1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #10 Roy Mahaffey - St. Louis Browns (Variation)

Sunday, November 13, 2022

#10 Roy Mahaffey - St. Louis Browns (Variation)

Lee Roy Mahaffey

St. Louis Browns

Pitcher

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'0" Weight: 180

Born: February 9, 1904, Belton, SC

Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1926-1927; Philadelphia Athletics 1930-1935; St. Louis Browns 1936

World Series Appearances: Philadelphia Athletics 1931

Died: July 23, 1969, Anderson, SC (65)

After a few brief appearances with the Pirates and successful seasons with the Columbia Comers in 1928 in the South Atlantic League and with the Portland Beavers in 1929 in the Pacific Coast League, Roy Mahaffey was acquired by Connie Mack in January 1930 to bolster his Athletics pitching staff. Mahaffey was a 15-game winner in 1931 and a 13-game winner in both 1932 and 1933. He pitched just an inning in the 1931 World Series in which the Athletics lost to the Cardinals in seven games. Relying on a fast ball and a slow curve, Mahaffey went 64-43 during his years in Philadelphia with a 4.82 ERA. He was sold to the Browns following the 1935 season and he'd struggle through 21 games in St. Louis before retiring from the majors. He continued pitching through 1941 with various textile league teams throughout South Carolina.

Building the Set

October 11, 2022 from Chadds Ford, PA - Card #65

It was quite the unexpected October for Phillies fans, as the team surprisingly advanced to the postseason on October 3rd with a 3-0 win over the Astros in Houston. The Phillies hadn't been to the postseason since a shocking defeat to the Cardinals in the 2011 NLDS. It was on this day I added three more cards to my Diamond Stars set, starting with the Jim Bottomley (#59) card and then adding this Mahaffey variation card and the Lew Fonseca (#7) card from eBay store MnM Vintage Toys & Sportscards, located in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The Mahaffey and Fonseca cards arrived on October 11th, right after the start of NLDS Game 1 between the Phillies and Braves. I took the picture shown below in the second inning of that game, before Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez had fallen apart, and way before the Phillies eventually closed out a 7-6 win.

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 / "now St. Louis Browns" on back ✅

I added the 1935 variation of this card to my set back in December 2020. This Browns variation is one of 10 variations I'll be tracking down for my version of a master set, as that card removes the "A" from the front of Mahaffey's jersey.

It's impressive to me that National Chicle actually bothered to update the bio on the bottom of the cards issued in multiple years. The 1934 version of Mahaffey's card notes he's 31 years old and that he "Won 13, lost 10 games in 1933." In 1935, that's updated to note Mahaffey is now 32 years old and he "Won 6, lost 7 games in 1934." This final variation, issued in 1936, notes Mahaffey is 33 years old and he "Won 8, lost 4 games with Phila. in 1935."

The Card / Browns Team Set

As noted above, this is the 1936 version of Mahaffey's Diamond Stars card and the back has been updated to reflect his 1935 won-loss record. The pitching tip on the back concerns the necessity of the pitcher to be able to field his position, especially after "hard line drives through the box." The photo used for the front of the card lends itself to this lesson as Mahaffey is shown set evenly on his feet, ready for whatever is coming his way.

National Chicle removed the "A" from the front of Mahaffey's jersey, but they didn't update the color of the jersey's pinstripes from the blue of the A's to the orange of the Browns.

1936 Season

Mahaffey was sold by Athletics' owner-manager Connie Mack (#142) to the Browns on January 29, 1936. He didn't fare well in his final season in the majors, making 21 appearances, including nine starts, and going 2-6 with a 8.10 ERA in 60 innings pitched. The sole bright spot of his season came on April 25th when he threw a complete game against the Indians, earning the first of only two wins of his season. Mahaffey would last appear in the majors on July 28th, throwing a scoreless inning of relief against the Red Sox.

He'd pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association in the latter half of the 1936 season, helping the club reach the Little World Series where they defeated Buffalo in five games. He'd also later pitch for Appleton Mill in a textile league, with that team going 11-1 in the fall and winning the Anderson County League title.