#2 Al Simmons - Chicago White Sox

Aloysius Harry Simmons

Chicago White Sox

Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  190

Born:  May 22, 1902, Milwaukee, WI

Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1924-1932; Chicago White Sox 1933-1935; Detroit Tigers 1936; Washington Senators 1937-1938; Boston Bees 1939; Cincinnati Reds 1939; Philadelphia Athletics 1940-1941; Boston Red Sox 1943; Philadelphia Athletics 1944

World Series Appearances:  Philadelphia Athletics 1929-1931; Cincinnati Reds 1939

Died:  May 26, 1956, Milwaukee, WI (54)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1953

Outfielder Al Simmons played in 20 big league seasons, batting .334 for his career and winning two World Championships with Connie Mack's (#142) Athletics teams in 1929 and 1930.  Those two Championship seasons coincided with Simmons' best years in the majors.  He collected 253 hits in 1925, a career-high, league-leading and record-setting single season record by a right-handed batter, as the Athletics slowly became an American League powerhouse.  In 1929, Simmons batted .365 with 34 home runs and a league-best 157 RBIs as his team defeated the Cubs in five games in the World Series.  The following season, Simmons won his first batting title with a .381 mark while hitting 36 home runs and collecting 165 RBIs.  The Athletics, with Simmons batting .364 in the World Series, took down the Cardinals in six games.  Another batting title would follow in 1931 with Simmons batting .390.  Another pennant resulted, but the Athletics lost the World Series to the Cardinals, and a slow and steady decline for the franchise began.

Mack sold Simmons to the White Sox in September 1932, and Simmons was the starting center fielder for the American League in the first ever All-Star Game played in 1933.  He'd make the All-Star team again in 1934 and 1935.  Over the final eight seasons of his playing career, Simmons played for six different teams, making two more stops with the Athletics along the way.  He retired having batted over .380 in four different seasons and over .330 in nine seasons.  Simmons' .334 career batting average is currently 27th all-time and his 2,927 hits are 41st all-time.  He had 539 doubles, 307 home runs and 1,828 RBIs.  Simmons was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1953 and he joined the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 1981, inducted as the Athletics' representative alongside Phillies' great Grover Cleveland Alexander.

Building the Set

March 16, 2024 from Jupiter, FL - Card #104

My chosen profession requires working six days a week beginning in January through at least the end of March, and this will be the 26th year I've spent most Saturdays in the early months of the year toiling away.  Our oldest son Doug is in his junior year of high school, and baseball practice has begun in earnest, with scrimmages starting later this week.  My work schedule and Doug's baseball schedule conspired against us traveling to the recent Philly Show last weekend, so I decided to have a baseball card show of my own.  

I was the winning bidder on this Simmons card and the card of fellow Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer (#77), in auctions from seller 01sham from Jupiter, Florida.  I was the winning and only bidder on both cards, with both having reasonable opening bids.  Given the lack of activity on both auctions, an occurrence that's happening a lot more lately, I'm starting to think the pandemic-era boom in vintage baseball cards and set building has finally waned.  That's great news for me, as I don't plan to stop collecting, and the remaining 14 cards needed for my Diamond Stars set are all fairly pricey.

Variations Available

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

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

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1934 copyright / no SOX on front of jersey

The Card / White Sox Team Set

This is the first version of Simmons' card produced for the set, featuring the SOX logo prominently on the front of his jersey.  Following his move from Chicago to Detroit (see below), National Chicle removed the SOX logo from the front of Simmons' jersey and referred to his new Tigers team on the back of the card.  The tip on the back of the card discusses the importance of a "long, free follow through" with a batter's power swing.

1935 Season

This was the last of three consecutive All-Star seasons with the White Sox for Simmons.  He made 113 starts in center field, another nine starts in left field, and appeared in 128 games overall.  By his standards, he had an off-year, batting .267 with 16 home runs and 79 RBIs, the first time his RBI total had dipped below 100 in 11 straight seasons.  With the White Sox looking to rebuild, the team sold Simmons to the Tigers on December 10, 1935 for $75,000.

1923-24 Exhibits (W461)

1933 DeLong Gum #2

1933 Goudey #35

1933 Tattoo Orbit (R305)

1960 Fleer Baseball Greats #32

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1923-24 Exhibits (W461)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Donruss #281

256 - Simmons non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/17/24.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #1 "Lefty" Grove - Boston Red Sox

Next Card: #3 "Rabbit" Maranville - Boston Braves

#2 Al Simmons - Detroit Tigers (Variation)

Aloysius Harry Simmons

Detroit Tigers

Outfield

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  190

Born:  May 22, 1902, Milwaukee, WI

Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1924-1932; Chicago White Sox 1933-1935; Detroit Tigers 1936; Washington Senators 1937-1938; Boston Bees 1939; Cincinnati Reds 1939; Philadelphia Athletics 1940-1941; Boston Red Sox 1943; Philadelphia Athletics 1944

World Series Appearances:  Philadelphia Athletics 1929-1931; Cincinnati Reds 1939

Died:  May 26, 1956, Milwaukee, WI (54)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1953

