1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #117 Linus Frey

Sunday, February 25, 2024

#117 Linus Frey - Brooklyn Dodgers

Linus Reinhard Frey

Brooklyn Dodgers

Second Base

Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 5'10" Weight: 160

Born: August 23, 1910, St. Louis, MO

Major League Teams: Brooklyn Dodgers 1933-1936; Chicago Cubs 1937; Cincinnati Reds 1938-1943, 1946; Chicago Cubs 1947; New York Yankees 1947-1948; New York Giants 1948

World Series Appearances: Cincinnati Reds 1939-1940; New York Yankees 1947

Died: September 13, 2009, Coeur d'Alene, ID (99)

Lonny Frey was a veteran of 14 major league seasons, finding his most success as the All-Star second baseman for the Reds in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Frey spent his first four seasons with the Dodgers, struggling defensively at shortstop and batting as a switch-hitter. He led the league twice in errors in 1935 and 1936. Joining the Reds in 1939, Frey abandoned switch-hitting and moved to second base, where he proved to be one of the league's best second baseman, with the glove and the bat, of his era. Frey was an All-Star in 1939, 1941 and 1943, leading the league with 22 stolen bases in 1940 and in fielding percentage in 1941 and 1943. He helped lead the Reds to the World Series in 1939 and 1940, missing most of the victorious 1940 series after he had dropped the iron lid of the dugout water cooler on his foot. Frey missed all of 1944 and 1945 while serving in the military during World War II, and upon his return in 1946 he settled in as a back-up and pinch-hitter for three more seasons.

1935-36 Diamond
Matchbooks (U3-1)

Frey collected 1,482 hits and batted .269 in 1,535 big league games. He scored 848 runs, collected 263 doubles and 105 stolen bases. He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1961 and was selected as the Reds' all-time best second baseman during the team's centennial celebration in 1969.

Building the Set

December 11, 2020 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards)

On the night I impulsively decided to collect the original Diamond Stars set, and I subsequently purchased the Harvey Hendrick (#41) card from Kit Young Cards, I also added the complete, and first, extended set to my cart for the very reasonable price of $7.50. The 12 cards in this first extended set were originally issued in 1981.

In the early 1980s, a family member of a former National Chicle employee discovered an uncut sheet of 12 unused cards presumably meant as a 1937 continuation of the Diamond Stars set. As originally advertised, and as mentioned on the back of every card issued, the company had intended for the set to contain 240 subjects. They only produced 108 cards before production was halted, and the theory is this newly found sheet represented a "lost" continuation of the set. Fortunately, the images of the cards made their way into the collecting world and a 12-card "what if" set was created. (More on the uncut sheet can be found here from SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee and from this Ryan Cracknell article for Beckett.)

The Beckett online database lists the set as "1981 Diamond Stars Continuation Den's" and the set's description notes "This set was created and produced by Denny Eckes. Hobbyist Mike Galella was involved in bringing this sheet to the the public. These cards were originally available from the producer for $3." The back of the cards have a 1981 copyright attributed to Den's Collectors Den, the company belonging to the aforementioned Eckes. I found the ad shown here within the pages of the The Sport Americana Baseball Card Price Guide, published in 1982.

The 12 cards include more ambitious geometric designs than the original Diamond Stars cards, although the overall color template remains the same as their 1934 to 1936 counterparts.

Variations Available

1 - 1981 / blue back / 1936 statistics / 1981 copyright

The Card / Dodgers Team Set

While Linus was his given first name, Frey preferred the nickname Lonny. The photo used here was first seen back in the 1935-36 Diamond Matchbooks (U3-1) set, shown above. The back of the card gives a tip on cheating up as a middle infielder, which speeds up potential double plays. The text, written in the early 1980s, is somewhat incorrect in identifying Frey as a second sacker at this stage of his career, as he was still a regular shortstop. Frey made 116 starts at shortstop and 26 starts at second base for the Dodgers in 1936.

1937 Season

On December 5, 1936, the Dodgers traded Frey to the Cubs for Woody English and Roy Henshaw. Frey's first stint with the Cubs lasted only one season, and he filled in as a back-up at second base, shortstop, third base and left field. He batted .278 in 78 games, with a home run and 22 RBIs. On February 4, 1938, the Cubs sold Frey to the Reds, beginning the best stretch of his career.