1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #11 Bill Dickey

Sunday, January 28, 2024

#11 Bill Dickey - New York Yankees

William Malcolm Dickey

New York Yankees

Catcher

Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 6'1" Weight: 185

Born: June 6, 1907, Bastrop, LA

Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1928-1943, 1946

World Series Appearances: New York Yankees 1928, 1932, 1936-1939, 1941-1943

As a Manager: New York Yankees 1946

Died: November 12, 1993, Little Rock, AR (86)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1954

Bill Dickey was an 11-time All-Star catcher for the Yankees, behind the plate for nine American League pennants, which included eight World Series titles between 1928 and 1943. He replaced Benny Bengough as the Yankees' starting catcher in 1929, a role he'd settle into for the next 15 seasons. Dickey could hit for power, batted over .300 in 11 seasons and was excellent defensively behind the plate, leading the league four times in fielding percentage. He hit over 20 home runs with at least 100 RBIs for four straight years between 1936 and 1939, and his .362 average in 1936 stood as the high-water mark for catchers until Joe Mauer batted .365 in 2009. Dickey's best season statistically came in 1937 when he batted .332 with 29 home runs and 133 RBIs - both career bests. In 1,789 games with the Yankees, Dickey batted .313 with 202 home runs and 1,209 RBIs.

After two years serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Dickey returned to the Yankees as player-manager for the 1946 season. He'd serve as a coach with the Yankees from 1949 to 1957, and again in 1960. During his tenure as Yankees' coach, Dickey helped mentor two of his successors behind the plate - Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1954, and the Yankees retired #8 in 1972 to honor both Dickey and Berra.

Building the Set

December 16, 2023 from Wall Township, NJ - Card #101

This card entered our set as part of some year-end eBay watch list housecleaning, as the card had been waiting for me to purchase it for the better part of 2023. I made the seller an offer, and after a few back and forth offers, I accepted and the card arrived a week before Christmas. Appropriately enough, given Dickey's importance to the Yankees' franchise, the seller's handle was Donnie23Auctions, from Wall Township, New Jersey.

With the addition of this card, I'm down to needing 18 cards to complete my version of a Diamond Stars master set, and I expect the set building to slow down dramatically in 2024. As I've mentioned before, the 18 final cards, listed below, are all fairly expensive, difficult to find or both. I'll keep plugging along, with the goal being to add at least one of these cards at each of the two or three Philly Shows we attend in the new year.

Hall of Famers Needed
1. #1 Lefty Grove - Red Sox
2. #2 Al Simmons - White Sox
3. #30 Heinie Manush - Red Sox (variation)
4. #50 Mel Ott - Giants
5. #54 Hank Greenberg - Tigers
6. #54 Hank Greenberg - Tigers (name misspelled)
7. #64 Jimmie Foxx - Athletics
8. #74 Tony Lazzeri - Yankees
9. #77 Charlie Gehringer - Tigers

Third Series High Numbers Needed
10. #97 Al Lopez - Bees
11. #98 Schoolboy Rowe - Tigers
12. #99 Pie Traynor - Pirates
13. #100 Earle Averill - Indians
14. #103 Bill Dickey - Yankees
15. #104 Robert Rolfe - Yankees
16. #106 Red Lucas - Reds
17. #107 Stanley Hack - Cubs
18. #108 Wally Berger - Bees

Variations Available

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

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

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. Dickey shows up again as card #103, 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 / Yankees Team Set

This is the "cheaper" of two Dickey cards in the set, with his second card (#103) likely one of the hardest to find out of all Diamond Stars cards. The tip on the back explains the catcher's role whenever a batter drops a bunt.

1935 Season

Dickey had an off year by his standards, batting .279 in 120 games with 14 home runs and 81 RBIs. The Yankees would finish in second place, three games behind the pennant-winning Tigers. This was a transitional period for the Yankees, as Babe Ruth (#109) had last played with them in 1934 and Joe DiMaggio (#126) would join the club in 1936.