1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #10 Roy Mahaffey

Sunday, December 27, 2020

#10 Roy Mahaffey - Philadelphia Athletics

Lee Roy Mahaffey

Philadelphia Athletics

Pitcher

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'0" Weight: 180

Born: February 9, 1904, Belton, SC

Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1926-1927; Philadelphia Athletics 1930-1935; St. Louis Browns 1936

World Series Appearances: Philadelphia Athletics 1931

Died: July 23, 1969, Anderson, SC (65)

After a few brief appearances with the Pirates and successful seasons with the Columbia Comers in 1928 in the South Atlantic League and with the Portland Beavers in 1929 in the Pacific Coast League, Roy Mahaffey was acquired by Connie Mack in January 1930 to bolster his Athletics pitching staff. Mahaffey was a 15-game winner in 1931 and a 13-game winner in both 1932 and 1933. He pitched just an inning in the 1931 World Series in which the Athletics lost to the Cardinals in seven games. Relying on a fast ball and a slow curve, Mahaffey went 64-43 during his years in Philadelphia with a 4.82 ERA. He was sold to the Browns following the 1935 season and he'd struggle through 21 games in St. Louis before retiring from the majors. He continued pitching through 1941 with various textile league teams throughout South Carolina.

Building the Set

December 15, 2020 from Longmont, CO (BBC Emporium) - Card #2

Bitten by the bug of collecting a new set, I decided I could justify an early Christmas present to myself and while on a particularly long and unproductive work video meeting, I found four more cards for my set. Along with this Mahaffey card, I added the cards of Robert Rolfe (#29), "Jo Jo" White (#45) and Fred M. Frankhouse (#62).

Variations Available

1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright

2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright ✅

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1934 copyright / "now St. Louis Browns" on back

I've added the 1935 variation to my collection. The Browns variation is one of 10 variations I'll be tracking down for my version of a master set, as that card removes the "A" from the front of Mahaffey's jersey.

It's impressive to me that the cards' creators actually bothered to update the bio on the bottom of the cards issued in multiple years. The 1934 version of Mahaffey's card notes he's 31 years old and that he "Won 13, lost 10 games in 1933." In 1935, that's updated to note Mahaffey is now 32 years old and he "Won 6, lost 7 games in 1934."

The Card / Athletics Team Set

As noted above, this is the 1935 version of Mahaffey's Diamond Stars card and the back has been updated to reflect his 1934 won-loss record. The pitching tip on the back concerns the necessity of the pitcher to be able to field his position, especially after "hard line drives through the box." The photo used for the front of the card lends itself to this lesson as Mahaffey is shown set evenly on his feet, ready for whatever is coming his way.

The Athletics were so bad by the time these cards were issued, Mahaffey, along with Jimmie Foxx (#64) are the only two Athletics players featured in the set.

1935 Season

This was Mahaffey's last full season with Mack's Athletics, and he'd go 8-4 with a 3.90 ERA over 27 games while making 17 starts. Since appearing in the World Series in 1931, the Athletics had steadily declined year after year and they'd drop to the American League basement in 1935 with a 58-91 record. Johnny Marcum was the only bright spot for the pitching rotation as he went 17-12 with a 4.08 ERA.