Sunday, February 28, 2021

#51 John Whitehead - Chicago White Sox


John Henderson Whitehead
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  April 27, 1909, Coleman, TX
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1935-1939; St. Louis Browns 1939-1940, 1942
Died:  October 20, 1964, Bonham, TX (55)

John Whitehead was a 19-game winner in 1934 for the Dallas Steers in the Texas League, leading to his signing by the White Sox for the 1935 season.  With the White Sox, Whitehead won at least 10 games each year between 1935 and 1938, enjoying the most success in his 1935 rookie season when he went 13-13 with a 3.72 ERA over 28 games.  He was traded to the Browns on June 2, 1939 for Johnny Marcum, and he'd spend the final three season of his big league career trying to regain the form he had found earlier with the White Sox.  Although he last appeared in the majors in 1942, he continued to pitch for seven more seasons with various minor league teams before retiring at the age of 40 following the 1949 season.  Whitehead had a career record of 49-54 with a 4.60 ERA over 172 games.

Building the Set
January 9, 2021 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #7
After a stressful first week of 2021, I decided there was really no better time to take advantage of the sale going on within the eBay store of The Battersbox, and I happily clicked Buy It Now on four reasonably priced Diamond Stars cards for my set.  I'm looking for cards in better than average shape, with no paper loss and no extraneous markings and these four cards passed my test.  This Whitehead card was tied with the Cliff Bolton (#47) card as the cheapest from the lot as both were $18.29.

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

Young collectors may have been confused when they found Whitehead's card in their pack of National Chicle Chewing Gum.  He had pitched in the Texas League in 1934, and made his debut with the White Sox on April 19, 1935 in the team's third game of the season.  By late May, he was a certifiable phenom, winning all eight of his first eight starts.  And while he started 8-0, he then went on a six start losing streak so that by the end of June he was a pedestrian 8-6.  The back of the card focuses on the importance of a pitcher keeping his legs strong, noting that "long sessions of outfield practice" is key in order to "season the legs and the wind."

Whitehead is the only player in the set to have made his big league debut in 1935.  Every other player or manager featured made his debut prior to 1935.

1935 Season
In his rookie season, and perhaps the best of his career, Whitehead won 13 games, pitching 18 complete games and 1 shutout.  Manager Jimmy Dykes (#42) guided the White Sox to a fifth place finish in the American League with a losing 74-78 record.  Whitehead's 222 1/3 innings pitched led the team, followed closely by Vern Kennedy who appeared in 31 games and pitched 211 2/3 innings.

1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premiums
1992 Conlon Collection TSN #568

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934-1936 Diamond Stars #51
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1992 Conlon Collection TSN #568

5 - Whitehead non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/17/21.

Sources:

Previous Card:  #50 "Mel" Ott - New York Giants
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Sunday, February 21, 2021

#61 - "Billie" Werber - Boston Red Sox


William Murray Werber
Boston Red Sox
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  170
Born:  June 20, 1908, Berwyn, MD
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1930, 1933; Boston Red Sox 1933-1936; Philadelphia Athletics 1937-1938; Cincinnati Reds 1939-1941; New York Giants 1942
World Series Appearances:  Cincinnati Reds 1939-1940
Died:  January 22, 2009, Charlotte, NC (100)

The speedy Billy Werber led the American League in stolen bases in three different seasons and provided steady defense at third base for the Red Sox, Athletics and Reds during the peak of his career between 1934 and 1941.  He enjoyed his best season in 1934 when he hit a career high .321 with 41 doubles and 40 stolen bases (both also career highs) while finishing 12th in the MVP voting.  Werber led all third baseman in assists twice (1934 and 1939) and in fielding percentage in 1940.

Werber in 2008 at his retirement home in North Carolina (Getty Images)
Sold by the Athletics to the Reds in March 1939, he helped lead that team to two straight World Series appearances, winning the title in 1940.  He was the first player ever to have a televised at bat when he led off for the Reds in a game against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field on August 26, 1939.  Werber was part of a strong Reds' infield consisting of Frank McCormick at first and Lonny Frey at second.  He led his team with a .370 average (10 for 27) in the 1940 World Series against the Tigers, in a series won in seven games.

Werber retired following the 1942 season with a .271 average and 1,363 hits over 1,295 games.  He stole 215 bases as one of the most aggressive baserunners of the 1930s, and he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1961.  Werber had the distinction of being the last living member of the original Diamond Stars set, and the last living teammate of Babe Ruth (#109b) as he passed away in 2009 at the age of 100.

Building the Set
January 8, 2021 from Lutz, FL - Card #6
This Werber card had been on my eBay watch list since December, and when I got the alert the listing was ending soon I decided to add it to my set.  The card was $30 from seller benb51 from Lutz, Florida and it arrived during a week when old baseball cards proved to be a welcome distraction from sad and historical events happening in the real world.

