1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #24 "Sparky" Adams

Sunday, April 16, 2023

#24 "Sparky" Adams - Cincinnati Reds

Earl John Adams

Cincinnati Reds

Third Base

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'5" Weight: 151

Born: August 26, 1894, Zerbe, PA

Major League Teams: Chicago Cubs 1922-1927; Pittsburgh Pirates 1928-1929; St. Louis Cardinals 1930-1933; Cincinnati Reds 1933-1934

World Series Appearances: St. Louis Cardinals 1930-1931

Died: February 24, 1989, Pottsville, PA (94)

Standing just 5'5" inches tall, Sparky Adams was the shortest major leaguer of his era. He earned an opportunity to become the regular second baseman for the Cubs in 1925, and he'd provide steady play at that position for the next three seasons, leading the National League in 1925, 1926 and 1927 in at-bats. His personal best season came in 1926 when Adams batted .309 with 35 doubles, 27 stolen bases (second in the league) and 39 RBIs. Adams was dealt to the Pirates following the 1927 season for future Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler (#31), and he'd spend two mediocre seasons in Pittsburgh before being sold to the Cardinals in November 1929. With St. Louis, Adams joined the Gashouse Gang, serving as the team's third baseman as Frankie Frisch (#17) was manning second. Adams, now a 36-year-old veteran, would lead the league in doubles in 1931 with 46 as his Cardinals team would go on to win the World Series in seven games over the Athletics.

In May 1933, Adams was part of a six-player trade with the Reds that included Leo Durocher (#127) as one of the players received by the Cardinals. On the tail-end of his career, Adams appeared in 137 games as the Reds' starting third baseman in 1933, batting .262. He appeared in 87 games with the club in 1934 and he would refuse to resign with the Reds in 1935, given what he considered a low-ball offer. Adams, now 40, would play one last season in the minors back with the Cardinals' organization before retiring. In 1,424 big league games, he batted .286 with 1,588 hits and 154 stolen bases. A fine fielder as well, Adams had the top fielding percentage for second basemen in 1925, and for third basemen in 1930 and 1931. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Building the Set

March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime - Fair Lawn, NJ) - Card #77

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here. When I wasn't making bulk 1969 Topps commons purchases, I was on the look out for more Diamond Stars cards to add to our set.

I was happy to again find quite a few dealers with Diamond Stars cards for sale. I visited three separate dealers, purchasing a total of five cards, and getting the number of cards needed for my version of a master set down to an attainable 38. This Adams card came from America's Pastime, located in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and I've purchased cards from this dealer before. This was the first and least expensive of the five Diamond Stars cards added, costing me $32.

Variations Available

1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright

2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright ✅

The Card / Reds Team Set

Reviewing the fantastic uniform resource, Marc Okkonen's Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century, Adams wouldn't have worn the pinstriped and white hat combination shown here during his time with the Reds in 1933 and 1934. A version of this Reds uniform was last worn by the club in 1925, when Adams was with the Cubs. The tip on the back of the card explains how to properly anticipate the direction of a ground ball, noting one of the best pieces of advice ever for infielders: "Play the ball, never let it play you."

Within the biographical information on the bottom of the back of the card, National Chicle carves a half inch of Adams' height and lists him at just 5' 4 1/2".

1935 Season

Adams' big league career was over by the time this card was issued. He signed with the Rochester Red Wings, a Cardinals' farm team, on April 27, 1935. Adams would play 12 games with the Red Wings before being transferred to the Columbus Red Birds in the American Association. With the Red Birds, and as the team's regular second baseman, Adams batted .286 with 20 doubles in 110 games.