1934-36 Diamond Stars: February 2026

Sunday, February 15, 2026

#153 Judge Kenesaw Landis - Commissioner

Kennesaw Mountain Landis

Commissioner

Bats: Unknown Throws: Unknown

Born: November 20, 1866, Millville, OH

As Commissioner: 1920-44

Died: November 25, 1944, Chicago, IL (78)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1944

Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1905 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Tough on big business and and those he thought were opposing the country's war efforts during World War I, Landis was named the first commissioner of Major League Baseball in 1920, as the owners sought an iron fist to rule over the game. One of Landis' first actions was the permanent banning of eight White Sox players allegedly involved in throwing the 1919 World Series. Ironically, given the proliferation of sports betting in all major sports these days, Landis focused on cracking down on gambling during his tenure as commissioner. And while he restored confidence in baseball as a fair game, uninfluenced by gambling, he's viewed as having stalled the overall segregation of the game. Landis instituted the All-Star Game, with the contest first being played in 1933. He was inducted by special vote into the Hall of Fame in 1944, a few weeks following his death.

Header cards included with the complete set
Building the Set

December 16, 2020 from Albion, NY

Within days of officially deciding to collect the Diamond Stars set, I found myself searching for the 1993 extension set consisting of 36 more "what if" cards this time issued by the Chicle Fantasy Company. Individual cards from this set are very prevalent on eBay, but I wanted to buy a complete set to save myself some time and money. Given this is a relatively modern set, I was somewhat surprised at the closing auction prices for previously sold complete sets and I was happy to win my set at a lower price. These cards are gorgeous, and I can tell a lot of hard work and love for the originals went into making this tribute set. What's more, the set's creators were smart enough to start the numbering with card #121, given the 1981 extension set had left off with #120.

Variations Available

1 - 1993 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1993 copyright

The Card

Landis sure does look ornery here, and I imagine he was a difficult personality to be around. The back of the card references the first instance a designated hitter rule was considered for the game, back in 1928. It's also safe to surmise that Landis' leadership along with the spectacle of Babe Ruth (#110) helped restore the game and increase its overall popularity following the 1919 Black Sox Scandal.

1936 Season

The Yankees easily won the American League pennant and then defeated the Giants in the World Series in six games. An article in The New York Times from October 23rd wrote that Landis had mailed checks for $6,430 to each Yankee player as the winning share from the series, with each Giants player receiving $4,655.

1960 Fleer Baseball Greats #64

1980-87 SSPC HOF #28

1994 Upper Deck Baseball:
The American Epic #33

2014 Panini Golden Age #50

2019 Topps Revolution of the Game #REV-2

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card: 1944-45 Albertype Hall of Fame Plaque Postcards (Type 1)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2019 Topps Revolution of the Game #REV-2

56 - Landis non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/9/26.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card: #152 "Gee" Walker - Detroit Tigers

Next Card: #1 James "Cool Papa" Bell - Pittsburgh Crawfords

Sunday, February 8, 2026

#143 Joe McCarthy MG - New York Yankees

Joseph Vincent McCarthy

New York Yankees

Manager

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'8" Weight: 190

Born: April 21, 1887, Philadelphia, PA

World Series Appearances: Chicago Cubs 1929; New York Yankees 1932, 1936-39, 1941-43

As a Manager: Chicago Cubs 1926-30; New York Yankees 1931-46; Boston Red Sox 1948-50

Died: January 13, 1978, Buffalo, NY (90)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1957

Despite never having played in the majors, Joe McCarthy would author a Hall of Fame career in the big leagues as a seven-time World Series winner as a manager. McCarthy played 15 seasons in the minors between 1907 and 1921, spending the last of those six seasons with the Louisville Colonels in the American Association. A player-manager for the Colonels until 1921, he switched to full-time managing in 1922 and was hired to lead the Cubs in 1926. McCarthy led the Cubs to the World Series in 1929, but they were defeated in five games by the Athletics, led by McCarthy's boyhood idol, Connie Mack (#142). Fired by the Cubs at the end of the 1930 season, McCarthy was hired to lead the Yankees beginning in 1931. He'd win eight pennants for the Yankees, and seven World Series titles, including four championships in a row between 1936 and 1939. Struggles with alcoholism ended his Yankees tenure, as he resigned at the start of the 1946 season.

McCarthy returned to manage the Red Sox between 1948 and 1950, but again left his post due to health issues. The first manager to win pennants in the National League and American League, McCarthy was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1957. His career winning percentage in the regular season (.615) and postseason (.698) are the highest in major league history, and his 2,125 career wins currently rank 10th all-time.

Building the Set

December 16, 2020 from Albion, NY

Variations Available

1 - 1993 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1993 copyright

The Card / Yankees Team Set

Lou Gehrig (#130) and Joe DiMaggio (#126) make a cameo in the background of McCarthy's card, depicting a famous photo of Gehrig jumping over a bat held by DiMaggio early in the 1939 season. The bio on the back of the card recounts his managerial successes to date.

