#141 Fred Lindstrom - Brooklyn Dodgers

Frederick Charles Lindstrom

Brooklyn Dodgers

Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170

Born:  November 21, 1905, Chicago, IL

Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1924-1932; Pittsburgh Pirates 1933-1934; Chicago Cubs 1935; Brooklyn Dodgers 1936

World Series Appearances:  New York Giants 1924; Chicago Cubs 1935

Died:  October 4, 1981, Chicago, IL (75)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1976

Hall of Famer Freddie Lindstrom was the regular third baseman for the Giants between 1925 and 1930, before moving his primary position to center field in 1932.  At the age of 18 in 1924, he collected 4 hits in Game 5 of the World Series, setting a rookie record.  (The mark was matched by Buster Posey in the 2010 World Series.)  He hit .358 with 231 hits for the Giants in 1928 on the way to being named the third baseman on The Sporting News' All-Star team.  He was named to the exclusive club again in 1930 when he batted .379, again with 231 hits, and scored 127 runs.  He's often named as one of the top third basemen of the era, sharing a spot with the elite infielders from the first half-century of major league baseball.  Writing for The Sporting Life in 1930, baseball writer John Foley had Lindstrom at third in his all-time baseball infield with George Sisler at first, Nap Lajoie at second and Honus Wagner at shortstop.

Injuries forced Lindstrom to the outfield in 1931 and he produced three more seasons of hitting at least .290 before abruptly retiring at the start of the 1936 season.  For his career, Lindstrom batted .311 with 1,747 hits over 1,438 games with 103 home runs and 779 RBIs.  The Veteran's Committee voted him into the Hall of Fame in 1976.

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.

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 / 1935 statistics / 1993 copyright

The Card / Dodgers Team Set

Given his star status, it's surprising to me Lindstrom didn't make it into the original Diamond Stars set, and perhaps he had an exclusive contract with Goudey at the time.  His abrupt retirement is mentioned in the write-up on the back.

1936 Season

Lindstrom was released by the Cubs on January 10, 1936 and signed with the Dodgers a week later.  Brooklyn was in the midst of a long dry spell, and the team hadn't finished higher than second place in the National League since 1924.  With Casey Stengel at the helm for his third and final season with the club, Lindstrom was the team's opening day left fielder.  He appeared in 26 games, batting .264 until appearing in his final career game on May 15th.  He was only 30 when he ended his 13-year big league career.

1926 Exhibits W461 #36

1933 Delong #11

1933 Goudey #133

1991 Conlon Collection TSN #58

2003 Topps Gallery HOF #61

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1926 Exhibits W461 #36

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  XX

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2013 Panini Cooperstown Colgan's Chips

85 - Lindstrom non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/21/21.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #140 Mike Kreevich - Chicago White Sox

Next Card: #142 Connie Mack MG - Philadelphia Athletics

#12 "Dixie" Walker - New York Yankees (Variation 1)

Fred Walker

New York Yankees

Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  175

Born: September 24, 1910, Villa Rica, GA

Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1931, 1933-1936; Chicago White Sox 1936-1937; Detroit Tigers 1938-1939; Brooklyn Dodgers 1939-1947; Pittsburgh Pirates 1948-1949

World Series Appearances:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1941, 1947

Died:  May 17, 1982, Birmingham, AL (71)

Dixie Walker played in parts of 18 seasons in the majors, earning his way onto five All-Star teams while with the Dodgers and winning the N.L. batting title in 1944 when he hit .357.  He ended the 1946 season as the most popular player in Brooklyn history, according to legendary broadcaster Red Barber, but he'd later become better known as the player who tried to thwart Jackie Robinson from joining the Dodgers in 1947.  Walker initiated a player petition asking that Robinson not be permitted to join the team and then later requested that Dodgers owner Branch Rickey trade him.  Later in life, he told author Roger Kahn the petition was "the stupidest thing he'd ever done."

