1934-1936 Diamond Stars: October 2022

Sunday, October 23, 2022

#89 Joe Stripp - Brooklyn Dodgers

Joseph Valentine Stripp

Brooklyn Dodgers

Third Base

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'11" Weight: 175
Born: February 3, 1903, Harrison, NJ

Major League Teams: Cincinnati Reds 1928-1931; Brooklyn Dodgers 1932-1937; St. Louis Cardinals 1938; Boston Bees 1938

Died: June 10, 1989, Orlando, FL (86)

Known for his glove and his consistent hitting, Joe Stripp played 11 years in the majors, primarily as a third baseman for the Dodgers in the early to mid-1930s. Acquired by the Reds in 1928 for a then high price of $50,000 and five players from the Double-A Columbus Senators, Stripp's best season with Cincinnati was 1931 when he batted a career-high .324. He was then part of a six-player trade involving future Hall of Famers (see below) sending him to Brooklyn for the 1932 season. With the Dodgers, and as their regular third baseman, he collected career highs in hits (162) and RBIs (64) while batting .303. Stripp would bat over .300 in six of his 11 seasons, primarily as a singles and doubles hitter. He was an adobe-average fielder, leading the league in fielding percentage for third baseman twice (1936 and 1938) with his .961 career mark currently 66th all-time. Stripp retired in 1939 with a .294 career average, 1,238 hits and 464 RBIs.

Building the Set

September 15, 2022 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #63

This Stripp card was part of a larger stress-induced purchase from Kit Young Cards in mid-September. The stress was all work related, and while some people choose to relieve stress through less productive means, I opted to purchase several vintage baseball cards. The centerpiece of the haul was the 1965 Topps Carl Yastrzemski card, which dropped the number of cards needed for that complete set down to five. Joining Yaz were Stripp, the Diamond Stars card of Lloyd Waner (#16), and a League Leaders card from the 1969 Topps set, which will be my focus after the last five cards needed from 1965 are tracked down.

September 2022 was a blur. I travelled for work the better part of two weeks, school started, the boys' fall sports schedules (cross country and baseball) were non-stop and there was little to no time to rest or to enjoy baseball card purchases.

Taking a mental health day in early October, I'm happy to have the time to catch my breath and truly appreciate the new baseball cards that helped get me through the last month.

Variations Available

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

The Card / Dodgers Team Set

For the third series of its Diamond Stars set, National Chicle featured less baseball tips and more pure biographical information. A lot of the space on the back of the card goes to summarizing Stripp's career transactions, including the trade from March 14, 1932 (four years earlier) that sent him from the Reds to the Dodgers. Stripp, Tony Cuccinello (#55) and Clyde Sukeforth went to Brooklyn in exchange for Wally Gilbert, Babe Herman (#135) and Ernie Lombardi (#36).

1936 Season

Again back at third base for the Dodgers, Stripp played in 110 games, batting .317 with a single home run and 60 RBIs. Managed by Casey Stengel (#150), the Dodgers would finish in seventh place in the National League with pitcher Van Mungo (#19) the club's de facto most valuable player with 18 wins.

1933 George C. Miller (R300)

1934 Goudey #46

1935 Goudey 4-in-1 (R321)

1993 Conlon Collection TSN #809

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card: 1933 George C. Miller (R300)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1993 Conlon Collection TSN #809

19 - Stripp non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/3/22.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card: #88 Geo. Selkirk - New York Yankees

Next Card: #90 Ray Hayworth - Detroit Tigers

Sunday, October 16, 2022

#16 Lloyd Waner - Pittsburgh Pirates

Lloyd James Waner
Pittsburgh Pirates
Oufield

Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 5'9" Weight: 150
Born: March 16, 1906, Harrah, OK
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1927-1941; Boston Braves 1941; Cincinnati Reds 1941; Philadelphia Phillies 1942; Brooklyn Dodgers 1944; Pittsburgh Pirates 1944-1945

World Series Appearances: Pittsburgh Pirates 1927

Died: July 22, 1982, Oklahoma City, OK (76)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1967

Lloyd "Little Poison" Waner, along with his brother Paul "Big Poison" Waner (#83), served as cornerstones of the Pirates outfield throughout the 1930s, eventually setting the major league record for hits by a pair of brothers with 5,611. Lloyd, the younger Waner brother, settled in as the everyday center fielder for the Pirates in 1927, leading the league with 133 runs scored, collecting a career-high 223 hits and finishing sixth in the league's MVP voting. Waner's 223 hits in his first year still stands as the all-time single season record for National League rookies. He'd see his only postseason action that year, batting .400 (6 in 15) in the World Series ultimately won by the powerhouse Yankees in a four-game sweep. Waner continued his steady output throughout the late 1920s and 1930s, leading the league in triples with 20 in 1929, and hits with 214 in 1931. With little power, Little Poison led the league in singles four times, and had a batting average over .300 in 11 seasons. He made his only All-Star team in 1938.

Waner spent the latter part of his career bouncing around a bit, but finishing back with the Pirates in 1944 and 1945. He was a lifetime .316 batter with 2,459 hits and 1,201 runs scored. The Veteran's Committee voted Waner into the Hall of Fame in 1967, and he was part of the inaugural Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame Class in 2022.

Building the Set

September 15, 2022 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #62

This Waner card was part of a larger stress-induced purchase from Kit Young Cards in mid-September. The stress was all work related, and while some people choose to relieve stress through less productive means, I opted to purchase several vintage baseball cards. The centerpiece of the haul was the 1965 Topps Carl Yastrzemski card, which dropped the number of cards needed for that complete set down to five. Joining Yaz were Waner, the Diamond Stars card of Joe Stripp (#89), and a League Leaders card from the 1969 Topps set, which will be my focus after the last five cards needed from 1965 are tracked down.