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

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
If I didn't know better, I'd say National Chicle was successfully predicting the Houston Astros' tequila sunrise jerseys that would debut 40 years after this card was issued.  The background rainbow behind Werber immediately made me think of those Astros' jerseys.  The write-up on the back of the card theorizes on Werber's success as a base stealer.

1935 Season
Before the start of the 1935 season, the Red Sox and Senators essentially traded managers with Joe Cronin (#123) coming to Boston and Bucky Harris (#91) going to Washington.  Under Cronin's leadership, Werber kept his job as the every day third baseman but his average slipped to .255 over 124 games.  Werber missed a number of games from the effects of a broken toe suffered the season before when he angrily kicked a dugout bucket after a pop up.  Werber still managed to lead the Red Sox in home runs with 14.

1934 Goudey #75
1936 Goudey #25
1938 Goudey Heads-Up #283
1941 Double Play #9
1998 Philadelphia A's Historical
Society Fan Favorites #41

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934 Goudey #75
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1979 TCMA Diamond Greats #331

41 - Werber non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/17/21.

Sources:

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Sunday, February 14, 2021

#111 Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees


Henry Louis Gehrig
New York Yankees
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  200
Born: June 19, 1903, Bronx, NY
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1923-1939
World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1926-1928, 1932, 1936-1938
Died:  June 2, 1941, Bronx, NY (37)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1939

One of the greatest baseball players of all time, Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse, was a dominant offensive force for the Yankees' dynasty in the 1920s and 1930s before the disease that now bears his name claimed his life.  Gehrig was the A.L. MVP in 1927 and 1936, and won the triple crown in 1934.  He was a seven-time All-Star and a six-time World Champion batting .361 over seven World Series appearances.  Gehrig led the league five times in RBIs and his 1,995 career total is currently 7th all-time.  His .340 lifetime batting average is 17th all-time.  At one time, he sat atop the all-time list for grand slams with 23 (a record since broken by Alex Rodriguez) and consecutive games played with 2,130 (broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. in 1995).

Gehrig retired as a result of the debilitating effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) giving his iconic "Luckiest man on the face of the Earth" speech at Yankee Stadium in 1939.  He became the first player to have his uniform number retired when the Yankees retired his #4, and the Hall of Fame inducted him via special election in 1939 as well.  In 1999, Gehrig was the leading vote-getter for the MLB All-Century Team.


Building the Set
December 22, 2020 from McKeesport, PA (Steel City Collectibles)
In 2014, the third and final "extended" set of Diamond Stars cards was released, repeating three of the players available in the 1993 extended set, including Gehrig, and adding a pair of cards for Babe Ruth (#109b and #110b).  According to this article, the five cards were made available at the 2014 National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC) held in Cleveland between July 30 and August 3, 2014.  The cards were originally slabbed by PSA, numbered to 500, and given away to collectors when they signed up for a Gold or Platinum level PSA Collectors Club membership.

Steel City Collectibles was selling a lot of four of these five-card sets on eBay for the reasonable price of $17.95 before Christmas, and I eagerly added these cards to my collection.  One set now lives in my Diamond Stars set binder and another set made its way into my oldest son's Doug's collection.  That leaves me with two extra sets looking for a good home or homes.

I wish PSA and the sponsor of these sets, Historic Autograph Company, had paid attention to the extended sets issued earlier.  Instead of repeating card numbers 109 to 113, they could have started with card number 154, picking up where the 1993 extended set had left off.

Variations Available
1 - 2014 / green back / 1935 statistics / 2014 copyright

The Card / Yankees Team Set
Both Gehrig and Ruth are glaring omissions from the original Diamond Stars set, and the silver lining to those omissions is that the set becomes more attainable because of their absence.  As noted in the Anson Whaley article on the set in the December 2020/January 2021 issue of Beckett Vintage Collector, some collectors assume the reason for the two sluggers' omission is an exclusive contract with Goudey.  Whatever the case for Gehrig being left out of the original set, this "what if" card is a welcome addition to the Diamond Stars lineage.  The back of the card provides a fielding tip for first baseman, and notes that Gehrig's numbers slipped a bit in 1935 after the team released Ruth.

1936 Season
Gehrig was still a powerhouse, winning his second MVP award.  He led the league in runs scored (167), home runs (49), walks (130), on-base percentage (.478) and slugging percentage (.696) while driving in 152 runs.  The Yankees made it back to the World Series after a four-year absence, defeating the Giants in six games.  Gehrig hit a key home run in Game 4 off the Giants' Carl Hubbell (#39), giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead in a game they'd eventually win.

