1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #19 Van Mungo

Sunday, July 25, 2021

#19 Van Mungo - Brooklyn Dodgers

Van Lingle Mungo

Brooklyn Dodgers

Pitcher

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'2" Weight: 185

Born: June 8, 1911, Pageland, SC

Major League Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers 1931-1941; New York Giants 1942-1943, 1945

Died: February 12, 1985, Pageland, SC (73)

I had heard of Van Lingle Mungo through the 1969 novelty song by Dave Frishberg, before I knew about his baseball career. By most accounts, Mungo was a character known for his off-field adventures but he was also a five-time All-Star for the Dodgers and he led the National League in strikeouts in 1936 with 238. He averaged 16 wins per season between 1932 and 1936, but his erratic fastball also contributed to him leading the league in walks in 1932, 1934 and 1936. Mungo was combative on the field, often clashing with his own teammates and by his own estimation he led all of baseball in terms of fines for his era, tallying in excess of $15,000 for his behavior. His Dodgers won the pennant in 1941, but Mungo spent most of that season playing for their top farm team in Montreal. After a decade-plus with the Dodgers, Mungo was dealt to the cross-town Giants before the 1942 season. He missed the entire 1944 season while serving in the military during World War II and after 26 starts for the Giants in 1945, his big league career was over.

In 364 games, Mungo had a career record of 120-115 with a 3.47 ERA and 1,242 strikeouts to 868 walks.

Building the Set

June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #19

This was a bonus inclusion in a large purchase of 1965 Topps commons I made in late May from The Battersbox in Tomball, Texas. Wanting to add a bunch of commons to my growing 1965 Topps set, and taking advantage of a Memorial Day Weekend online sale, I added 20 commons along with this Mungo card. After applying the discount, this card was by far the most expensive card I added that weekend at a little over $30.

Variations Available

1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright

2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright ✅

The final 12 cards in the Diamond Stars set, released as part of series three in 1936, contain the exact same photos and players as earlier cards from the set. Mungo shows up again as card #102, with the same text on the back save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics. Also, the ink on the back of card #102 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set

I've no clue why the artist for this card decided to give Mungo a yellow/orange warm-up jacket and a red hat. It's one of the more striking cards in the entire set since the photo's colors are so vivid and contrary to what you'd expect to see on a Dodgers card. The tip on the back of the card explains how to bunt, and cautions against alerting the fielders too soon you're about to bunt.

1935 Season

Mungo missed the beginning of spring training as he was holding out for a larger salary. Upon reporting, he turned in another All-Star season, going 16-10 with a 3.65 ERA over 37 games and 214 1/3 innings pitched. He missed time in July and August with a injury to his middle finger, although he did occasionally pitch in relief while the finger healed. On September 29th, in his final game of the season, Mungo struck out 15 Phillies setting a season high. He was also quite adept with the bat, hitting .289 for the season with three doubles and 19 RBIs.