#128 Bob Feller - Cleveland Indians

Robert William Andrew Feller

Cleveland Indians

Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  185

Born:  November 3, 1918, Van Meter, IA

Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1936-1941, 1945-1956

World Series Appearances:  Cleveland Indians 1948

Died:  December 15, 2010, Cleveland, OH (92)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1962

Bob Feller made his debut with the Indians in 1936 at 17 years old, and over the next six seasons he'd establish himself as one of the best young pitchers of his era.  He missed almost four full seasons while serving in the Navy during World War II, and upon his return he picked up where he had left off, ultimately leading the Indians to a World Championship in 1948.  Feller was an eight-time American League All-Star, and finished in the top three for the league's MVP voting in 1939, 1940 and 1941.  He won a career-high 27 games in 1940, one of six seasons he won at least 20.  A workhorse, Feller led the league in complete games three times, in shutouts four times and in innings pitched five times.  He won the league's ERA title in 1940 with a 2.61 mark.  Amazingly enough, his best season statistically was 1946 after he had been away from the game for three full years.  Feller went 26-15 that season with a 2.68 ERA and led the league in complete games (36), shutouts (10) and strikeouts (348).  He threw three no-hitters in 1940, 1946 and 1951, and he shares the record of 12 one-hitters along with Nolan Ryan.

Feller retired following the 1956 season and had his #19 retired by the Indians that same year.  At the time of his retirement, his 2,581 career strikeouts were third all-time behind Walter Johnson and Cy Young.  His lifetime record was 266-162, with a 3.25 ERA in 570 games pitched, including 279 complete games and 44 shutouts.  Feller and Jackie Robinson were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962, both on their first ballots.

In 2002, while journeying cross country from Chicago to Denver and back, I spent a pleasant hour inside the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, Iowa, located in the house where Feller was born in 1918.  In 2015, the house was donated to the city of Van Meter and is now the town's city hall.

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 #121, 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.  The complete set came with a small disclaimer card, indicating Feller and five other former players appear under license authorized by Curtis Management Group.

Variations Available

1 - 1993 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1993 copyright

The Card / Indians Team Set

National Chicle can be forgiven for excluding Feller from its Diamond Stars third series release in 1936, given he would have still been a relatively unknown high school pitcher from Iowa when the company was building the set's checklist.  But I'm glad Feller was given a card in this extension set.  The back of the card specifically references his first start on August 23, 1936 (see below).  Manager Steve O'Neill (#87) is also referenced on the back as O'Neill was the Indians' manager between 1935 and 1937.

1936 Season

Feller joined the Indians while still in high school and made his major league debut on July 19th with a scoreless inning of relief against the Senators.  He made his first start on August 23rd, pitching a complete game win against the Browns while striking out 15 batters.  He'd strike out 17 Athletics batters in a start on September 13th, and Feller was quickly becoming a nationally known name.  He appeared in 14 games that fist year, going 5-3 with a 3.34 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched.  Baseball writer Richard Goldstein said at the time Feller was "the best-known young person in America, with the possible exception of Shirley Temple."

1937 Goudey Premiums Type 4

1938 Goudey Heads-Up #288

1948 Bowman #5

1951 Bowman #30

1953 Topps #54

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premiums (R314) #C9

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1951-1953, 1956

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps Update Topps Platinum Players Die Cuts #PDC-64

1,166 - Feller non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/24/22.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #127 Leo Durocher - St. Louis Cardinals

Next Card: #129 Carl Fischer - Buffalo Bisons

#82 John Babich - Brooklyn Dodgers

John Charles Babich

Brooklyn Dodgers

Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185
Born:  May 14, 1913, Albion, CA

Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1934-1935; Boston Bees 1936; Philadelphia Athletics 1940-1941

Died:  January 19, 2001, Richmond, CA (87)

Johnny Babich pitched professionally for 15 seasons, spending five years in the majors.  His finest seasons came in the Pacific Coast League, where he was a 20-game winner in 1933 for the Mission Reds in and a 19-game winner in 1938 for the Hollywood Stars.  In the majors, Babich appeared in 62 games for the Dodgers in 1934 and 1935, winning seven games each season.  After a brief stint with the Bees in 1936, Babich spent three full years in the minors before returning to the big leagues with the Athletics.  He enjoyed his best season in 1940, going 14-13 with a 3.73 ERA in 31 games for an Athletics team that would lose 100 games.  His final action in the majors came in 1941 as he appeared in 16 more games for the Athletics.

Babich is credited with teaching the slider to many of his teammates.  In 112 career major league games, he was 30-45 with a 4.93 ERA.  He stayed in the game as a minor league coach for several years following his last year pitching in the minors in 1945.

Building the Set

March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Dean's House of Cards) - Card #49

I wrote about this show over at The Phillies Room, and admittedly the focus of my morning was putting a huge dent in the remaining cards needed for our 1965 Topps set.  But shortly after entering the showroom floor, my attention was drawn to a table containing open binders with DeLong and Goudey cards from the 1930s.  I thought this dealer would also have some Diamond Stars cards for sale, and my assumption was correct.  I soon found a decent amount of Diamond Stars in a binder, in varying conditions, and from all three series of the set.  

