1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #137 Waite Hoyt

Sunday, May 30, 2021

#137 Waite Hoyt - Pittsburgh Pirates

Waite Charles Hoyt

Pittsburgh Pirates

Pitcher

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'0" Weight: 180

Born: September 9, 1899, Brooklyn, NY

Major League Teams: New York Giants 1918; Boston Red Sox 1919-1920; New York Yankees 1921-1930; Detroit Tigers 1930-1931; Philadelphia Athletics 1931; Brooklyn Dodgers 1932; New York Giants 1932; Pittsburgh Pirates 1933-1937; Brooklyn Dodgers 1937-1938

World Series Appearances: New York Yankees 1921-1923, 1926-1928; Philadelphia Athletics 1931

Died: August 25, 1984, Cincinnati, OH (84)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1969

Reading Waite Hoyt's biography, I was struck by the Forrest Gump nature of his life before, during and after his time in baseball. Pitching for 21 seasons with seven different franchises, Hoyt holds the distinction of playing with more Hall of Fame teammates than anyone else in major league history. Receiving the nickname "Schoolboy" because he was signed by Giants' manager John McGraw when he was only 15, Hoyt held a day job as a funeral director and spent off nights performing in vaudeville. He played semi-professional basketball in the offseason and was also an accomplished painter and writer.

On the mound, Hoyt was the most successful pitcher for the Yankees during the Murderer's Row dynasty spanning the 1920s. Hoyt went to six World Series with the Yankees, winning rings in 1923, 1927 and 1928. With the 1927 Yankees, arguably one of the best teams of all-time, Hoyt went 22-7 with a 2.63 ERA over 36 games pitched. He bounced around a bit after being traded away by the Yankees in 1930, but he found a second home with the Pirates in 1933. Hoyt retired during the 1938 season after being released by his hometown Dodgers. For his career, he was 237-182 in 674 games pitched with 1,206 strikeouts.

In 1940, Hoyt began his second career as a long-time broadcaster. After a short stint with the Dodgers, Hoyt assumed the role of the play-by-play voice for the Reds between 1942 and his retirement in 1964. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969 by the Veterans Committee.

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 / Pirates Team Set

The back of Hoyt's card discusses his "Schoolboy" origins as well as his star seasons with the Yankees. In the 1921 World Series, won by the Giants in eight games, both Hoyt and fellow Yankees pitcher Carl Mays threw three complete games. Hoyt allowed only two unearned runs in his 27 innings, accounting for his 0.00 ERA and establishing his reputation as the Yankees' staff ace.

1936 Season

As mentioned on the back of the card, Hoyt was converted to a relief pitcher during his time with the Pirates but he still occasionally made some starts for the team. In 22 games, Hoyt went 7-5 with a 2.70 ERA over 116 2/3 innings pitched.