Sunday, February 26, 2023

#75 Irving Burns - St. Louis Browns


John Irving Burns
St. Louis Browns
First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  175
Born:  August 31, 1907, Cambridge, MA
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Browns 1930-1936; Detroit Tigers 1936
Died:  April 18, 1975, Brighton, MA (67)

Jack Burns was given the nicknames "Slug" or "Slugger" at an early age, and from what I can tell didn't officially go by his middle name, Irving, as shown on this Diamond Stars card.  Burns rose to stardom in New England where he played for a number of semi-pro teams, tallying high home run totals, before the Browns signed him in 1929.  He'd take over regular first base duties for the Browns in 1931, playing in almost all of the Browns' games between 1931 and 1935.  Burns was consistent, driving in at least 70 runs each year between 1931 and 1934.  He peaked in 1932 when he batted .305 with 111 runs scored, 11 home runs and 70 RBIs, and was one of the Browns' top hitters along with catcher Rick Ferrell (#48).  Burns saw his last major league action in 1936 with the Tigers, and then spent the next four seasons playing in the minor leagues.  In 890 big league games, he batted .280 with 44 home runs and 417 RBIs.

Burns would stay in baseball, coaching and managing in the minor leagues through the 1946 season.  He'd work in the Red Sox organization as a scout and minor league manager between 1947 and 1954, then serve as the third base coach for the Red Sox between 1955 and 1959.  Burns scouted for the Red Sox between 1960 and his death in 1975, and he's credited with recommending the Red Sox sign Carlton Fisk, who was a first-round selection in the January 1967 amateur player draft.

Building the Set
February 13, 2023 from Pembroke, MA - Card #73
In early February, I came across a few auctions from eBay seller vg-grego with reasonably set Buy It Now prices, and also with Make Offer options.  There were two cards I needed, this Bruns card and the Zeke Bonura (#65) card, so I submitted reasonable offers for both cards simultaneously and both offers were quickly accepted.  That in itself was the boring part of the story.  The fun part of the story is how the cards arrived.  On February 13th, while working from home, I checked our mailbox mid-afternoon and was surprised to see two identical bubble-wrapped cylinders stuffed in our mailbox from Pembroke, Massachusetts.  The packages were light and addressed to me, and I had absolutely no idea what could be inside.  Coffee mugs?  Something fragile I had ordered and forgotten about?  I usually wait until after my work day to open and admire mailday treasures, but I had to see what was in these packages.

I carefully cut open the top of the first bubble wrapped package, which had been tightly wound with packing tape.  Inside was a tube of bubble wrap, with "Zeke" written in Sharpie on it, and once I unwound the tube, I found the Bonura card in a sandwich bag in a thick screw-down plastic holder.  Burns was behind the wall of bubble wrap with "Irving" written on it.  This was the most impressively packaged, and protected, eBay mailings I had ever received.  If you ever purchase anything from eBay seller vg-grego, rest assured your parcel will arrive safe and secure.

Variations Available
1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright 
2 - 1935 / blue back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright
3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright ✅

Cards 73 through 84 were issued in 1935 with either green or blue ink on the back and statistics from 1934.  These same 12 cards were issued again in 1936 with blue ink on the back and statistics from 1935.  The Burns card for my set is the third of the three variations available, issued in 1936.

The Card / Browns Team Set
There's a fantastic art deco style scene of an imaginary St. Louis skyline behind Burns on this card, complete with a clock tower, smoke from a distant factory's smokestacks, and construction on a building in progress behind Burns' bat.  The tip on the back covers how to stretch for the ball, catching it one-handed, on close plays at first base.  The last line is great, describing how umpires listen "for the the spat of the ball on the baseman's mitt," in order to judge if the runner is safe or out.

1936 Season
Burns had slumped somewhat in 1935, and it appears he lost the Browns' starting first baseman's job to Jim Bottomley (#59) to start the 1936 season.  After just nine games with the Browns in April, he was traded to the Tigers on April 30th for left-handed pitcher Elon Hogsett.  Burns took over the first base job from Hank Greenberg (#54), who had suffered a wrist injury early in the season.  In 138 games with the Tigers, Burns batted .283 with four home runs and 63 RBIs.  The 29-year-old played in his final big league game on September 27th, going 0 for 2 against the Indians.  He remained in the Tigers' system, but with Greenberg returning to full health in 1937, Burns' services were no longer needed at the big league level.

