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Hazen Shirley Cuyler
Cincinnati Reds
Outfield
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'10" Weight: 180
Born: August 30, 1898, Harrisville, MI
Major League Teams: Pittsburgh Pirates 1921-1927; Chicago Cubs 1928-1935; Cincinnati Reds 1935-1937; Brooklyn Dodgers 1938
World Series Appearances: Pittsburgh Pirates 1925; Chicago Cubs 1929, 1932
Died: February 11, 1950, Ann Arbor, MI (51)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1968
Outfielder Kiki Cuyler could hit for average, possessed speed on the base paths and provided steady defense for the Pirates, Cubs, Reds and Dodgers over 18 major league seasons. Cuyler had three 200+ hit seasons while leading the league in runs scored twice, in triples once (with 26) and in stolen bases four times. He helped lead the Pirates to a World Series title in 1925, driving in six runs in the Series, and finished second in the MVP voting that season behind the Cardinals' Rogers Hornsby (#44). While his numbers were slightly better overall with the Pirates, Cuyler would play most of his career games with the Cubs, who acquired him following the 1927 season. With the Cubs, Cuyler was one of the league's top run producers, and as their everyday right fielder he helped the club reach the World Series in 1929 and 1932. He made one All-Star team (the first game wasn't played until 1933) as the starting right fielder for the 1934 N.L. squad.
Cuyler played in 1,879 career games, collecting 2,299 hits and batting .321 with 328 stolen bases. His 157 career triples is 45th on the all-time list. He briefly managed in the minor leagues after retiring as a player and was a coach for the Cubs (1941-1943) and Red Sox (1949). Cuyler was inducted posthumously into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968 by the Veteran's Committee.
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Stan's Vintage Sports Cards, Ohio) - Card #80
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 Cuyler card was one of two variations purchased from Stan's Vintage Sports Cards, along with the misspelled "Earnie" Lombardi (#36) card. As my final purchases of the day, I made Stan a reasonable offer for the pair, the offer was accepted, and two more Hall of Fame cards were added to our set.
Variations Available
1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright / team on back is the Cubs
2 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright / team on back is the Reds ✅
The Card / Reds Team Set
This is one of 11 notable variations from the set I'm collecting for my version of a master set. Cuyler was released by the Cubs on July 3, 1935, and he'd sign with the Reds two days later. National Chicle updates his card in the set, replacing "of the Cubs" with "of the Reds" on the back of this version.
Until reading and learning about Cuyler, I had always assumed his nickname was pronounced "Kee Kee" but it turns out it's actually pronounced "Ky Ky," rhyming with "eye eye." He was given the nickname as a result of teammates shortening his last name. Cuyler is looking pretty serious in this photo, but a lot of his baseball cards show him smiling. The back of the card gives a fielding tip about always knowing where to position yourself in order to back-up any play.
1936 Season
At 37 years old, and the sixth oldest player in the National League, Cuyler played 144 games for the Reds as their regular center fielder. He batted .326 with 29 doubles, 11 triples, 7 home runs and 74 RBIs, his highest total since driving in 77 in 1932. He topped the Reds in hits (185), runs scored (96) and RBIs. Cuyler had 16 stolen bases, fifth best in the league. On August 30th, he celebrated his 38th birthday by going 5 for 9 with two triples in a double header sweep of the Phillies.
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Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1925 Exhibits (W461)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Panini Diamond Kings #41
132 - Cuyler non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/19/23.
Sources:
Previous Card: #30 Heinie Manush - Boston Red Sox (Variation)
I had read that other players, in the time-honored manner, called him Ki-Ki to make fun of his stutter.
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