Sunday, January 19, 2025

#1 "Lefty" Grove - Boston Red Sox


Robert Moses Grove
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  190
Born:  March 6, 1900, Lonaconing, MD
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1925-33; Boston Red Sox 1934-41
World Series Appearances:  Philadelphia Athletics 1929-31
Died:  May 22, 1975, Norwalk, OH (75)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1947

One of the greatest pitchers of all-time, and a fitting selection for card #1 in this set, Lefty Grove dominated American League batters, and was nearly untouchable for the three seasons between 1929 and 1931.  Those were the years he helped lead Connie Mack's (#142) Athletics to three straight pennants and World Series titles in 1929 and 1930.  Grove was 79-15 with a 2.46 ERA in 133 games, 99 starts and 855 innings pitched during that run, winning the pitching Triple Crown in both 1930 and 1931, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.  Grove was 28-5 with a 2.54 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 1930, and he topped those numbers in 1931 by going 31-4 with a 2.06 ERA and 175 strikeouts in 1931 while winning the league's MVP honors.  He was a 20-game winner in seven straight seasons, led the league in ERA nine times and in strikeouts in seven consecutive seasons between 1925 and 1931.  Grove was a six-time All-Star.

Grove retired following the 1941 season with a lifetime record of 300-141, a 3.06 ERA and 2,266 strikeouts in 3,940 2/3 innings pitched.  He threw 298 complete games, including 35 shutouts.  Inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1947 and widely acknowledged as the best left-handed American League pitcher of all-time, Grove was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Building the Set
December 16, 2024 from Santa Ana, CA (dahardaway) - Card #113
This was the second eBay auction I got lucky with in December, netting me the first card in the set and dropping the number of cards needed for my version of a master set down to six.  I was surprisingly one of only two bidders on this auction from seller dahardaway, and I won the card with a bid only slightly higher than the starting price.  To be honest, and given I had no expectation of winning the auction, I was caught off guard when the alert came through notifying me of the win and asking for payment.  Fortunately, the auction was won well in advance of The Philly Show, meaning I didn't risk doubling up on the expensive Grove card while there.

Similar to the Jimmie Foxx (#64) card, and given this card's price tag, I opted to let Santa deliver it on Christmas morning.

Variations Available
1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright ✅
2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright 

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
Given that Grove joined the Red Sox following the 1933 season, collectors finding this card in early packs of Diamond Stars cards were likely getting their first look at the pitcher in his new team's uniform.  The first line on the back of the card compares Grove's fastball to that of another all-time great, Walter Johnson.  Ironically, Grove's fastball all but disappeared following his trade to the Red Sox, and he'd depend more on his curveball in his later years to get batters out.  The write-up ends with a warning to boys under the age of 16 not to work too hard on mastering the fastball pitch.

1934 Season
With Mack and his Athletics in financial distress, and looking to capitalize on his aging stars, Grove became one of several superstars dealt away from Philadelphia following the World Series run that ended in 1931.  On December 12, 1933, Grove, Max Bishop (#6) and Rube Walberg were traded to the Red Sox for Bob Kline, Rabbit Warstler and $125,000.  Perhaps due to wear and tear over the years, Grove's arm started hurting in spring training, and he'd struggle throughout the season.  In 22 games, including 12 starts, Grove was 8-8 with a 6.50 ERA.  He threw just 109 1/3 innings.

1933 DeLong Gum #23
1934 Goudey #19
1934-36 Batter-Up #31
1960 Fleer Baseball Greats #60
1976 Topps #350

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1927 Playing Cards (W560)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary #462

382 - Grove non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/2/25.