The backs of the cards had two prices listed - one fairly high and one relatively reasonable.  The dealer, Larrie  Dean, told me it was my choice which price I paid.  Appreciating that sort of sense of humor, I set out to find three or four cards and I told Larrie I'd be opting to pay the lower of the two prices.

This Babich card was one of four cards purchased from Dean's House of Cards from Midlothian, Virginia.  Based on the lower of the two prices on the back of the card, it cost me $30.

Variations Available

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

2 - 1935 / blue back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright / No Dodgers on uniform

Cards 73 through 84 were issued in 1935 with either green or blue ink on the back and statistics from 1934.  These same 12 cards were issued again in 1936 with blue ink on the back and statistics from 1935.  The Babich card for my set is the first of the three variations available.  The third Babich variation, released in 1936, came after the pitcher had joined the Boston Bees, and the Dodgers team name has been removed from his jersey.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set

I was surprised to see red pinstripes on Babich's Dodgers uniform on this card, but a quick check of the wonderful resource, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century by Marc Okkonen, shows the Dodgers did in fact have pinstripes in 1935.  Per Okkonen's illustration, the pinstripes were blue and Brooklyn was written across the chest and not Dodgers.  The Brooklyn word mark, along with the piping around the neck, were red.  And now you know.

The write-up on the back takes some liberties in calling Babich the "new pitching star" of the Dodgers.  The tip explains it's best to pitch batters low and away until you figure out their specific weaknesses.

1935 Season

Babich had a tough season, going 7-14 with a 6.66 ERA in 37 appearances, including 24 starts.  Casey Stengel's (#150) Dodgers finished with a 70-83-1 record, and in fifth place in the National League.  Babich was the club's third most used starting pitcher behind Van Mungo (#19) and Watty Clark.

1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #167

1940 Play Ball #191

1941 Play Ball #40

1948 Signal Gasoline Oakland Oaks

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #167

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 TCMA The 1930s #345

20 - Babich non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/31/22.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #81 Bill DeLancey - St. Louis Cardinals

Next Card: #83 Paul Waner - Pittsburgh Pirates

#76 Bill Rogell - Detroit Tigers

William George Rogell

Detroit Tigers

Shortstop

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  163

Born:  November 24, 1904, Springfield, IL

Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1925, 1927-1928; Detroit Tigers 1930-1939; Chicago Cubs 1940

World Series Appearances:  Detroit Tigers 1934-1935

Died:  August 9, 2003, Sterling Heights, MI (98)

Billy Rogell began his big league career with the Red Sox, and after a few slow seasons he'd find success as the regular shortstop for the Tigers between 1932 and 1938.  In Detroit, Rogell was a consistent hitter and a steady fielder, forming a strong double play combination with second baseman Charlie Gehringer (#77).  His best seasons coincided with the Tigers winning the American League pennant in 1934 and 1935.  Rogell batted a career-high .296 in 1934 with 175 hits.  He batted .283 in 13 World Series games, with the Tigers losing in 1934 but defeating the Cubs in six games in 1935.  Rogell led all American League shortstops in fielding percentage for three years in a row between 1935 and 1937.

In 1,482 career games, Rogell batted .267 with 1,375 hits.  Following his retirement from baseball, he served on the Detroit City Council for nearly 40 years.  On September 27, 1999, Rogell threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the final home game to be played at Tiger Stadium.

Building the Set

March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Dean's House of Cards) - Card #48

I wrote about this show over at The Phillies Room, and admittedly the focus of my morning was putting a huge dent in the remaining cards needed for our 1965 Topps set.  But shortly after entering the showroom floor, my attention was drawn to a table containing open binders with DeLong and Goudey cards from the 1930s.  I thought this dealer would also have some Diamond Stars cards for sale, and my assumption was correct.  I soon found a decent amount of Diamond Stars in a binder, in varying conditions, and from all three series of the set.  

The backs of the cards had two prices listed - one fairly high and one relatively reasonable.  The dealer, Larrie  Dean, told me it was my choice which price I paid.  Appreciating that sort of sense of humor, I set out to find three or four cards and I told Larrie I'd be opting to pay the lower of the two prices.

This Rogell card was one of four cards purchased from Dean's House of Cards from Midlothian, Virginia.  Based on the lower of the two prices on the back of the card, it cost me $35.

Variations Available

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

2 - 1935 / blue back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright

Cards 73 through 84 were issued in 1935 with either green or blue ink on the back and statistics from 1934.  These same 12 cards were issued again in 1936 with blue ink on the back and statistics from 1935.  The Rogell card for my set is the first of the three variations available.

