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John Henderson Whitehead
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher
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.
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
The Card / White Sox Team Set
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.
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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
Next Card: #52 George Stainback - Chicago Cubs
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