1933 Goudey #198
1933 Tattoo Orbit (R305)
1934-36 Batte-Up (R318) #18
1991 Conlon Collection TSN #131

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #198
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1991 Conlon Collection TSN #131

29 - Burns non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/19/23.

Sources:

Previous Card:  #74 Tony Lazzeri - New York Yankees
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Sunday, February 19, 2023

#65 "Zeke" Bonura - Chicago White Sox


Henry John Bonura
Chicago White Sox
First Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  210
Born:  September 20, 1908, New Orleans, LA
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1934-1937; Washington Senators 1938; New York Giants 1939; Washington Senators 1940; Chicago Cubs 1940
Died:  March 9, 1987, New Orleans, LA (78)

Zeke Bonura was an above-average first baseman for seven seasons in the majors, but it was his off field exploits that gained him the most fame in the baseball world.  Way before the beginning of his baseball career, in 1925, Bonura became the youngest male athlete to win an event at the National Track and Field Championships when he set a record with a 68.18 meter javelin throw.  He was just 16 at the time.  Bonura possessed the ability to both hit for average and power, batting above .300 in four of his seven seasons, and driving in at least 100 runs four times as well.  His rookie season in 1934 was one of his best, as he hit .302 with a career-high 27 home runs and 110 RBIs.  He earned MVP votes in both 1935 and 1936, driving in a career-high 138 runs in 1936.  In 1937, his final season with the White Sox, Bonura batted .345, finishing fourth in the league behind Charlie Gehringer (#77), Lou Gehrig (#130) and Joe DiMaggio (#126).

In 1941, Bonura prematurely ended his baseball career and joined the army.  He was stationed in Oran, Algeria on the coast of Northern Africa in 1943, assuming the role of the U.S. Army's athletic director in Algeria.  Bonura organized a huge baseball league, consisting of 150 teams in six leagues and culminating in playoffs and eventually the 1943 North African World Series.  The winning team, the Casablanca Yankees, were presented with baseballs autographed by General Eisenhower.  In 1944, he worked to organize military baseball teams in the south of France.  Bonura was discharged in 1945 and he'd be awarded the Legion of Merit medal for his service.  Upon his return to the states, he'd play and manage in the minor leagues through the early 1950s.

Bonura hit .307 in 917 big league games, with 119 home runs and 704 RBIs.

Building the Set
February 13, 2023 from Pembroke, MA - Card #72
In early February, I came across a few auctions from eBay seller vg-grego with reasonably set Buy It Now prices, and also with Make Offer options.  There were two cards I needed, this Bonura card and the Irving Burns (#75) card, so I submitted reasonable offers for both cards simultaneously and both offers were quickly accepted.  That in itself was the boring part of the story.  The fun part of the story is how the cards arrived.  On February 13th, while working from home, I checked our mailbox mid-afternoon and was surprised to see two identical bubble-wrapped cylinders stuffed in our mailbox from Pembroke, Massachusetts.  The packages were light and addressed to me, and I had absolutely no idea what could be inside.  Coffee mugs?  Something fragile I had ordered and forgotten about?  I usually wait until after my work day to open and admire mailday treasures, but I had to see what was in these packages.

I carefully cut open the top of the first bubble wrapped package, which had been tightly wound with packing tape.  Inside was a tube of bubble wrap, with "Zeke" written in Sharpie on it, and once I unwound the tube, I found this Bonura card in a sandwich bag in a thick screw-down plastic holder.  It was the most impressively packaged, and protected, eBay mailings I had ever received.  If you ever purchase anything from eBay seller vg-grego, rest assured your parcel will arrive safe and secure.

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

The Card / White Sox Team Set
This is another classic baseball card that I remember seeing at baseball card shows and in baseball card books throughout the years, never knowing anything about Bonura.  His 1938 Goudey Heads-Up card is also a card that is very familiar to me too for some reason, and I think maybe I owned a reprinted version of this card?  There's an uncredited White Sox player making a cameo behind Bonura here, picking out his lumber.  

The write-up on the back offers biographical information in lieu of a tip.  His collegiate career is mentioned, but Bonura didn't play baseball at Loyola New Orleans as the school didn't have a baseball team.  Instead, he was a star in basketball, football, and track and field.  Three Italian-American baseball stars are name-checked - Tony Cuccinello (#55), Tony Lazzeri (#74) and Ernie Lombardi (#36) - all of whom had cards in the Diamond Stars set.  I'm going to tag this as a First Mainstream Card, as Bonura's 1934-36 Batter-Up card would have been released right around the same time as this card.