1936 Season

The Yankees were 102-51 in McCarthy's sixth season leading the team, easily winning the American League pennant by finishing 19 1/2 games ahead of the second place Tigers. They would defeat the Giants in six games in the World Series, the second title overall for McCarthy as manager of the Yankees.

1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premiums (R314 Type 1)

1991 Conlon Collection
TSN #28

2020 Panini
Diamond Kings #8

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card*: 1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premiums (R314 Type 1)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2020 Panini Diamond Kings #8

*This is a tough one. McCarthy appeared on a bunch of minor league issues, food issues, team issues, pins and postcards between 1911 and the early 1960s, but I wouldn't consider any of the mainstream baseball cards.

229 - McCarthy non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/6/26.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card: #142 Connie Mack MG - Philadelphia Athletics

Next Card: #144 Bill McKechnie MG - Boston Bees

Sunday, February 1, 2026

#112 Joe DiMaggio - New York Yankees

Joseph Paul DiMaggio

New York Yankees

Outfield

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'2" Weight: 193

Born: November 25, 1914, Martinez, CA

Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1936-42, 1946-51

World Series Appearances: New York Yankees 1936-39, 1941-42, 1947, 1949-51

Died: March 8, 1999, Hollywood, FL (84)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1955

Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper, reached almost mythic status during his 13 years with the Yankees. Beloved by the Bronx fans and famous worldwide, DiMaggio made his debut on May 3, 1936, and was a bona fide superstar from his time as a rookie to his retirement in 1951. He was an American League All-Star each year he played and helped guide the Yankees to 10 pennants and nine World Championships. He batted .346 in his sophomore season of 1937, attaining career best marks for home runs (46) and RBIs (167). DiMaggio won MVP honors in 1939, 1941 and 1947, the latter award made even more impressive due to the fact he had missed three full seasons while serving in the military during World War II. His best season was perhaps 1941 when he accumulated a 56-game hitting streak, finishing the year with a .357 average, 30 home runs and 125 RBIs.

DiMaggio retired following the 1951 season, ranking fifth all-time in career home runs (361) and sixth all-time in slugging percentage (.579). In 1,736 regular season games, DiMaggio batted .325 with 2,214 hits, including 389 doubles and 131 triples. His #5 was retired by the Yankees in 1952, and DiMaggio was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955. He remained in the spotlight following his retirement from baseball, marrying Marilyn Monroe in 1954 and forever immortalized in Simon & Garfunkel's 1968 song, "Mrs. Robinson." DiMaggio continues to be regarded as one of the best baseball players of all time.

Building the Set

December 22, 2020 from McKeesport, PA (Steel City Collectibles)

In 2014, the third and final "extended" set of Diamond Stars cards was released, repeating three of the players available in the 1993 extended set, including DiMaggio, and adding a pair of cards for Babe Ruth (#109b and #110b). According to this article, the five cards were made available at the 2014 National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC) held in Cleveland between July 30 and August 3, 2014. The cards were originally slabbed by PSA, numbered to 500, and given away to collectors when they signed up for a Gold or Platinum level PSA Collectors Club membership.

Steel City Collectibles was selling a lot of four of these five-card sets on eBay for the reasonable price of $17.95 before Christmas, and I eagerly added these cards to my collection. One set now lives in my Diamond Stars set binder and another set made its way into my oldest son's Doug's collection. That leaves me with two extra sets looking for a good home or homes.

I wish PSA and the sponsor of these sets, Historic Autograph Company, had paid attention to the extended sets issued earlier. Instead of repeating card numbers 109 to 113, they could have started with card number 154, picking up where the 1993 extended set had left off.

Variations Available

1 - 2014 / green back / 1935 statistics / 2014 copyright

The Card / Yankees Team Set

I'm partial to the first "what if" version of this Diamond Stars card, from the Chicle Fantasy Extended Edition set, issued in 1993 (#126). The write-up on the back of this card highlights DiMaggio's fast rise to fame via the Pacific Coast League. The four players the Yankees gave up for DiMaggio were Doc Farrell, Floyd Newkirk, Jimmy Densmore and Ted Norbert. Farrell refused to report to the Seals, with the Yankees adding in $5,000 to complete the deal.

1936 Season

DiMaggio entered spring training as the heir apparent to Babe Ruth (#109), who had departed the Yankees two years prior. Roy Johnson was the team's opening day left fielder, but DiMaggio made his debut and first start on May 3rd in left, moving to center field in late July. He'd hit .323 his rookie season, with 29 home runs and 125 RBIs. DiMaggio was one of five players in the powerful Yankee line-up with at least 100 RBIs, with Lou Gehrig's (#130) 152 leading them all. The Yankees defeated the Giants in the World Series, with DiMaggio playing every inning in center field for all six games. He batted .346 (9 for 26) in his first postseason play.