1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #141 Fred Lindstrom

Sunday, March 28, 2021

#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.