Outfielder Al Simmons played in 20 big league seasons, batting .334 for his career and winning two World Championships with Connie Mack's (#142) Athletics teams in 1929 and 1930.  Those two Championship seasons coincided with Simmons' best years in the majors.  He collected 253 hits in 1925, a career-high, league-leading and record-setting single season record by a right-handed batter, as the Athletics slowly became an American League powerhouse.  In 1929, Simmons batted .365 with 34 home runs and a league-best 157 RBIs as his team defeated the Cubs in five games in the World Series.  The following season, Simmons won his first batting title with a .381 mark while hitting 36 home runs and collecting 165 RBIs.  The Athletics, with Simmons batting .364 in the World Series, took down the Cardinals in six games.  Another batting title would follow in 1931 with Simmons batting .390.  Another pennant resulted, but the Athletics lost the World Series to the Cardinals, and a slow and steady decline for the franchise began.

Mack sold Simmons to the White Sox in September 1932, and Simmons was the starting center fielder for the American League in the first ever All-Star Game played in 1933.  He'd make the All-Star team again in 1934 and 1935.  Over the final eight seasons of his playing career, Simmons played for six different teams, making two more stops with the Athletics along the way.  He retired having batted over .380 in four different seasons and over .330 in nine seasons.  Simmons' .334 career batting average is currently 27th all-time and his 2,927 hits are 41st all-time.  He had 539 doubles, 307 home runs and 1,828 RBIs.  Simmons was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1953 and he joined the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 1981, inducted as the Athletics' representative alongside Phillies' great Grover Cleveland Alexander.

Building the Set

September 8, 2023 from Champaign, IL (Monster Cards) - Card #90

This is the card that put me over the three-quarters mark for a complete set, and as of this writing I need 29 more cards out of 119 for my version of the master set.  I've been searching for the White Sox version of this card for some time now.  During a recent search I came across this Tigers version of the card with a surprisingly low price as I believe this is the rarest, and usually the most expensive, of the three variations of this card.  There's some scuffing on the front and the corners aren't sharp, but otherwise it's a great looking card.  The card was purchased during the unofficial end of summer and arrived during the unofficial beginning of autumn.  Monster Cards included a 1988 Donruss Paul Molitor card in the box, along with a humorous quote about arrows and bananas.

Variations Available

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

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

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1934 copyright / no SOX on front of jersey ✅

The Card / Tigers Team Set

Following his move from Chicago to Detroit (see below), National Chicle removed the SOX logo from the front of Simmons' jersey and referred to his new Tigers team on the back of the card.  The tip on the back of the card discusses the importance of a "long, free follow through" with a batter's power swing.

1936 Season

The White Sox sold Simmons to the Tigers on December 10, 1935 for $75,000 and he'd spend just one season playing for Detroit.  The opening day center fielder for the Tigers, Simmons would play in 143 games, batting .327 with 13 home runs and 112 RBIs.  He was one of four Tigers' sluggers with over 100 RBIs, joining Goose Goslin (#112) who had 125, Charlie Gehringer (#77) with 116 and Marv Owen (#67) with 105.  The Tigers finished in a distant second place to the Yankees, 19 1/2 games behind the top spot.  Before the start of the 1937 season, Simmons was on the move again, sold to the Senators for $15,000, a $60,000 drop in price from the year before.

1923-24 Exhibits (W461)

1933 DeLong Gum #2

1933 Goudey #35

1933 Tattoo Orbit (R305)

1960 Fleer Baseball Greats #32

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1923-24 Exhibits (W461)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Donruss #281

254 - Simmons non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/9/23.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #108 Wally Berger - Boston Bees

Next Card: #10 Roy Mahaffey - St. Louis Browns (Variation)

#119 Jim Bottomley / Rogers Hornsby - St. Louis Browns

James Leroy Bottomley

St. Louis Browns

First Base-Manager

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180

Born:  April 23, 1900, Oglesby, IL

Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1922-1932; Cincinnati Reds 1933-1935; St. Louis Browns 1936-1937

World Series Appearances:  St. Louis Cardinals 1926, 1928, 1930-1931

As a Manager:  St. Louis Browns 1937

Died:  December 11, 1959, St. Louis, MO (59)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1974

Rogers Hornsby

St. Louis Browns

Manager-First Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175

Born:  April 27, 1896, Winters, TX

Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1915-1926; New York Giants 1927; Boston Braves 1928; Chicago Cubs 1929-1932; St. Louis Cardinals 1933; St. Louis Browns 1933-1937

World Series Appearances:  St. Louis Cardinals 1926; Chicago Cubs 1929

As a Manager:  St. Louis Cardinals 1925-1926; New York Giants 1927; Boston Braves 1928; Chicago Cubs 1930-1932; St. Louis Browns 1933-1937, 1952; Cincinnati Reds 1952-1953

Died:  January 5, 1963, Chicago, IL (66)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1942

Nicknamed "Sunny Jim" as a result of his cheerful personality, slugger Jim Bottomley (#59) starred for the Gashouse Gang Cardinals throughout the 1920s, helping his team reach four World Series, winning titles in 1926 and 1931.  Bottomley's first big season came in 1924 when he crossed the 100-RBI plateau for the first of six consecutive seasons.  On September 16, 1924 against the Brooklyn Robins, Bottomley set an all-time single-game record with 12 RBIs, going 6 for 6 with a double and two home runs.  As the regular first baseman for the Cardinals, he enjoyed a career-year in 1925, leading the league in hits (227) and doubles (44) while batting .367 with 128 RBIs.  