Sources:


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Sunday, January 12, 2025

#64 Jimmie Foxx - Philadelphia Athletics


James Emory Foxx
Philadelphia Athletics
First Base-Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195
Born:  October 22, 1907, Sudlersville, MD
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1925-35; Boston Red Sox 1936-42; Chicago Cubs 1942, 1944; Philadelphia Phillies 1945
World Series Appearances:  Philadelphia Athletics 1929-31
Died:  July 21, 1967, Miami, FL (59)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1951

One of the greatest hitters of all-time, Jimmie Foxx was a veteran of 20 big league seasons, spending most of his career with the Athletics and Red Sox.  Foxx was dominant at the plate, winning a pair of batting titles, and a Triple Crown in 1933 when he batted .356 with 48 home runs and 163 RBIs.  He helped lead the Athletics to three straight American League pennants, winning World Championships in 1929 and 1930.  Foxx clubbed at least 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive seasons, and drove in at least 100 runs in 13 consecutive seasons, between 1929 and 1941.  He was a nine-time All-Star, and the first player to win three MVPs, collecting the awards in 1932, 1933 and 1938.

Foxx became the second member of the 500 home run club, joining Babe Ruth (#110), on September 24, 1940.  In 2,317 major league games, Foxx collected 2,646 hits, scored 1,751 runs, had 534 home runs and 1,922 RBIs.  His RBI total is still 10th all-time.  His .325 average is currently 45th all-time, his on-base percentage of .428 is 12th all-time and his OPS of 1.038 is sixth all-time.  A member of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame, the Athletics Hall of Fame and the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, Foxx was inducted into Cooperstown in 1951.


Building the Set
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (707 Sportscards Ltd.) - Card #112
Before starting our drive to the The Philly Show, recently held inside Hall A at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, I texted Doug a photo of Foxx's Diamond Stars card and told him to be on the look-out at the show.  Soon after we arrived, he reported back fairly quickly he had found a version of the card on the far side of the showroom floor, but that it was slabbed.  He knows I've been avoiding slabbed cards whenever possible, as they tend to carry a premium, and because I'd prefer to display the cards in my sets in their proper home, in order, within the set binder's nine-pocket pages.  (I wrote a full post summarizing the show over at The Phillies Room.)

Still, I was curious, and Doug led me to the dealer's table.  The Foxx card was in a display case, and having asked to view it, I almost immediately handed it back when I saw the price tag on the back for $725.  I'll give the dealer some credit for his assessment of the situation, as he picked the price tag off with his thumbnail and said that price was at least a few years' old.  He countered with a price nearly half the original sticker price and after a brief back and forth, I was scanning his phone to send a Venmo payment.  Given the importance of this card to the Diamond Stars set (and me), I opted to tuck the card away for 10 days so that Santa would get credit for the gift on Christmas morning.

Variations Available
1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright

1945 - Foxx with the Phillies
The Card / Athletics Team Set
This is an absolutely iconic card, and a card I've seen many, many times in my 50 years of collecting.  I'm thrilled I finally have it in my collection.  National Chicle opted to show Foxx as a catcher, even though he hadn't caught a game in the majors since the 1928 season.  The Athletics, up until the 1934 season, had Mickey Cochrane (#9) behind the plate, necessitating a position change for Foxx.  The first line on the back of the card isn't accurate, as Foxx wouldn't catch a game until the start of the 1935 season, likely after this card was being found in early packs of Diamond Stars cards.

The write-up on the back also credits Foxx's strong wrists to his years spent milking cows on his father's dairy farm in Maryland.

1935 Season
Now in his 11th season, Foxx showed no signs of slowing down.  In 147 games for the Athletics, he batted .346 with a league-leading 36 home runs and 115 RBIs.  Connie Mack's (#142) team was in shambles following a fire sale of top tier players, leaving Foxx as the sole remaining star on a club that would lose 91 games.  Foxx was the opening day catcher, making 24 starts behind the plate before shifting over to first base for the duration of the season.  He'd make 121 starts at first.  Foxx moved over to third base for the All-Star Game in Cleveland, given the American League squad had Lou Gehrig (#130) at first base.  Foxx would lead the American League All-Stars to a 4-1 victory, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs, including a first-inning, two-run home run.

On December 10th, Mack would complete the team's dismantling, dealing Foxx and Johnny Marcum to the Red Sox for George Savino, Gordon Rhodes and cash.