1935 Season
The White Sox would finish in fifth place in 1935 with a 74-78-1 record under manager Jimmy Dykes (#42).  Bonura was again the club's regular first baseman, and his 21 home runs and 92 RBIs were best on the team.  He batted .295 overall in 138 games.  Per his SABR biography, it was around this time Bonura was voted the  most popular Chicago baseball player by Chicago fans, topping all his White Sox teammates and all Cubs players.

1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #141
1936 Goudey (R322)
1938 Goudey Heads-Up #252
1939 Play Ball #144
1940 Play Ball #131

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934-36 Batter-Up ($318) #65
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1993 Conlon Collection TSN #738

53 - Bonura non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/19/23.

Sources:

Previous Card:  #64 Jimmie Foxx - Philadelphia Athletics
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Sunday, February 12, 2023

#14 Bill Terry MG - New York Giants


William Harold Terry
New York Giants
First Base-Manager

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  200
Born:  October 30, 1898, Atlanta, GA
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1923-1936
World Series Appearances:  New York Giants 1924, 1933, 1936-1937
As a Manager:  New York Giants 1932-1941
Died:  January 9, 1989, Jacksonville, FL (90)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1954

For nearly two decades, Bill Terry starred for and then managed the New York Giants, winning four National League pennants and one World Series title in 1933.  A left-handed first baseman, Terry was one of the best hitters of his era, batting .320 or better in nine straight seasons between 1927 and 1935.  In 1930, considered his best season, Terry led the league in hits (254) and batting average (.401), while hitting 23 home runs and collecting a career-best 129 RBIs.  He's the last National League batter to eclipse the .400 mark in a season.  Terry drove in at least 100 runs each season between 1927 and 1932, with 1932 being his first year as the Giants' player-manager.  He was the National League's starting first baseman in the first All-Star Game in 1933, and his .992 career fielding position is evidence he played strong defense as well.  He led the Giants, bolstered by fellow future Hall of Famers Mel Ott (#50) and Carl Hubbell (#39), to their fourth World Series title in 1933, defeating the Senators in five games.  Terry retired with a .341 average, which is highest all-time for a National League left-handed batter.  He had 2,193 hits, 1,120 runs scored, 154 home runs and 1,078 RBIs.

Terry succeeded the legendary John McGraw as manager of the club, who had managed the Giants for 31 seasons between 1902 and 1932.  In his 10 years at the helm, Terry's managerial record was 823-661.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1954, and The Sporting News ranked him 59th on their list of 100 Greatest Baseball Players in 1999.  His #3 was retired by the Giants in 1984.

Building the Set
February 11, 2023 from Los Angeles, CA (Greg Morris Cards) - Card #71
There are a few cards I've added to this set that won't have a backstory attached to its acquisition, and this is one of those cards.  Browsing eBay one afternoon in early February, I noticed Greg Morris Cards was doing yet another Diamond Stars set break.  I bid on several cards I needed and this Terry card was the only card I successfully won.  Simple as that.  It arrived on the Saturday afternoon before the Eagles' Super Bowl appearance, and on a day I spent mostly working at my chosen profession.

Variations Available
1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright
2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright ✅

The Card / Giants Team Set
Based on the scoreboard in the background, Terry is making a play at home at the Polo Grounds and the score is tied (or had been tied) 1-1 following two innings.  This must have been a popular pose for Terry to make as a search through Getty images shows him in similar poses throughout his career.  The back of the card explains how Terry ranges to his right whenever there's a ball hit into the hole, depending on his pitcher to cover first base.  And while this card was issued in 1935, given Terry's .354 batting average from 1934 is on the bottom, the write-up still refers to the Giants as the "world's Champions."  As mentioned above, the Giants had won the World Series in 1933, but the Cardinals won in 1934.

1935 Season
Terry was a still an incredible threat at the plate in 1935, his penultimate season as a player.  He batted .341, finishing sixth in the league, with 203 hits, six home runs and 64 RBIs.  He was in his fourth year of managing the club and was still the regular first baseman, starting all but the final 13 games of the season.  The Giants led the league by as much as nine games on July 4th, but the surging Cubs rode a 21-game win streak to overtake the Giants and ultimately take the National League pennant.  Terry's team finished in third place with a 91-62-3 record.  It was his last season as a regular player, as he'd make just 52 starts at first base in 1936.

1925 Exhibits (W461)
1933 DeLong Gum #4
1933 Goudey #125
1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #142
2020 Panini Diamond Kings #35

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1925 Exhibits (W461)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Panini Diamond Kings #35

283 - Terry non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/11/23.

