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Ernesto Natali Lombardi
Cincinnati Reds
Catcher
Born: April 6, 1908, Oakland, CA
Major League Teams: Brooklyn Robins 1931; Cincinnati Reds 1932-1941; Boston Braves 1942; New York Giants 1943-1947
World Series Appearances: Cincinnati Reds 1939-1940
Died: September 26, 1977, Santa Cruz, CA (69)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1986
Called by baseball writer Bill James, "the slowest man to ever play major league baseball well," Ernie Lombardi was a fan favorite, the National League's MVP in 1938, a World Series winner in 1940 and posthumous Hall of Fame inductee in 1986. Lombardi, given the affectionate nickname "Schnozz," spent 10 of his 17 seasons with the Reds, where he first rose to stardom. He batted over .300 in ten seasons, winning his first batting title in 1938 when he hit .342 on the way to also winning the MVP. He caught both of Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no hitters that season on June 11th and June 15th. Lombardi helped lead the Reds to the World Series in 1939 and 1940, hitting .333 in the 1940 series in which his team downed the Tigers in seven games. Sold to the Braves before the 1942 season, he won his second batting title by hitting .330. Lombardi was named to eight All-Star Games.
Building the Set
August 5, 2022 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #58
I got an itch for some vintage baseball cards in late July, as I hadn't added any new cards to our 1965 Topps set since May or my Diamond Stars set since June. Taking advantage of some discounts offered at The Battersbox online store, I settled on this relatively pricey Lombardi card along with the card I'll feature in the next post, Steve O'Neil (#87). Also arriving in the package was the 1965 Topps Willie Stargell card, which gets us down to needing just seven cards before that set is completed.
I'm now officially half-way through completing the Diamond Stars set, with 59 cards in hand and 59 more cards needed. That tally includes all 108 cards in the base set, along with ten notable variations. I've got a lot of big ticket cards to go before I complete the set, and I may try to add one of those before the year is out.
Variations Available
1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright
There's an error version of this card with Lombardi's first name misspelled as "Earnie," and this is one of ten variations I'll ultimately track down for my set.
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. Lombardi shows up again as card #105, with the same text on the back save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics. The ink on the back of card #105 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.
The Card / Reds Team Set
That's a strange tip on the back of Lombardi's card, going into great detail about choosing a light bat over a heavy bat. Babe Ruth (#109) is name-checked here, noting he used to swing a 54-ounce bat but he's cut back to a 36-ounce model in his later years. Lombardi's full name is listed with a middle initial "C" on the back as well. They got that wrong, but at least this version of the card spelled his first name correctly.
1935 Season
Lombardi had his break-out season this year, five seasons into his big league career. The Reds weren't great, finishing in sixth place with a 68-85-1 record, but Lombardi was a bright spot as the team's best hitter. In 120 games, he batted .343 with 23 doubles, 12 home runs and 64 RBIs. Despite his productivity, he spent the entire season in a platoon behind the plate with the left-handed hitting Gilly Campbell. On May 8th, Lombardi tied a league record with four doubles against the Phillies
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Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1933 Tattoo Orbit (R305)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2006 SP Legendary Cuts #69
150 - Lombardi non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/12/22.
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Sources:
Previous Card: #35 Earle Averill - Cleveland Indians
Next Card: #37 "Billie" Urbanski - Boston Braves
Glad to see you (finally) add another Diamond Stars card to your collection! I happen to have an extra VG-EX PSA 4 #103 Bill Dickey you might be interested in. My research many years ago led to my conclusion that the HIGH NUMBERS represent only ONE PERCENT of surviving cards. Are they ALL on thinner stock than the earlier issued ones?
ReplyDeleteI realized I hadn't posted in a while, which motivated me to buy a few more cards. That Dickey card is definitely on my want list, and I knew the high numbers were scarce but didn't realize they were THAT scarce. (And I still plan on putting together a list of questions about your 1993 extension set . . . On my post-summer to-do list.)
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