Phillies Career
Foxx finished his legendary career back where it all began, in Philadelphia, but this time he'd be in the National League and playing for the Phillies, who signed the aging slugger on February 10, 1945.  With rosters crunched due to the war, the Phillies invited Foxx to spring training and he made the team as a pinch-hitter and surprisingly, an occasional pitcher.  Throughout the season, Foxx made 50 starts - 35 at first base, 13 at third base and two starts on the mound.

In his final major league action, he batted .268 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs.  As a pitcher, Foxx was a surprising 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in nine games and 22 2/3 innings pitched.  Offering to help the team however he could, Foxx started games on August 19th and September 2nd.  His lasted into the seventh inning in his August outing.  In Foxx's final big league game, he laced a two-run double against the Dodgers on September 23rd, before being lifted for pinch-hitter Tony Lupien in the game's seventh inning.

1933 Goudey #29
 
1934-36 Batter-Up #28
 
1938 Goudey
Heads-Up #249
1941 Play Ball #13
 
1960 Fleer Baseball
Greats #53

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1927 Playing Cards (W560)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Panini Chronicles Classics #33

931 - Foxx non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/25.

Sources:

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Sunday, January 5, 2025

#104 Robert Rolfe - New York Yankees


Robert Abial Rolfe
New York Yankees
Third Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170
Born: October 17, 1908, Penacook, NH
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1931, 1934-42
World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1936-39, 1941-42
As a Manager:  Detroit Tigers 1949-52
Died:  July 8, 1969, Gilford, NH (60)

Red Rolfe played in 10 major league seasons with the Yankees, reaching the World Series in six of those seasons and winning five World Series rings as a key member of the "Bronx Bombers" of the 1930s.  As the team's regular third baseman, Rolfe went to four All-Star Games and provided both a steady glove and a reliable bat.  His best season came in 1939 when he helped the Yankees reach the World Series by leading the league in runs (139), hits (213) and doubles (46) while hitting his career highs in batting average (.329) and home runs (14).  He tied his career high with 80 RBIs that season as well.  With his glove, Rolfe twice led the league in fielding percentage for third basemen (1935 and 1936).

Retiring following the 1942 season, Rolfe coached baseball and basketball at Yale University before returning to the majors in 1947 as a coach for the Yankees.  He took over as manager of the Tigers beginning in 1949, going 278-256 over four years at the helm.  Rolfe returned to his alma mater, Dartmouth, as their athletic director in 1954 where he stayed until retiring in 1967.  In a 1969 Yankees fan poll, Rolfe was named the third baseman on the Yankees' all-time greatest team.

Building the Set
December 10, 2024 from Los Angeles, CA (Greg Morris Cards) - Card #111
The addition of this high-number Rolfe card was a pleasant surprise, and helped me avoid getting completely shut out from a series of auctions from Greg Morris Cards following yet another Diamond Stars set break by the dealer.  On a whim, I spent an evening in early December searching for any of the final nine cards needed for my version of a Diamond Stars master set.  Greg Morris Cards had a bunch of cards up for auction from the set, including most of the cards I needed.  I entered my highest bid on each of them, waited a few days until the auctions closed, and came away with this Rolfe card for what I deemed to be a reasonable price.

This card joins the less pricey Rolfe card from early in the set (#29), added almost exactly four years to the day prior to this newer card arriving in the mail.

Variations Available
1 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright

As mentioned and shown above, this is the second Rolfe card in the set, with the infielder first appearing on card #29.  The final 12 cards in the Diamond Stars set, released as part of series three in 1936, contain the exact same photos and players as earlier cards from the set.  This card has the same text on the back as his earlier card, save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics.  Also, the ink on the back of card #104 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The Card / Yankees Team Set
There's all kinds of stuff going on in that Art Deco photo.  Rolfe is presumably getting ready to make a throw from third to first while the shortstop (maybe?) looks on and an umpire preemptively makes a safe call even though Rolfe is still holding the ball.  In the distance, a factory's smokestack sends smoke into the cloudless blue sky.  Rolfe is wearing a Yankees road uniform, as those sported "New York" across the front while the Yankees home uniforms contained nothing but pinstripes up until 1936.