Sources:

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Sunday, February 5, 2023

Negro League Stars #1 James "Cool Papa" Bell - Pittsburgh Crawfords


James Thomas Bell
Pittsburgh Crawfords
Outfield

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  155
Born:  May 17, 1903, Starkville, MS
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Stars 1922-1929; Chicago American Giants 1930; St. Louis Stars 1930-1931; Detroit Wolves 1932; Pittsburgh Crawfords 1933-1937; Chicago American Giants 1942; Homestead Grays 1943-1946
World Series Appearances:  Homestead Grays 1943-1945
Died:  March 7, 1991, St. Louis, MO (87)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1974

Considered to be one of the fastest men to ever play the game of baseball, Cool Papa Bell was a star of the Negro Leagues for over two decades.  Originally a pitcher, Bell earned his nickname after striking out league superstar Oscar Charleston during his first season with the St. Louis Stars in 1922.  After moving full-time to the outfield, Bell learned to switch hit.  A constant threat on the base paths, a walk or single usually meant the speedy Bell would ultimately arrive on third base following a pair of stolen bases.  Frequently leading the league in stolen bases and runs scored, Bell led the Stars to league championship titles in 1928, 1930 and 1931.  He'd move to the Crawfords in 1933, forming what was considered to be the best outfield in the Negro Leagues along with Ted Page and Jimmie Crutchfield.  Bell and five of his Crawfords teammates from the 1936 season were ultimately inducted into the Hall of Fame.  He'd play in Mexico in 1940 for the Algodoneros de Union Laguna, becoming the first player to win the Mexican League Triple Crown when he batted .437 with 12 home runs and 79 RBIs.

Later in his career with the Homestead Grays, and playing along side Josh Gibson (Negro League Stars #2), Bell would win two World Championships in 1944 and 1945.  Though likely incomplete, Bell's records show him appearing in 1,199 Negro League games, batting .325 with 262 doubles, 72 triples and 285 stolen bases.  He was an eight-time All-Star for the league, and he seemingly never stopped playing baseball year-round between 1922 and 1950.  His Hall of Fame plaque mentions he "Played 29 summers and 21 winters" of professional baseball.  Bell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1974, and was ranked 66th in 1999 by The Sporting News in their list of Baseball's Greatest Players.  By all accounts, not only was Bell one of the fastest to ever play the game, he was also one of the nicest and most respected.

Building the Set
December 16, 2020 from Albion, NY
Within days of officially deciding to collect the Diamond Stars set, I found myself searching for the 1993 extension set consisting of 36 more "what if" cards this time issued by the Chicle Fantasy Company.  Individual cards from this set are very prevalent on eBay, but I wanted to buy a complete set to save myself some time and money.  Given this is a relatively modern set, I was somewhat surprised at the closing auction prices for previously sold complete sets and I was happy to win my set at a lower price.  These cards are gorgeous, and I can tell a lot of hard work and love for the originals went into making this tribute set.  What's more, the set's creators were smart enough to start the numbering with card #120, given the 1981 extension set had left off with #120.  The final three cards in this set pay tribute to three Negro League greats, including Bell.  There are also cards of his Crawfords teammates, Gibson and Satchel Paige.

As I slowly collect the originals from the 1930s, I'll also highlight each of the cards from these extension sets with their own posts.

Variations Available
1 - 1993 / blue back / no statistics / 1993 copyright

The Card / Crawfords Team Set
I'm grateful the makers of this set made the decision to include three wonderful cards of Negro League stars Bell, Gibson and Paige.  If there's ever an additional extension series produced, I'd love to see more cards for these Negro League stars.

1936 Season
Baseball Reference has Bell playing in 41 games for the Crawfords in 1936, batting .291 as the team's primary center fielder.  He played in three games for the Negro League All-Stars, batting .385 (5 for 13).

1980-87 SSPC HOF #141
 
1983 Donruss
Hall of Fame Heroes #25
2001 Topps Chrome What
Could Have Been #WCB4
2004 Topps Tribute HOF #7
 
2022 Panini Diamond Kings #62
 

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1980-87 SSPC Hall of Fame #141
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Panini Diamond Kings #62

First mainstream card is fairly subjective here, as Bell would have appeared on a Cooperstown Hall of Fame Plaque postcard beginning in 1974.  He's also in a bunch of oddball sets, including the 1974 Laughlin Old-Time Black Stars and 1976 Shakey's Pizza sets.

115 - Bell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/5/23.

Sources:

Previous Card:  #153 Judge Kennesaw Landis
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