1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #56 "Gus" Suhr

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.