1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #113 Bob Feller

Sunday, May 1, 2022

#113 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 22, 2020 from McKeesport, PA (Steel City Collectibles)

In 2014, the third and final "extended" set of Diamond Stars cards was released, repeating three of the players available in the 1993 extended set, including Feller, and adding a pair of cards for Babe Ruth (#109b and #110b). According to this article, the five cards were made available at the 2014 National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC) held in Cleveland between July 30 and August 3, 2014. The cards were originally slabbed by PSA, numbered to 500, and given away to collectors when they signed up for a Gold or Platinum level PSA Collectors Club membership.

Steel City Collectibles was selling a lot of four of these five-card sets on eBay for the reasonable price of $17.95 before Christmas, and I eagerly added these cards to my collection. One set now lives in my Diamond Stars set binder and another set made its way into my oldest son's Doug's collection. That leaves me with two extra sets looking for a good home or homes.

I wish PSA and the sponsor of these sets, Historic Autograph Company, had paid attention to the extended sets issued earlier. Instead of repeating card numbers 109 to 113, they could have started with card number 154, picking up where the 1993 extended set had left off.

Variations Available

1 - 2014 / green back / 1935 statistics / 2014 copyright

The Card / Indians Team Set

This is Feller's second "extension" card for the Diamond Stars set, with his first appearing in the 36-card set released in 1993. As mentioned above, the cards were created for the National held in Cleveland in 2014, so Feller's inclusion here makes sense.

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."