Rickey honored Walker's request and traded him to the Pirates on December 8, 1947, where he played the final two years of his career.  In his nine seasons with the Dodgers, Walker enjoyed the best years of his career, batting .311 with 67 home runs and 725 RBIs.  He was dubbed "The People's Cherce," in reference to the way the word "choice" sounds when said in a Brooklyn accent.  In 1,905 career games, Walker had a .306 average with 2,064 hits.  Following his playing days, he served as a coach for the Cardinals (1953, 1955), Braves (1963-1965) and Dodgers (1970-1974). 

Original back from 1934

Building the Set

January 9, 2021 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #10

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 Walker card was the priciest of the four-card lot at $24.34.  With the four cards purchased from The Battersbox, I had my first 10 cards in the set, with only 108 to go.  (108 cards in the set, plus 10 variations I'm chasing for my version of a 118-card master set.)

Variations Available

1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright / mentions Babe Ruth retiring

2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright / mentions Babe Ruth to Braves ✅

3 - 1936 / blue back / no statistics / 1934 copyright / no mention of Babe Ruth

The Card / Yankees Team Set

The version of this card I added was the variation version issued in 1935, noting that Walker "is expected to help fill the gap left by Babe Ruth moving to Boston (Braves)."  The first version of this card, issued in 1934, notes that Walker "is expected to fill Babe Ruth's shoes when the great Yankee slugger retires."  Ruth (#109b) was released by the Yankees on February 26, 1935 and signed with the Braves that very same day so the card I now own was issued after that date.

Walker's father, also Dixie Walker, is mentioned on the back of the card and the elder Walker pitched for four seasons with the Senators between 1909 and 1912.  His brother, Harry Walker, was a two-time All-Star for the Cardinals and played for 11 seasons in the majors.  The batting tip on the back encourages batters to relax and step out if needed "until the nervousness has disappeared."

1935 Season

It's odd to me that Walker earned a card in the set, as he had appeared in only 17 games with the Yankees in 1934.  His SABR biography notes a sore arm was the reason for the lack of playing time in 1934, and he was actually placed on the voluntarily retired list at some point that season.  National Chicle was presumably betting on him getting much more playing time due to Ruth's departure, but he only appeared in 8 games with the Yankees in 1935, batting .154 (2 fo 13).  With his arm healed, he came back in 1935 but dislocated his right shoulder on a slide into second base.  Walker spent most of 1935 with the Newark Bears, the top farm team for the Yankees, where he batted .293 over 89 games while his shoulder healed.

1934 Goudey #39

1941 Double Play #21

1953 Topps #190

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #151

1992 Conlon Collection TSN #506

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1934 Goudey #39

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1953

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1995 Conlon Collection TSN #1387

50 - Walker non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/21/21.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #10 Roy Mahaffey - St. Louis Browns (Variation)

Next Card: #12 "Dixie" Walker - New York Yankees (Variation 2)

#47 Cliff Bolton - Washington Senators

William Clifton Bolton

Washington Senators

Catcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  160

Born:  April 10, 1907, High Point, NC

Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1931, 1933-1936; Detroit Tigers 1937; Washington Senators 1941

World Series Appearances:  Washington Senators 1933

Died:  April 21, 1979, Lexington, NC (72)

Catcher Cliff Bolton spent parts of seven seasons in the major leagues with the Senators and Tigers, serving mainly as a back-up or pinch-hitter.  Bolton went to the World Series with the Senators in 1933 and went 0 for 2 in two pinch-hitting appearances.  He got his chance to play everyday in 1935 as the Senators' regular catcher and had a career year with 55 RBIs while batting .304.   In 335 major league games, Bolton batted .291 with 6 home runs and 143 RBIs.  Appearing for the final time in the majors in 1941, he amazingly stuck around for another 11 seasons in the minor leagues, often batting well over .300.  He was a steady catcher over those years in the minor league systems of the White Sox, Athletics and Braves, finally retiring following the 1952 season at the age of 45.