The Card / Tigers Team Set

That's a whole lot of Rogell's face on the front of this card.  The tip on the back of the card discusses the proper mechanics for turning a double play, which is fitting given Rogell led all shortstops in double plays turned in 1933 (116) and 1935 (104).  His career total of 805 double plays turned at shortstop is currently 76th on the all-time list.  I think it's fitting, and most likely not a coincidence, the next card in the set is Rogell's long-time double play partner, Gehringer.

1935 Season

Rogell was once again a key member of one of the best infields in the majors, with Gehringer at second base, Hank Greenberg (#54) at first base and Marv Owen (#67) at third base.  Rogell appeared in 150 regular season games, starting all but two games at shortstop.  He batted .275 with 71 RBIs and 88 runs scored while leading all shortstops with a .971 fielding percentage.  In the World Series, Rogell batted .292 as the Tigers won their first championship in franchise history.

1933 Goudey #11

1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #177

1935 Goudey 4-in-1 (R321)

1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premiums (R314) #A89

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #11

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Conlon Collection TSN #1236

27 - Rogell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/31/22.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #75 Irving Burns - St. Louis Browns

Next Card: #77 Charlie Gehringer - Detroit Tigers

#60 Charley "Red" Ruffing - New York Yankees

Charles Herbert Ruffing

New York Yankees

Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  205

Born:  May 3, 1905, Granville, IL

Major League Teams:  Boston Red Sox 1924-1930; New York Yankees 1930-1942, 1945-1946; Chicago White Sox 1947

World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1932, 1936-1939, 1941-1942

Died:  February 17, 1986, Mayfield Heights, OH (80)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1967

Red Ruffing, often credited with inventing the slider, enjoyed a Hall of Fame career and was one of the Yankees' most dominating pitchers during their mid-1930s dynasty.  Ruffing pitched for seven seasons with the Red Sox before a May 1930 trade to the Yankees altered the trajectory of his career.  Working with a new pitching motion, Ruffing became one of the club's top pitchers and won at least 20 games in four straight seasons.  He led the league with 21 wins in 1938, and matched the 21-win mark in 1939.  Ruffing was named to six All-Star Games and won six World Series rings as a member of the Yankees.  He was a clutch pitcher for the club in the postseason, going 7-2 in ten starts, pitching eight complete games with a 2.52 ERA.  Ruffing had a lifetime record of 273-225, with an ERA of 3.80 and 1,987 strikeouts.  Also an excellent batter, he was often called upon to pinch-hit and earned a lifetime batting average of .269 with 36 home runs and 273 RBIs.

Ruffing would later serve as a coach for the Indians (1951) and Mets (1962), and he also worked a number of years in the Indians front office.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967, his final year of eligibility.

Building the Set

March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Dean's House of Cards) - Card #47

I wrote about this show over at The Phillies Room, and admittedly the focus of my morning was putting a huge dent in the remaining cards needed for our 1965 Topps set.  But shortly after entering the showroom floor, my attention was drawn to a table containing open binders with DeLong and Goudey cards from the 1930s.  I thought this dealer would also have some Diamond Stars cards for sale, and my assumption was correct.  I soon found a decent amount of Diamond Stars in a binder, in varying conditions, and from all three series of the set.  

The backs of the cards had two prices listed - one fairly high and one relatively reasonable.  The dealer, Larrie  Dean, told me it was my choice which price I paid.  Appreciating that sort of sense of humor, I set out to find three or four cards and I told Larrie I'd be opting to pay the lower of the two prices.

This Ruffing card was one of four cards purchased from Dean's House of Cards from Midlothian, Virginia.  Based on the lower of the two prices on the back of the card, it cost me $80, and it turned out to be the most expensive single card I purchased at the show.

Variations Available

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

The Card / Yankees Team Set

Lou Gehrig (#130) was famously omitted from this Diamond Stars set, although he may be making a cameo as the Yankees first baseman behind Ruffing on this card.  Gehrig started all 149 games for the club at first base in 1935 and Jack Saltzgaver was the only other Yankee to spend time at first base that season - 13 innings over six games. The tip on the back of the card attempts to solve the mystery of an ineffective pitcher, and the occasional off day when a pitcher seems to have his best "stuff."  A quote purporting to be from Ruffing himself warns, "I am always wary when I feel good."

I believe this is the only card in the set featuring both the player's actual first name and his nickname on the front of the card.

1935 Season

Ruffing formed a formidable one-two punch atop the Yankees starting pitching rotation along with Lefty Gomez (#118).  While the Yankees slipped to a second place finish in 1935, Ruffing was 16-11 with a 3.12 ERA in 30 games.  He struck out 81 in 222 innings pitched, and threw a team-leading 19 complete games.  His 5.2 WAR for 1935 was second on team behind Gehrig's 8.4 WAR.

1933 Goudey #56

1939 Play Ball #3

1940 Play Ball #10

1941 Double Play #85

1960 Fleer Baseball Greats #63

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1929 Kashin Publications (R316)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy #1328

254 - Ruffing non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/29/21.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #59 Jim Bottomley - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card: #61 "Billie" Werber - Boston Red Sox