#32 Sam Rice - Cleveland Indians

Edgar Charles Rice

Cleveland Indians

Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  150

Born:  February 20, 1890, Morocco, IN

Major League Teams:  Washington Senators 1915-1933; Cleveland Indians 1934

World Series Appearances:  Washington Senators 1924-1925, 1933

Died:  October 13, 1974, Rossmoor, MD (84)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1963

In April 1912, a tornado swept through Indiana, tragically killing Sam Rice's entire family including his parents, his two younger sisters and his wife and two children.  Rice spent the following year drifting, eventually joining the U.S. Navy and slowly rekindling his pitching skills within the Navy and then with a minor league team in Virginia.  On July 28, 1915, Rice's contract was sold by the Petersburg Goobers of the Virginia League to the Washington Senators, and he subsequently changed his first name from Edgar to Sam, and also converted from a pitcher to a full-time outfielder.  What followed was a 20-year major league career that ultimately found Rice inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963.

Rice rarely struck out and was able to stretch singles into doubles as a result of his above average speed on the base paths.  Throughout the late 1910s and all through the 1920s, he consistently was among the league leaders in runs, hits, stolen bases and batting average.  Rice had over 200 hits in six different seasons, hitting a career-high 227 in 1925 and leading the league in 1924 and 1926.  He led the league in stolen bases with 63 in 1920.  Rice helped lead the Senators to the World Series in 1924 and 1925, and his team won the Championship in 1924.  The most controversial moment of Rice's baseball career came during the 1925 World Series against the Pirates, when Rice apparently robbed a home run from Pirates catcher Earl Smith.  Rice tumbled over the right field wall into the stands and out of sight.  When he emerged he signaled he had caught the ball and the umpires ruled Smith out.  (The Senators would ultimately lose the Series.)

Rice still holds the Senators/Twins franchise records for runs, hits, doubles and triples.  He batted .322 over his career, collecting 2,987 hits, with 1,514 runs scored, 498 doubles and 184 triples.

Building the Set

December 26, 2021, Christmas Present from Mom - Card #36

This was one of two cards my Mom gifted me the day after Christmas, noting both cards were an early payment for her upcoming tax return preparation services.  Along with this Rice card was the card for Ossie Bluege (#71).  We've enjoyed a tradition over the past decade or so of driving to my Mom's house the day after Christmas to spend a day with her and my sister's family eating, laughing and opening way too many presents.  This year was even a little more enjoyable as we were able to go maskless, having all been double or triple vaccinated depending on age.  The two Diamond Stars cards acquired came with an added surprise of a vintage yellow wrapper from the set, carefully preserved inside an oversized top loader.  I'm still trying to figure out how I want to display the wrapper and whether or not I'll risk taking it out and unfolding it.  I posted a complete summary of this year's gifts from my Mom over at The Phillies Room.  This card was housed in a top loader with a sticker on the back with the identifier, "50072 martyspsagradedcards.com."

Variations Available

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

The Card / Indians Team Set

This is Rice's final mainstream baseball card issued contemporaneously during his playing career, and it's one of the only baseball cards to feature him wearing an Indians uniform.  He's also the oldest person featured in the original run of Diamond Stars cards issued between 1934 and 1936.  The tip on the back of the card discusses the importance of a low throw to the infield or catcher from an outfielder.  This is a fitting tip to be featured on Rice's card as his 278 career outfield assists are currently 13th on the all-time list.  He led all outfielders in assists in 1926 and with putouts in 1920 and 1922.

1935 Season

On January 8, 1934, the Senators released Rice and he signed about a month later with the Cleveland Indians.  He'd appear in 97 games for the Indians in 1934, batting .293, and despite Indians' manager Walter Johnson's desire for Rice to return in 1935, the long-time outfielder opted to retire instead at the age of 44.  By the time this card was making its way to collectors, Rice was out of baseball.

1917 Collins-McCarthy (E135) #137

1922 American Caramel Series of 240 (E120)

1933 Goudey #134

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #70

1980 SSPC Hall of Fame #93

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1917 Collins-McCarthy (E135) #137

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Panini Diamond Kings #167

129 - Rice non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/27/21.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #31 "Kiki" Cuyler - Chicago Cubs

Next Card: #33 "Schoolboy" Rowe - Detroit Tigers