1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #65 "Zeke" Bonura

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.