The back contains a fielding tip, advising the reader to learn how to anticipate in which direction a batted ball will go based on the location of the pitch.  Rolfe had mastered this, according to the write-up, which is part of the reason he had become a successful fielder.

1936 Season
Rolfe was a year away from stardom and four straight All-Star Game appearances.  The regular third baseman for the Yankees, Rolfe appeared in 135 games, batting .319 with 10 home runs, 70 RBIs, and a league-leading 15 triples.  Manager Joe McCarthy (#143) had Rolfe bat second most of the year, setting the table for the power hitters in the middle of the order, including Joe DiMaggio (#126), Lou Gehrig (#130) and Bill Dickey (#11).  In his first World Series action, Rolfe batted .400 (10 for 25) against the Giants, as the Yankees won in six games.

1934 Goudey #94
1941 Double Play #65
1951 Bowman #319
1952 Topps #296
1973 Fleer Famous Feats #22

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934 Goudey #94
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1952
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2010 Topps New York Yankees 27 World Series Championships #YC8

123 - Rolfe non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/25.

Sources:

Previous Card:  #103 Bill Dickey - New York Yankees
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Sunday, October 20, 2024

#100 Earle Averill - Cleveland Indians


Howard Earl Averill
Cleveland Indians
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  172
Born:  May 21, 1902, Snohomish, WA
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1929-39; Detroit Tigers 1939-40; Boston Braves 1941
World Series Appearances:  Detroit Tigers 1940
Died:  August 16, 1983, Everett, WA (81)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1975

Earl Averill patrolled center field for the Indians for over a decade, making the All-Star team in six consecutive seasons between 1933 and 1938.  He's the only American League outfielder to be named to each of the first six All-Star Games.  A power hitter who also hit for average, Averill hit at least 30 home runs in three seasons, and drove in at least 100 runs in five different seasons.  He collected a career-high 143 RBIs in 1931, finishing third in the league behind Lou Gehrig (#130) and Babe Ruth (#110).  Averill batted over .330 in five seasons, attaining a career high in 1936 with a .368 average.  That season he led the American League in hits (232) and triples (15).  Dealt to the Tigers in July 1939, Averill saw his only postseason action with Detroit in 1940.  Upon his retirement, he had 2,019 hits, a .318 career average, 238 home runs and 1,164 RBIs.  Averill still tops the Indians' all-time leaders list for runs (1,154), RBIs (1,084) and triples (121), and he's second on the all-time franchise list for hits (1,965, behind Nap Lajoie with 2,052 hits) and doubles (424, behind Tris Speaker with 486).

Averill's #3 was retired by the Indians in 1975, the same year the Veteran's Committee inducted him into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Building the Set
October 15, 2024 from Tempe, AZ (Desert Ice Sports) - Card #110
With only a handful of cards to go to complete my version of a master Diamond Stars set, I've come to the conclusion I have three potential avenues to completion.  The first option is to shell out the cash and finish what I've started.  The second option is to fill the missing spaces in the set with reprint cards.  Once a cringe-worthy idea to me as a baseball card set collector, it's now a possibility worthy of consideration.  The third option is to go after beat up, lesser quality, well-loved versions of these cards.

I combined the first and third options to acquire this Averill card.  It had been on my eBay watch list for quite a while, and the word "Poor" in the item description likely kept a lot of potential buyers away.  Now in hand, the card isn't that bad.  I made what I considered a somewhat aggressive offer to the seller one afternoon while taking a break at work, with a "well, it can't hurt" the attitude.  Much to my surprise, the seller accepted my offer the next day and the card was soon on its way from Desert Ice Sports in Tempe to me on the East Coast.  I have nine more cards to go, and they're all high price tag cards.

