1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #17 Frankie Frisch MG

Sunday, September 17, 2023

#17 Frankie Frisch MG - St. Louis Cardinals

Frank Francis Frisch

St. Louis Cardinals

Second Base-Manager

Bats: Both Throws: Right Height: 5'11" Weight: 165

Born: September 9, 1897, Bronx, NY

Major League Teams: New York Giants 1919-1926; St. Louis Cardinals 1927-1937

World Series Appearances: New York Giants 1921-1924; St. Louis Cardinals 1928, 1930-1931, 1934

As a Manager: St. Louis Cardinals 1933-1938; Pittsburgh Pirates 1940-1946; Chicago Cubs 1949-1951

Died: March 12, 1973, Wilmington, DE (75)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1947

Frankie Frisch was a switch-hitting superstar for the Giants and Cardinals throughout the 1920s and 1930s, helping his teams to eight World Series appearances and four World Series rings. Frisch earned the nickname "The Fordham Flash" as a four-sport star at Fordham University. He signed with the Giants before completing his collegiate career, bypassing the minor leagues and joining the starting line-up of John McGraw's team in 1919. A strong defender, a great hitter and a threat on the base paths, Frisch led the league with 49 stolen bases in 49, 223 hits in 1923 and 121 runs scored in 1924. He batted a career-high .348 in 1923. The Giants went to the World Series four years in a row between 1921 and 1924, with Frisch hitting .362 (37 for 102) over 26 postseason games with New York.

Following a falling out with manager McGraw, Frisch was dealt to the Cardinals with Jimmy Ring in exchange for Rogers Hornsby (#44) in December 1926. As the regular second baseman for the Cardinals, Frisch would become the spark plug for the Gashouse Gang, and he'd lead the league in stolen bases twice more in 1927 (48) and 1931 (28). Frisch won MVP honors in 1931 while batting .311, as his Cardinals defeated the Athletics in seven games in the World Series. Named player-manager in 1933, Frisch made his first of three straight All-Star Game appearances. The Cardinals would win another World Series in 1934 as Frisch's playing time gradually decreased. In 2,311 games, Frisch batted .316 with 2,880 hits, 466 doubles and 419 stolen bases. He compiled a lifetime managerial record of 1,138-1,078 with the Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs. Frisch was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947.

Building the Set

August 28, 2023 from Prairie Village, KS (Cam's Card Store) - Card #89

As I progress through collecting this 90-year-old set, I find it's becoming harder to add non-graded cards in relatively decent shape. Browsing eBay or any of the big name dealer's websites, most of the remaining 31 cards needed for my version of a master set are only available in graded form. As I get to the end of the set build, and as I hopefully and eventually add some of the priciest cards in the set, I'll likely need to buy graded versions and I'll also likely keep those cards housed in their slabs. This Frisch card, acquired during a late August eBay hunt, was purchased at a reasonable price from Cam's Card Store in Kansas, and promptly jail-breaked (jail-broke?) from its slab upon arrival. Don't get me wrong, the slabs look fine, but I'd much rather Frisch enter my set's binder in its natural place, and not kept separate in a display case.

Frisch was purchased the day before we left for a week-long Disney trip, and it was in the pile of held mail that was delivered to us the day we returned.

Variations Available

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

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

The Card / Cardinals Team Set

National Chicle made the wise design decision to use a horizontal format for Frisch's card, making this one of the most appealing cards in the set. The photo itself could date back all the way to 1920 or 1921, as it appears to be the same photo used on Frisch's 1921 baseball cards, including the American Caramel card shown below. The back of the card mentions his switch-hitting abilities, and suggests Frisch does better hitting left handed than right handed. His career splits at Baseball Reference do not include a full breakdown, but they do show he batted .318 against right-handed pitchers and .311 against left-handed pitchers, supporting the statement on the back of this card by a slim margin.

1934 Season

In his first full season as manager of the Cardinals, Frisch led the Gashouse Gang to a National League pennant and eventually a World Series victory. He made 113 starts at second base and 23 starts at third base, batting .305 with 30 doubles and 75 RBIs. Frisch was the starting second baseman for the National League All-Stars, going 2 for 3 with a lead-off home run to start the game of Lefty Gomez (#118). He batted just .194 in the World Series but his team ultimately prevailed against the Tigers in seven games. The 1934 Cardinals team is one of the most memorable in franchise history, and it included pitchers Dizzy (#124) and Paul Dean (#125), Pepper Martin (#26) at third base, Leo Durocher (#127) at shortstop and Ducky Medwick (#66) in left field.