1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #59 Jim Bottomley

Sunday, November 6, 2022

#59 Jim Bottomley - Cincinnati Reds

James Leroy Bottomley

Cincinnati Reds

First Base

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

Born: April 23, 1900, Oglesby, IL

Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1922-1932; Cincinnati Reds 1933-1935; St. Louis Browns 1936-1937

World Series Appearances: St. Louis Cardinals 1926, 1928, 1930-1931

As a Manager: St. Louis Browns 1937

Died: December 11, 1959, St. Louis, MO (59)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1974

Nicknamed "Sunny Jim" as a result of his cheerful personality, slugger Jim Bottomley starred for the Gashouse Gang Cardinals throughout the 1920s, helping his team reach four World Series, winning titles in 1926 and 1931. Bottomley's first big season came in 1924 when he crossed the 100-RBI plateau for the first of six consecutive seasons. On September 16, 1924 against the Brooklyn Robins, Bottomley set an all-time single-game record with 12 RBIs, going 6 for 6 with a double and two home runs. As the regular first baseman for the Cardinals, he enjoyed a career-year in 1925, leading the league in hits (227) and doubles (44) while batting .367 with 128 RBIs.

He batted .345 in the 1926 World Series, as the Cardinals defeated the Yankees in seven games, giving St. Louis its first franchise series title. Bottomley consistently hit for average and provided power for the Cardinals, culminating in 1928 when he won National League MVP honors after his league-leading 20 triples, 31 home runs and 136 RBIs. He nearly won a batting title in 1931, finishing with a .3482 average with Bill Terry (#14) hitting .3486 and winner Chick Hafey (#18) hitting .3489.

Dealt to the Reds following the 1932 season, Bottomley would continue to be productive at the plate although his overall numbers started to decline. He wrapped up his career with the Browns, spending part of his final season in the majors as the team's player-manager. Bottomley batted .310 for his career with 2,313 hits, 465 doubles, 219 home runs and 1,422 RBIs, with he and Lou Gehrig (#130) becoming the first two major leaguers to collect 150 or more doubles, triples and home runs. He was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame in 1974 by the Veterans Committee, and was among 22 inaugural players and personnel inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.

Building the Set

October 6, 2022 from Ambler, PA - Card #64

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 this Bottomley card from eBay seller ercr3727 from Ambler, Pennsylvania. The card is a bit beat up, but after I had added the card to my watch list the seller sent me a very reasonable discount for the card, and I ended up pulling the trigger. This card arrived quickly on October 6th with the two other Diamond Stars cards I purchased - Roy Mahaffey (#10) and Lew Fonseca (#7) - arriving on October 11th. I took the picture shown below in the second inning of NLDS Game 1, before Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez had fallen apart, and way before the Phillies eventually closed out a 7-6 win.

Variations Available

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

The Card / Reds Team Set

It's appropriate to see Sunny Jim smiling here, and there are three uncredited Reds teammates getting ready for the game in the dugout behind him. A Getty Images search shows the photo is from way back in 1923 and was taken by famed baseball photographer Charles Conlon. The back explains batting line-up makeup, crediting Bottomley with being a good three or four hole hitter given his power numbers, and further explaining that first baseman are expected to "drive the runs around." Also name checked in this tutorial are Jimmie Foxx (#64), Gehrig, Terry and Jimmy "Rip" Collins (#116).

Photos of Bottomley show that he was prone to wearing his baseball cap either tilted to the side or turned completely sideways, as modeled on his 1933 Goudey card.

1935 Season

In his final season with the Reds, Bottomley appeared in 107 games, making 96 starts at first base. He batted .258 with one home runs and 49 RBIs for the Chuck Dressen-led team that finished with a 68-85-1 record. On March 21, 1936, the Reds dealt Bottomley to the Browns for Johnny Burnett, as Bottomley reunited with Browns' manager Rogers Hornsby (#44). The two future Hall of Famers had been long-time teammates with the Gashouse Gang, and the extended Diamond Stars set issued in 1981 shows National Chicle intended to include a combo card (#119) for the two Cardinals' legends.