Taking a mental health day in early October, I'm happy to have the time to catch my breath and truly appreciate the new baseball cards that helped get me through the last month.

Variations Available

1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright ✅

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

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1934 copyright

The Card / Pirates Team Set

In my opinion, this is one of the most iconic cards of the set, and the bright art deco colors are on full display behind the posed shot of Waner reaching for the ball. The tip on the back of the card implores outfielders to catch fly balls high above your head, in order to give yourself a second chance in case you bobble and drop the ball. I can't say I've ever heard this as the reason for catching a fly ball above your head before.

1934 Season

Now a veteran on the Pirates, Waner was again the team's regular center fielder, appearing in 140 games and batting .283 with 173 hits. Older brother Paul made 145 starts in left with Lloyd to his left in center field for 139 starts. The Pirates finished in fifth place with a 74-76-1 record with third baseman Pie Traynor (#99) taking over as the club's manager a few months into the season.

Phillies Career

Waner was released by the Reds on October 8, 1941, signing as a free agent with the Phillies less than two months later on December 4th. If that date seems vaguely familiar it's because Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese forces three days later on December 7th, sending the U.S. into World War II. Because of current events, I imagine the signing of the aging Waner went largely unnoticed by Phillies fans.

The 1942 Phillies would lose 109 games. Waner was the team's opening day center fielder, and he'd make 70 starts overall at the position. In 101 games, he'd bat .261 with just 10 RBIs, the lowest total of any of the team's regular players. His time in Philadelphia lasted just the one season as he was dealt to the Dodgers on March 9, 1943 with infielder Al Glossop for first baseman Babe Dahlgren.

1933 Goudey #164

1934-36 Batter-Up
(R318) #17

1939 Play Ball #89

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #84

1983 Donruss
Hall of Fame Heroes #22

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card: 1933 Goudey #164

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2018 Panini Diamond Kings #13

267 - Waner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/3/22.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card: #15 Dick Bartell - Philadelphia Phillies

Next Card: #17 Frankie Frisch MG - St. Louis Cardinals

Sunday, October 9, 2022

#56 "Gus" Suhr - Pittsburgh Pirates

August Richard Suhr
Pittsburgh Pirates
First Base

Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6'0" Weight: 180
Born: January 3, 1906, San Francisco, CA
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1930-1939; Philadelphia Phillies 1939-1940

Died: January 15, 2004, Scottsdale, AZ (98)

A steady slugger who rarely missed a game, Gus Suhr played 11 seasons in the majors, primarily with the Pirates. Suhr starred for five seasons with the Pacific Coast League's San Francisco Seals between 1925 and 1929, and compiled one of the best all-time single seasons in 1929. He batted .381 that year with 51 home runs and 177 RBIs, causing the Pirates to acquire him and immediately name him their everyday first basman. Suhr would hit at least 10 home runs in five different seasons, and drove in at least 100 runs in three seasons. He compiled a National League record 822 consecutive games played streak beginning in 1931, that stood until broken by Stan Musial in 1957. His career year came in 1936 for the fourth place Pirates when he was named to the National League All-Star team, and finished the season batting .312 with 11 home runs and 118 RBIs. Suhr concluded his major league career playing parts of two seasons with the Phillies, and he'd return to the Seals for three seasons between 1943 and 1945 for a few more successful years.

Suhr collected 1,446 major league hits while batting .279 with 84 home runs and 818 RBIs. He ranks in the top 100 among all first baseman with 1,406 games played (78th) and 13,103 career putouts (70th).

Building the Set

September 9, 2022 from La Verne, CA - Card #61

In early September, I found myself taking the first of two required work trips and I purchased Wifi access on a flight to Orlando in order to catch up on work e-mails. Dutifully catching up, and not having enough time to watch a full movie, I turned to eBay for the duration of the flight and found this Suhr card for sale at the very reasonable But It Now price of $32.50 from seller earhart47. Not wanting the card to travel by itself from La Verne, California, I found four more cards for future set builds at reasonable prices and from high above somewhere over Georgia I clicked Add to Cart on those four cards too. The Suhr card and its traveling companions were waiting for me when I got home late on the night of September 9th. Sadly, during the second work trip, this time to Dallas, no new baseball cards were purchased while in flight.

Variations Available

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

The Card / Pirates Team Set

Given the angle of this photo, Suhr has caught the ball at first, forcing out the runner who continues to run down the first base line unaware of his fate. The back of the card discusses the abilities needed from a first baseman to start double plays. Suhr is a great subject for this tip, as he led the league twice in double plays turned by a first baseman, with 142 in 1930 and 150 in 1938. His 1,086 double plays at the position are currently ranked 80th all-time.

1935 Season

Suhr was named the Pirates' team captain before the start of the season, and he appeared in all 153 games, starting all but 11 games at first base. He batted .272 with 10 home runs and 81 RBIs, third on the team behind the RBI tallies of Arky Vaughan (#151) and Pep Young with 99 and 82, respectively.

Phillies Career

The Pirates traded Suhr to the Phillies on July 28, 1939 for pitcher Max Butcher. He had held out on a contract extension from the Pirates for the third time in five years that spring and lost his starting job to prospect Elbie Fletcher in June. With the Phillies, Suhr took over regular first base duties from Jack Bolling and Gibby Brack, making 59 starts over the remaining months of the season. He'd return in 1940, starting the first seven games of the Phillies season at first base, before being replaced for good by Art Mahan. Batting just .160 in his final big league season, Suhr was released by the Phillies on May 14, 1940. In 70 games with the club spanning two seasons, Suhr batted .300 with five home runs and 29 RBIs.