1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #119 Jim Bottomley / Rogers Hornsby

James Leroy Bottomley

St. Louis Browns

First Base-Manager

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

Rogers Hornsby

St. Louis Browns

Manager-First Base

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'11" Weight: 175

Born: April 27, 1896, Winters, TX

Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1915-1926; New York Giants 1927; Boston Braves 1928; Chicago Cubs 1929-1932; St. Louis Cardinals 1933; St. Louis Browns 1933-1937

World Series Appearances: St. Louis Cardinals 1926; Chicago Cubs 1929

As a Manager: St. Louis Cardinals 1925-1926; New York Giants 1927; Boston Braves 1928; Chicago Cubs 1930-1932; St. Louis Browns 1933-1937, 1952; Cincinnati Reds 1952-1953

Died: January 5, 1963, Chicago, IL (66)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1942

Nicknamed "Sunny Jim" as a result of his cheerful personality, slugger Jim Bottomley (#59) 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.

1961 Topps #404

Regarded as one of the best hitters in the history of the game, Rogers Hornsby (#44), "The Rajah," played in parts of 23 seasons, winning two MVP titles, two Triple Crowns and hitting over .400 in three different seasons. Hornsby rose to stardom with the Cardinals in the 1920s, winning his first of six consecutive batting titles in 1920 with a .370 mark. He won his first Triple Crown in 1922, batting .401 with 42 home runs and 152 RBIs, and he's the only player ever to amass 40 home runs while batting .400 in a season. Hornsby batted .424 in 1924, still the single-season highest mark. The accomplishments continued to mount as he won the league MVP honors in 1925, and he'd guide the Cardinals to a World Series title in 1926 as their player-manager. He'd win his second MVP award in 1929 with the Cubs.

His days as an everyday player ceased in 1933, but he continued to play occasionally through the 1937 season while managing. His final managing stop came in the early 1950s with the Reds. Hornsby's career average of .358 is third all-time behind Ty Cobb (.366) and Oscar Charleston (.364). He ranks towards the top of just about every all-time list, including on-base percentage (10th at .434), hits (40th with 2,930), and triples (25th with 169). He collected 301 home runs and 1,584 RBIs. Hornsby's record as a manager was 701-812 over 15 seasons, and by all accounts he was a difficult man to play for. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1942 and in 1999 was ranked ninth on The Sporting News' list of Baseball's Greatest Players.

Building the Set

December 11, 2020 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards)

On the night I impulsively decided to collect the original Diamond Stars set, and I subsequently purchased the Harvey Hendrick (#41) card from Kit Young Cards, I also added the complete, and first, extended set to my cart for the very reasonable price of $7.50. The 12 cards in this first extended set were originally issued in 1981.

In the early 1980s, a family member of a former National Chicle employee discovered an uncut sheet of 12 unused cards presumably meant as a 1937 continuation of the Diamond Stars set. As originally advertised, and as mentioned on the back of every card issued, the company had intended for the set to contain 240 subjects. They only produced 108 cards before production was halted, and the theory is this newly found sheet represented a "lost" continuation of the set. Fortunately, the images of the cards made their way into the collecting world and a 12-card "what if" set was created. (More on the uncut sheet can be found here from SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee and from this Ryan Cracknell article for Beckett.)

Another great article was recently published to SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee website taking a closer look at these extended cards.

The Beckett online database lists the set as "1981 Diamond Stars Continuation Den's" and the set's description notes "This set was created and produced by Denny Eckes. Hobbyist Mike Galella was involved in bringing this sheet to the the public. These cards were originally available from the producer for $3." The back of the cards have a 1981 copyright attributed to Den's Collectors Den, the company belonging to the aforementioned Eckes.

The 12 cards include more ambitious geometric designs than the original Diamond Stars cards, although the overall color template remains the same as their 1934 to 1936 counterparts.

Variations Available

1 - 1981 / blue back / 1936 statistics / 1981 copyright

The Card / Browns Team Set

One of the most unique cards from the "lost" extended series, this would have been the only combo card in the Diamond Stars set, featuring two future Hall of Famers and a pair of all-time St. Louis greats. Both Bottomley and Hornsby had appeared on solo cards in the original Diamond Stars set within the second series first released in 1935. The source photo is shown above, and a stamp on the back of the original photo includes a stamped date of April 2, 1936. Bottomley had been acquired from the Reds for Johnny Burnett on March 21, 1936, so it's likely the photo was taken at some in late March. The back of the card mentions the star power now belonging to the Browns, and includes a few numbers pertaining to their 1936 seasons. The 57-95 record attributed to Hornsby is for the 1936 season, and not the 1934 season as reflected on the card.

1937 Season - Bottomley
Ironically enough, it was Bottomley who replaced Hornsby as the Browns' manager when Hornsby was fired in July 1937 after his team got off to a 25-52-1 start. Bottomley would actually fare a little worse, guiding the team to a 21-56-1 record for the rest of the season. He'd be dismissed following the season too, and replaced by Gabby Street.

As a player, Bottomley appeared in 65 games, batting .239 with a home run and 12 RBIs. He made 20 starts at first base, and his remaining appearances were as a pinch-hitter. Bottomley's final game came on September 16th against the Athletics at Shibe Park, and he went 1 for 4 with a double in his penultimate at bat off Harry Kelley.

1937 Season - Hornsby
Hornsby began the season at the helm of the Browns and was fired following a double header loss on July 20th. He could still hit, batting .321 (18 for 56) in 20 games early in the season, with three doubles and a home run. His final plate appearance came in game one of the July 20th double header, inserting himself as a pinch-hitter for Tom Carey. Hornsby popped up to Yankees' catcher Bill Dickey (#11) and his playing career was over.