back homers off Arnie Portocarrero‚ as Collins has 4 hits‚ including 2 doubles. Irv Noren has a pair of HRs and 5 RBIs in the nitecap.

May 28, 1954 - At Boston‚ Joe Collins 9th inning walk-the 20th of the game-turns into the winning run in the 9th as New York beats the Red Sox‚ 10-9. The Yanks overcome a grand slam by Jackie Jensen.

Oct 2, 1953 - The WS moves to Ebbets Field as Carl Erskine establishes a new Series strikeout record by fanning 14 Yanks‚ including Mickey Mantle and Joe Collins 4 times each. Roy Campanella breaks a 2-2 tie with a game-winning solo HR in the 8th for a 3-2 Brooklyn win

Jun 11, 1953 - Behind the pitching of Jim McDonald and Allie Reynolds‚ first-place New York beats Detroit 6-3 to run their win streak to 14 games. New York gets a game winner from Mantle off Art Houtteman that crowns the roof in right center at Detroit. Mantle has now hit in 16 straight games‚ but will go hitless tomorrow‚ when he pulls a thigh muscle. Hitting .353 at the end of today‚ Mantle will hit just .255 the rest of the year. The Yankees get another tape-measure blast when Joe Collins hits a 2-out 7th inning homer that lands on the 98-foot high press box over the 370-foot sign.

Jul 13, 1951 - Cleveland outslugs New York to win, 11-8 Four homeruns are hit, including a grand slam by Yankees first baseman Joe Collins and a 3-run HR by Cleveland catcher Jim Hegan.

Jul 3, 1950 - With rookie Joe Collins not hitting and Tommy Henrich still injured‚ Casey Stengel asks Joe DiMaggio to play 1B in an experiment. In the 7-2 loss he handles 13 cleanly but is clearly not happy with the move. After this one-game experiment‚ Joe returns to the outfield.