1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #105 "Ernie" Lombardi

Sunday, January 14, 2024

#105 "Ernie" Lombardi - Cincinnati Reds

Ernesto Natali Lombardi

Cincinnati Reds

Catcher

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'3" Weight: 230

Born: April 6, 1908, Oakland, CA

Major League Teams: Brooklyn Robins 1931; Cincinnati Reds 1932-1941; Boston Braves 1942; New York Giants 1943-1947

World Series Appearances: Cincinnati Reds 1939-1940

Died: September 26, 1977, Santa Cruz, CA (69)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1986

Called by baseball writer Bill James, "the slowest man to ever play major league baseball well," Ernie Lombardi was a fan favorite, the National League's MVP in 1938, a World Series winner in 1940 and posthumous Hall of Fame inductee in 1986. Lombardi, given the affectionate nickname "Schnozz," spent 10 of his 17 seasons with the Reds, where he first rose to stardom. He batted over .300 in ten seasons, winning his first batting title in 1938 when he hit .342 on the way to also winning the MVP. He caught both of Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no hitters that season on June 11th and June 15th. Lombardi helped lead the Reds to the World Series in 1939 and 1940, hitting .333 in the 1940 series in which his team downed the Tigers in seven games. Sold to the Braves before the 1942 season, he won his second batting title by hitting .330. Lombardi was named to eight All-Star Games.

The Three Ernies

He finished his career with a .306 batting average, 1,792 hits, 190 home runs and 990 RBIs. Battling depression later in life, he struggled after leaving baseball and was disgruntled by his exclusion from the Hall of Fame. Lombardi was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1958, and finally got the call to Cooperstown in 1986, nine years after he had passed away.

Building the Set

December 8, 2023 from Bloomington, IL - Card #99

Arriving the same day as the Max Bishop (#6) card was this unexpected purchase from eBay seller anniesantiquesandmore, located in Bloomington, Illinois. I've accepted this set may not be finished for many more years, and I've also come to realize how hard the high numbers are to find both in good shape and at a price I'm willing to pay. This Lombardi card, the third Lombardi card I've added to my version of a Diamond Stars master set, has been trimmed as pointed out by the sticky note that accompanied the Beckett Grading slab. It's authentic, but at some point along the way an industrious collector trimmed the left border in an effort to try to increase the card's value.

I'm not collecting this set for its value, so the altered state of this Lombardi card doesn't bother me at all, especially since the alteration can't be seen with the naked eye. I'll gladly add more of these misfits to my set if I'm able to, and the final price accepted for this card came out to about a quarter of its "book" value and what non-graded versions of the same card are currently going for on eBay and elsewhere.

Variations Available

1 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright

Lombardi is found earlier in the set as card #36, with an error version spelling his name "Earnie," and a corrected version with his first name spelled "Ernie."

The final 12 cards in the Diamond Stars set, released as part of series three in 1936, contain the exact same photos and players as earlier cards from the set. Lombardi shows up again as card #105, with the same text on the back save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics. The ink on the back of card #105 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The Card / Reds Team Set

That's a strange tip on the back of Lombardi's card, going into great detail about choosing a light bat over a heavy bat. Babe Ruth (#109) is name-checked here, noting he used to swing a 54-ounce bat but he's cut back to a 36-ounce model in his later years. Lombardi's full name is listed with a middle initial "C" on the back as well. They got that wrong, but at least this version of the card spelled his first name correctly.

1936 Season

Lombardi built on the success he found in 1935 with another great season. As the regular catcher for the Reds, he played in 121 games, batting .333 with 12 home runs and 68 RBIs. He made his first All-Star Game, as the back-up for starting catcher Gabby Hartnett (#134), but didn't appear in the game.