Variations Available
1 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright

The Card / Indians Team Set
This is the second Averill card in the set, with the outfielder first appearing on card #35.  The final 12 cards in the Diamond Stars set, released as part of series three in 1936, contain the exact same photos and players as earlier cards from the set.  This card has the same text on the back as his earlier card, save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics.  Also, the ink on the back of card #100 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

I'm assuming this card can be considered an uncorrected error, as National Chicle added the E to the end of Averill's first name on the card.  The tip on the back gives a batter bunting tips, which seemed odd to place on the card of a power hitter like Averill.  But he did own 55 career sacrifices, including a career-high 17 in his rookie season of 1929.

1936 Season
Averill was again an All-Star for the Indians, and he'd lead the American League in hits (232) and triples (15), as mentioned above.  As one of the Tribe's top offensive players, Averill batted .378 with 28 home runs and 126 RBIs.  His batting average gave him a second place finish in the league behind Luke Appling (#95), who had a .388 mark.  Averill finished third in the postseason MVP voting, behind winner Gehrig and Appling.  Averill batted third and played center field on August 23rd, the day Bob Feller (#128) made his first big league start for the Indians, pitching a complete game victory over the Browns.

Phillies Connection
Averill's son, Earl Douglas Averill, also played in the majors between 1956 and 1963 with the Indians, Cubs, White Sox, Angels and Phillies.  Primarily a catcher, the younger Averill was dealt to the Phillies from the Angels on December 11, 1962 for outfielder Jacke Davis.  Averill was used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter by the Phillies in 1963, appearing in 47 games with 27 of those appearances coming in the pinch-hitter role.  He batted .268 with three home runs and eight RBIs for the Phillies, playing in his final major league game on September 26, 1963.

1929-30 R315
1933 Goudey #194
1933 Tattoo Orbit (R305)
1939 Play Ball #143
1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #5

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1929-30 R315
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #38

253 - Averill non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/17/24.


Previous Card:  #99 "Pie" Traynor - Pittsburgh Pirates
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Sunday, October 6, 2024

#108 Wally Berger - Boston Bees


Walter Anton Berger
Boston Bees
Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  198
Born:  October 10, 1905, Chicago, IL
Major League Teams:  Boston Braves 1931-35; Boston Bees 1936-37; New York Giants 1937-38; Cincinnati Reds 1938-40; Philadelphia Phillies 1940
World Series Appearances:  New York Giants 1937; Cincinnati Reds 1939
Died:  November 30, 1988, Redondo Beach, CA (83)

Wally Berger enjoyed a solid multi-year run in the early 1930s in which he was the top player for the Boston Braves/Bees franchise, earning MVP votes in each season between 1932 and 1936.  Berger hit 38 home runs in his rookie season of 1930, a record for rookies that stood until 1987 when broken by Mark McGwire, and he drove in 119 RBIs, a National League rookie record that was in place until surpassed by Albert Pujols in 2001.  Berger was a four-time All-Star and the National League's starting center fielder in the inaugural All-Star Game in 1933.  Of the 18 players who started the 1934 All-Star Game, Berger is the only one not currently in the Hall of Fame.  He never topped the 38 home runs he hit in 1930, but he led the league in 1935 with 34 home runs and a career-high 130 RBIs.  Shoulder and hand injuries suffered during the 1936 season hurt his power numbers in subsequent years, and Berger would retire following a final season in the minors in 1941, playing for the Cubs' top affiliate, the Los Angeles Angels.

Upon his retirement, Berger owned a career .300 average with 242 home runs and 898 RBIs, with his home run tally 12th on the all-time list following the 1940 season.  He briefly scouted with the Giants and Yankees in the late 1940s before leaving baseball for good.

Building the Set
September 21, 2024 from Nashville, TN (Burl's Sports) - Card #109
Seller Burl's Sports had this card listed on eBay recently, and I don't think it had been listed over the summer the last time I searched for the 11 cards I still need for my version of a Diamond Stars master set.  I made an offer on the card, which was quickly accepted by the seller.  Even though the card was slabbed, it still had to go through the eBay authentication process, which seems a bit redundant.  After eBay confirmed that yes, this is a real baseball card, it eventually made its way to me.

