1934-1936 Diamond Stars: September 2022

Ethan Nathan Allen

Philadelphia Phillies

Outfield

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'1" Weight: 180

Born: January 1, 1904, Cincinnati, OH

Major League Teams: Cincinnati Reds 1926-1930; New York Giants 1930-1932; St. Louis Cardinals 1933; Philadelphia Phillies 1934-1936; Chicago Cubs 1936; St. Louis Browns 1937-1938

Died: September 15, 1993, Crescent City, CA (89)

Outfielder Ethan Allen played for 13 seasons in the majors with six different clubs, finding the most success of his career in the mid-1930s with the Phillies. Signed by his hometown Reds, Allen was the club's regular center fielder in 1928 and 1929, batting .305 in 1928 and finishing second on the club with 62 RBIs. Traded to the Giants during the 1930 season and then the Cardinals for the 1933 season, he'd play sparingly with his offensive output tailing off. Allen would find new life with the Phillies in 1934, and his time with the club was the best stretch of his career (see below). He'd finish up his playing career spending two seasons with the Browns, but his time involved with the game of baseball was just getting started. He retired with an even .300 batting average and 1,325 hits.

Allen was known for his intelligence and he'd publish several books following his playing career, mainly focused on technical aspects of baseball and the history of the game. He also invented the popular board game All-Star Baseball, first sold to consumers in the early 1940s and continually produced in its original form until 1993. In 1946, Allen was named the head coach of Yale's baseball team, and he'd hold that position until retiring in 1968. His team reached the College World Series in 1947 and 1948, and among his players was future U.S. President George H.W. Bush. Allen never stopped teaching the game, publishing his books, creating his boardgames and running baseball clinics at military bases during the Yale offseason.

August 23, 2022 - Shortly after purchasing the card

Allen with the Phillies in 1934

Pre-jailbreak

Building the Set

August 31, 2022 from S. Burlington, VT - Card #60

I pulled the trigger and bought this card while my family and I were vacationing at Walt Disney World in late August. It was our second day there, a scheduled Disney Springs/pool day, and while resting in our room at Saratoga Springs I received an e-mail from the seller offering to sell this card at a reduced price. The card had been on my watch list for quite some time, and maybe even as long as a full year. I thought the seller's original price had been fair, but I was hesitant to buy as the card was encased in a PSA graded slab. I realize some of the pricier cards in the set will most likely need to come graded, but for the bulk of the set, I want to have those placed in their proper place in nine-pocket pages in the set's binder.

Not able to pass up the reduced price, I bought the card from eBay seller bserenil2 from S. Burlington, Vermont, and it was waiting for us when we returned from our wonderful trip. I took a picture of the slab for posterity's sake, freed Allen and happily slid the card into its proper sleeve among the set's other high numbers.

Variations Available

1 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1936 copyright

The Card / Phillies Team Set

I could be wrong, but I believe this is the first card in the set I've added with a scoreboard clock in the background. The back of the card mentions Allen being "disabled through illness," but I couldn't find any specific illness mentioned in his SABR biography that would have kept him benched for any lengthy periods of time. Allen did fracture his cheekbone in early 1928, so maybe that's what's being referenced here. I also need to highlight that Allen was named after Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen, who was one of the founders of Vermont and is known for leading the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775.

Phillies Career / 1936 Season

The Cardinals sold Allen to the Phillies on February 5, 1934, and Allen would be the team's opening day center fielder that season. It was to be a career year for him, as he appeared in 145 games, batting .330 with 10 home runs and 85 RBIs, all career highs. He tied Kiki Cuyler (#31) for the league lead with 42 doubles. He was back as a Phillies regular in 1935, appearing in 156 games, while batting .307 and leading all National League outfielders with 26 assists. Allen received 17 MVP votes that season. He began 1936 with the Phillies, again serving as their opening day center fielder. Perhaps his salary was getting too high for a team that would lose 100 games, and he appeared in only 30 games with the club before being dealt to the Cubs.

On May 21, 1936, Allen and Curt Davis were traded to Chicago for Chuck Klein (#139) and Fabian Kowalik. (This was Klein's second of three separate stints with the Phillies.) Allen moved to left field with the Cubs, and his new team finished in second place, five games behind the pennant-winning Giants. For the season, Allen appeared in 121 games, batting .295 with four home runs and 48 RBIs. For his two-plus seasons with the Phillies, he appeared in 331 games, batting .316 with 19 home runs and 157 RBIs.