1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #12 "Dixie" Walker - New York Yankees (Variation 1)

Sunday, March 21, 2021

#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.