With the arrival of this Berger card, I'm down to 10 cards to go.  I've recently started at least thinking through the idea of foregoing the final 10 cards and having them represented in my set by reprints.  These are all fairly pricey cards I need and I could see myself adding one or maybe two a year for the foreseeable future, or just simply satisfying myself with reprints and moving on to my next set collecting quest.  A family friend of mine recently went this route with his 1959 Topps set, opting for reprints of the Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays cards as he couldn't justify those cards' price tags.  He had fun collecting 570 out of the 572 cards in that set and then decided he was close enough.  I initially hated that idea conceptually, but 10 cards away from a complete Diamond Stars set, I kind of get it now.

Variations Available
1 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright

The Card / Bees Team Set
This is the second Berger card in the set, with the outfielder first appearing on card #25.  The final 12 cards in the Diamond Stars set, released as part of series three in 1936, contain the exact same photos and players as earlier cards from the set.  Berger's card needed some extra attention, removing the Braves word mark from the front of his jersey since Boston switched to the Bees nickname for their 1936 season.  This card has the same text on the back as his earlier card, save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics.  Also, the ink on the back of card #108 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The back of the card gives a few tips to aspiring batters on how best to stride toward a pitch and what do with your arms while swinging.

1936 Season
Berger was named to his fourth consecutive All-Star team in 1936, although his production for the Bees declined a little from his monster year in 1935.  Berger appeared in 138 games, batting .288 with 25 home runs and 91 RBIs.  A shoulder and hand injury cut into his playing time, with Berger making 133 starts in center field for the Bees.

Phillies Career
On May 10, 1940, the Reds released Berger and the now veteran outfielder signed with the Phillies five days later on May 15th.  Berger had held out for a higher salary with the Reds in the spring, after hitting 14 home runs for the team during their pennant-winning 1939 season.  

The Reds ultimately relented, but Berger received minimal playing time and his release came as a surprise.  Berger appeared in 20 games for the Phillies, hitting a respectable .317 (13 for 41), including his final career home run on June 5th against Cubs pitcher Larry French.  Not receiving any playing time, Berger requested his release from the club, which was granted on July 5th.

1933 Goudey #98
1933 Tattoo Orbit (R305)
1936 Goudey
1939 Play Ball #99
1940 Play Ball #81

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #98
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Conlon Collection TSN #1098

90 - Berger non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/30/24.

Sources:

Previous Card:  #107 Stanley Hack - Chicago Cubs
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Sunday, August 4, 2024

#98 "Schoolboy" Rowe - Detroit Tigers


Lynwood Thomas Rowe
Detroit Tigers
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  210
Born:  January 11, 1910, Waco, TX
Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1933-42; Brooklyn Dodgers 1942; Philadelphia Phillies 1943, 1946-49
World Series Appearances:  Detroit Tigers 1934-35, 1940
Died:  January 8, 1961, El Dorado, AR (50)

While playing on an adult baseball team while a 15-year-old high school student, Lynnwood Rowe was given the nickname "Schoolboy," and the moniker stuck throughout his career.  Superstitious and a fan-favorite, Rowe was a star pitcher for the Tigers in the mid-1930s, winning a career-high 24 games in 1934 and following that up with consecutive 19-win seasons in 1935 and 1936.  Rowe was second in the league in strikeouts with 140 in 1935, and recorded a career-high 149 strikeouts in 1934.  He was named to both the 1935 and 1936 American League All-Star teams.  He started four games for the Tigers in the 1934 and 1935 World Series, as the team lost to the Cardinals in seven games in 1934, but won the Championship in six games over the Cubs in 1935.  In Game 2 of the 1934 Series, he pitched a 12-inning complete game for the win.  Rowe was 2-3 with a 2.76 ERA over 42 1/3 innings pitched in those two Series, to go along with 26 strikeouts.  A threat at the plate too, he batted .307 with five home runs in 1934 and 1935.