1925 Exhibits W461
1933 Goudey #92
1934 Goudey #37
1961 Topps #405
1985 Donruss #635

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1925 Exhibits W461
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1961-1962, 1973, 1976, 2010
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Gallery Hall of Fame Gallery #HOFG-1

1,843 - Gehrig non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/16/21.

Sources:

Previous Card:  #110b Babe Ruth - New York Yankees
Next Card: #112b Joe DiMaggio - New York Yankees
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Sunday, February 7, 2021

Negro League Stars #2 Josh Gibson - Pittsburgh Crawfords


Joshua Gibson
Pittsburgh Crawfords
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  220
Born:  December 21, 1911, Buena Vista, GA
Major League Teams:  Homestead Grays 1931; Pittsburgh Crawfords 1933-1936; Homestead Grays 1937-1940, 1942-1946
Died:  January 20, 1947, Pittsburgh, PA (35)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1972

1941 - Gibson and Satchel Paige
One of the best sluggers and catchers of all-time, Josh Gibson was never given the chance to play on the game's biggest stage, putting together a legendary baseball career while playing in the Negro Leagues between 1930 and 1946.  Gibson's records and statistics are sketchy at best and work is continuously ongoing to try to form a more complete analysis of his career.  But by all accounts, he would have been one of the most famous and prolific baseball sluggers of his day if not for the color of his skin.

Some accounts credit Gibson with between 800 and 1,000 home runs during his professional baseball career.  His annual home run tallies were said to be in the 70s and 80s, although his official statistics (for now) show only 113 career home runs.  During a playoff game in 1934 at Yankee Stadium against the Chicago American Giants, witnesses say Gibson hit a home run blast completely out of the ballpark.  He played year-round during the prime of his career, playing in independent leagues and in the recognized Negro Leagues for either the Grays or Crawfords, all while also suiting up in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic or Mexico.

Gibson suffered a brain seizure on January 1, 1943, and spent the last four years of his life dealing with painful headaches.  He died of a stroke on January 20, 1947 at the age of 35.

With the December 2020 announcement that the Negro Leagues would finally have their statistics included within Major League Baseball historic records, there's a chance Gibson could find himself atop the all-time batting average list, supplanting Ty Cobb.  He's also certain to shake up the known hierarchy of all-time home run leaders with Barry Bonds currently atop that list with 762.

Building the Set
December 16, 2020 from Albion, NY
Within days of officially deciding to collect the Diamond Stars set, I found myself searching for the 1993 extension set consisting of 36 more "what if" cards this time issued by the Chicle Fantasy Company.  Individual cards from this set are very prevalent on eBay, but I wanted to buy a complete set to save myself some time and money.  Given this is a relatively modern set, I was somewhat surprised at the closing auction prices for previously sold complete sets and I was happy to win my set at a lower price.  These cards are gorgeous, and I can tell a lot of hard work and love for the originals went into making this tribute set.  What's more, the set's creators were smart enough to start the numbering with card #120, given the 1981 extension set had left off with #120.  The final three cards in this set pay tribute to three Negro League greats, including Gibson.  There are also cards of his Crawfords teammates, James "Cool Papa" Bell and Satchel Paige.

As I slowly collect the originals from the 1930s, I'll also highlight each of the cards from these extension sets with their own posts.

Variations Available
1 - 1993 / blue back / no statistics / 1993 copyright

I'm not that familiar with the logos of the Negro Leagues, and I had always assumed the Crawfords had worn red hats.  A little bit of internet digging does show that the Crawfords did wear a navy blue hat with a white "C" in the early 1930s.  The red hats must have come later.

The story on the back of the card tells of how Gibson was discovered during a game that took place on July 25, 1930.  With the 1929 Negro League Champion Kansas City Monarchs in town, the Grays' regular catcher, Joe Williams, broke a finger and their back-up catcher, Vic Harris, was playing in the outfield.  Gibson was asked to suit up for the Grays as an emergency substitute, and the rest, as they say, is history.

1936 Season
This was to be Gibson's last season with the Crawfords and his incomplete Baseball Reference statistics show he batted .451 for the season.  His unofficial home run tally for the year was 84.  He'd return to the Homestead Grays in 1937.

1980-87 SSPC HOF #128
 
1983 Donruss
Hall of Fame Heroes #4
2001 Topps What Could
Have Been #WCB1
2005 Topps Turkey Red #306
 
2014 Panini Golden Age #62
 

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1980-87 SSPC Hall of Fame #128
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Update Tape Measure Blasts #TMB-15

First mainstream card is fairly subjective here, as Gibson would have appeared on a Cooperstown Hall of Fame Plaque postcard beginning in 1972.  He's also in the oddball 1974 Laughlin Old-Time Black Stars and 1976 Shakey's Pizza sets.

240 - Gibson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/23/20.

Sources:

Next Card:  Negro League Stars #3 Satchel Paige - Pittsburgh Crawfords
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