He batted .345 in the 1926 World Series, as the Cardinals defeated the Yankees in seven games, giving St. Louis its first franchise series title.  Bottomley consistently hit for average and provided power for the Cardinals, culminating in 1928 when he won National League MVP honors after his league-leading 20 triples, 31 home runs and 136 RBIs.  He nearly won a batting title in 1931, finishing with a .3482 average with Bill Terry (#14) hitting .3486 and winner Chick Hafey (#18) hitting .3489.

Dealt to the Reds following the 1932 season, Bottomley would continue to be productive at the plate although his overall numbers started to decline.  He wrapped up his career with the Browns, spending part of his final season in the majors as the team's player-manager.  Bottomley batted .310 for his career with 2,313 hits, 465 doubles, 219 home runs and 1,422 RBIs, with he and Lou Gehrig (#130) becoming the first two major leaguers to collect 150 or more doubles, triples and home runs.  He was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame in 1974 by the Veterans Committee, and was among 22 inaugural players and personnel inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.

1961 Topps #404

Regarded as one of the best hitters in the history of the game, Rogers Hornsby (#44), "The Rajah," played in parts of 23 seasons, winning two MVP titles, two Triple Crowns and hitting over .400 in three different seasons.  Hornsby rose to stardom with the Cardinals in the 1920s, winning his first of six consecutive batting titles in 1920 with a .370 mark.  He won his first Triple Crown in 1922, batting .401 with 42 home runs and 152 RBIs, and he's the only player ever to amass 40 home runs while batting .400 in a season.  Hornsby batted .424 in 1924, still the single-season highest mark.  The accomplishments continued to mount as he won the league MVP honors in 1925, and he'd guide the Cardinals to a World Series title in 1926 as their player-manager.  He'd win his second MVP award in 1929 with the Cubs.

His days as an everyday player ceased in 1933, but he continued to play occasionally through the 1937 season while managing.  His final managing stop came in the early 1950s with the Reds.  Hornsby's career average of .358 is third all-time behind Ty Cobb (.366) and Oscar Charleston (.364).  He ranks towards the top of just about every all-time list, including on-base percentage (10th at .434), hits (40th with 2,930), and triples (25th with 169).  He collected 301 home runs and 1,584 RBIs.  Hornsby's record as a manager was 701-812 over 15 seasons, and by all accounts he was a difficult man to play for.  He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1942 and in 1999 was ranked ninth on The Sporting News' list of Baseball's Greatest Players.

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.)

Another great article was recently published to SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee website taking a closer look at these extended cards.

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.

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 / Browns Team Set

One of the most unique cards from the "lost" extended series, this would have been the only combo card in the Diamond Stars set, featuring two future Hall of Famers and a pair of all-time St. Louis greats.  Both Bottomley and Hornsby had appeared on solo cards in the original Diamond Stars set within the second series first released in 1935.  The source photo is shown above, and a stamp on the back of the original photo includes a stamped date of April 2, 1936.  Bottomley had been acquired from the Reds for Johnny Burnett on March 21, 1936, so it's likely the photo was taken at some in late March.  The back of the card mentions the star power now belonging to the Browns, and includes a few numbers pertaining to their 1936 seasons.  The 57-95 record attributed to Hornsby is for the 1936 season, and not the 1934 season as reflected on the card.

1937 Season - Bottomley
Ironically enough, it was Bottomley who replaced Hornsby as the Browns' manager when Hornsby was fired in July 1937 after his team got off to a 25-52-1 start.  Bottomley would actually fare a little worse, guiding the team to a 21-56-1 record for the rest of the season.  He'd be dismissed following the season too, and replaced by Gabby Street.

As a player, Bottomley appeared in 65 games, batting .239 with a home run and 12 RBIs.  He made 20 starts at first base, and his remaining appearances were as a pinch-hitter.  Bottomley's final game came on September 16th against the Athletics at Shibe Park, and he went 1 for 4 with a double in his penultimate at bat off Harry Kelley.

1937 Season - Hornsby
Hornsby began the season at the helm of the Browns and was fired following a double header loss on July 20th.  He could still hit, batting .321 (18 for 56) in 20 games early in the season, with three doubles and a home run.  His final plate appearance came in game one of the July 20th double header, inserting himself as a pinch-hitter for Tom Carey.  Hornsby popped up to Yankees' catcher Bill Dickey (#11) and his playing career was over.

1923-24 Exhibits (W461)

1929-30 R315

1933 Goudey #44

1940 Play Ball #236

1980 SSPC HOF #142

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Bottomley

First Mainstream Card:  1923-24 Exhibits (W461)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #47

180 - Bottomley non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/7/23.

Sources - Bottomley:

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

Wikipedia

Other Notable Baseball Cards - