1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #20 "Shanty" Hogan

Sunday, June 25, 2023

#20 "Shanty" Hogan - Boston Braves

James Francis Hogan

Boston Braves

Catcher

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'1" Weight: 240

Born: March 21, 1906, Somerville, MA

Major League Teams: Boston Braves 1925-1927; New York Giants 1928-1932; Boston Braves 1933-1935; Washington Senators 1936-1937

Died: April 7, 1967, Boston, MA (61)

Known off the field for his prodigious eating ability and his successful vaudeville act, Shanty Hogan played in parts of 13 seasons in the major leagues. Hogan was a large man and many of his managers attempted to corral his diet throughout his career. He played sparingly during his initial stint with the Braves between 1925 and 1927, and his playing time increased following a trade to the Giants in January 1928 in exchange for future Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby (#44). Hogan had one of his best years in 1928 as the regular catcher for John McGraw's Giants, batting .333 with 10 home runs and 71 RBIs in 131 games played. His power numbers peaked in 1930 when he batted .339 with 13 home runs and 75 RBIs, but the postseason would again elude McGraw's Giants. It was during these seasons in the early 1930s he joined teammate and second baseman Andy Cohen as part of a joke-telling and singing duo on the vaudeville circuit.

Hogan would have one more successful year in 1932, batting .287 with a career-high 77 RBIs, but he was replaced by Gus Mancuso upon McGraw's firing and the hiring of first baseman Bill Terry (#14) as the club's player-manager. In 989 big league games, Hogan batted .295 with 61 home runs and 474 RBIs. One of the best fielding catchers of his day, despite his size, he twice led the league in fielding percentage (1931 and 1933) and caught stealing percentage (1927 and 1933).

Building the Set

June 10, 2023 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards) - Card #83

I hadn't added any new cards to this set since mid-March, and I was lamenting the lack of activity on this blog in early June when I decided to rectify both issues. Taking advantage of a sale from Kit Young Cards, I added this Hogan card, the Dick Bartell "Philadelphia Nationals" card (#15), and Bartell's 1955 Bowman card during a particularly bleak day in my office while on a needed mental health break. I'm finding the cards from the set's first series are somewhat harder to find, and most of the cards I'm finding from the first series, at least in decent shape, are from the card's second printing in 1935. This Hogan card is the 1935 version, with his 1934 batting average listed on the back bottom.

Variations Available

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

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

The Card / Braves Team Set

This is a great card for collector's of catchers, as Hogan is shown modeling a full set of pre-war catcher's gear. The artist must have felt a player standing in the background was needed to round out the photo. That's a great tip on the back of the card about successfully hitting a curve ball, and it warns of never guessing where to swing: "You will be swinging where it ought to be but where, more often, it is not."

1935 Season

This was the final year of Hogan's second stint with the Braves. In 59 games, he batted .301 with a pair of home runs and 25 RBIs. This Braves club was awful, with a record of 38-115 under manager Bill McKechnie (#144). Hogan was the club's opening day catcher, making 54 starts overall at the position up until early August. The Braves released him on August 5th due to what media reports claimed was a result of his excessive weight. Hogan signed with the Cleveland Indians a week later, playing the balance of the season with their top farm team, the Minneapolis Millers. With the Millers, Hogan batted .294 in 36 games. Despite finding some success with the Millers, the Indians would ship him to the Senators that December.