Building the Set

January 9, 2021 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #9

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 Bolton card was tied with the John Whitehead (#51) card as the cheapest from the lot as both were $18.29.  With the four cards purchased from The Battersbox, I had my first 10 cards in the set, with only 108 to go.  (108 cards in the set, plus 10 variations I'm chasing for my version of a 118-card master set.)

Variations Available

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

The Card / Senators Team Set

It looks as if both Goudey and National Chicle used the same photo for their respective Bolton cards, with National Chicle adding a player emerging from the dugout to the background.  The write-up on the back of the card, detailing how a catcher is permitted to stand as a roadblock while guarding home plate, was made obsolete in 2011 with the implementation of the Buster Posey Rule.  Rule 7.13 states that "a runner attempting to score may not deviate from the his direct pathway to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher."  So even if the catcher drops the ball, if the runner intentionally "jam[s] through a score," he's out.  One caveat to this rule is that the catcher has to allow a clear path to the plate, and can't block it until he has possession of the ball.  Bolton would have been appalled.

1935 Season

As mentioned above, this was Bolton's best season in the majors.  He was the opening day catcher for the Senators, and started 101 of their 154 games behind the plate.  Sammy Holbrook was the primary back-up catcher for the Senators.  Of course it wasn't measured at the time, but Bolton's WAR of 2.5 was third on the team among offensive players behind second baseman Buddy Myer (#4) at 6.4 and third baseman Cecil Travis at 3.6.

1934 Goudey #65

1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premiums

1936 World Wide Gum #133

1992 Conlon Collection TSN #505

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1934 Goudey #65

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1992 Conlon Collection TSN #505

11 - Bolton non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/19/21.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #46 "Red" Lucas - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card: #48 "Rick" Ferrell - Boston Red Sox

#37 "Billie" Urbanski - Boston Braves

William Michael Urbanski

Boston Braves

Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'8"  Weight:  165

Born:  June 5, 1903, Linoleumville, NY

Major League Teams:  Boston Braves 1931-1936; Boston Bees 1936-1937

Died:  July 12, 1973, Perth Amboy, NJ (70)

Billy Urbanski was the everyday shortstop for the Braves between 1932 and 1935, leading the league in assists at the position for three years in a row and achieving the top fielding percentage for shortstops in 1934.  That was Urbanski's best year as he batted a career-high .293 while also hitting career high marks for home runs (7) and RBIs (53).  In seven season with the Braves/Bees, Urbanski appeared in 763 game and hit .260 with 791 hits and 379 runs scored.

Building the Set

January 9, 2021 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #8

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 Urbanski card was the oddly priced $21.31, before shipping.  With the four cards purchased from The Battersbox, I had my first 10 cards in the set, with only 108 to go.  (108 cards in the set, plus 10 variations I'm chasing for my version of a 118-card master set.)

Variations Available

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

The Card / Braves Team Set

This is the second card I've added with a smokestack in the background, with the first card being that of Red Rolfe (#29).  This is the first card I've added to my set that has a horizontal orientation.  I'll imagine here that Urbanski is demonstrating how to field a sharp hit ball at short as Braves' center fielder Wally Berger (#25) jogs towards the infield to get a closer look.  The back of the card urges the reader to have a strong infield arm, like Urbanski, and to play deeper in the infield in order to more cleanly field a ball while relying on your strong arm to throw out the runner at first.

1935 Season

Urbanski was the regular shortstop for a truly bad Braves team that lost 115 games.  He batted .230 with 4 home runs and 30 RBIs, tying for the team lead with a whopping 3 stolen bases.  Urbanski missed a few weeks in June with Joe Coscarart filling in for him at short.  His usual infield mates were Buck Jordan (#49) at first, Les Mallon at second and former Phillies star Pinky Whitney at third.

1933 Goudey #212

1933 Delong #9

1936 World Wide Gum #71

1992 Conlon Collection TSN #408

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #212

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1992 Conlon Collection TSN #408

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

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #36 "Ernie" Lombardi - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card: #38 Ben Chapman - New York Yankees