1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #89 Joe Stripp

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.