Shoulder pain and related injuries began to take a toll on Rowe beginning in 1937, although he rebounded in 1940 to go 16-3 with a 3.46 ERA for the pennant-winning Tigers.  He'd be limited to pitching in only 55 games between 1942 and 1946, due his injuries and two years of service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.  Finishing up his career with the Phillies, Rowe won at least 10 games each season between 1946 and 1948 and made his final All-Star team in 1947.  He retired with a career record of 158-101 and an ERA of 3.87 with 913 strikeouts.  Rowe batted .263 for his career with 18 home runs and 153 RBIs.  He served as the Tigers pitching coach in 1954 and 1955.

Building the Set
August 1, 2024 from Valley View, OH (Stan's Vintage Sports Cards) - Card #108
The seventh card added to our Diamond Stars set in 2024, the addition of this card put me 11 cards away from my version of a master set.  I knew adding the final cards to our set would be tough, and pricey, and I've shied away from recent eBay auctions as most of the opening bids or buy it now prices are way out of my price range.  

I made a reasonable offer to the seller, Stan's Vintage Sports Cards, on this card, the seller made a counteroffer, and I quickly accepted.  Aesthetically, I wanted to have all these cards in order in the set's binder, but with some of these more expensive cards, I'll likely leave them in their slabs and fill the empty spaces in the binder pages with reprint cards.  It could be a little while before I add another card to our set, although I do have several current eBay auctions on my watch list.  I'm assuming I'll be able to get better deals and do some more negotiating live, and I'm looking forward to hunting Diamond Stars cards at the upcoming Philly Show in September.

Variations Available
1 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright

The Card / Tigers Team Set
This is the second Rowe card in the set, with the pitcher first appearing on card #33.  The final 12 cards in the Diamond Stars set, released as part of series three in 1936, contain the exact same photos and players as earlier cards from the set.  This card has the same text on the back as his earlier card, save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics.  Also, the ink on the back of card #98 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The back of the card contains an odd tip, basically telling a pitcher not to aim for the catcher's mitt but rather to aim at some part of the catcher's body other than the mitt.  The tip goes on to claim that Rowe not only endorses this tip, but that Rowe himself can't hit a target more than two out of every three times.

1936 Season
Rowe was 19-10 with a 4.51 ERA in 41 appearances for the Tigers, as his club finished in second place behind the Yankees.  Tommy Bridges (#5) was the ace of the staff, with 23 wins and a 3.60 ERA.  Rowe made his second All-Star Game, and pitched three innings in relief of Lefty Grove (#1), giving up a pair of runs.  Battling shoulder pain, Rowe would pitch in only 14 games for the Tigers in 1937 and 1938.

Phillies Career
Rowe was purchased by the Phillies from the Dodgers on March 24, 1943.  Now throwing a knuckle ball, he'd appear in 27 games that season for the Phillies, going 14-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 199 innings pitched.  Rowe was also the team's top pinch-hitter with 15 pinch-hits in 51 at-bats.  After two years in the Navy, Rowe made an impressive comeback in 1946, and was 11-4 with a 2.12 ERA in 17 games pitched.  In his first start in nearly two years on April 21, 1946, the 36-year-old Rowe threw an 11-inning complete game, although in a losing effort.  He'd win 14 games in 1947 and was named to the National League All-Star team.  Rowe would pitch in two more seasons for the Phillies before injuries finally caught up to him, and the team released him following the 1949 season. Rowe would just miss participating in the triumphant march of the Whiz Kids towards the 1950 National League pennant.  In 128 games with the Phillies, he was 52-39 with a 3.54 ERA and 245 strikeouts.

1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #184
1935 Goudey 4-in-1 (R321)
1939 Play Ball #60
1949 Bowman #216
1954 Topps #197

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #184
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1954
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #197

57 - Rowe non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/4/24.


Next Card: #99 "Pie" Traynor - Pittsburgh Pirates
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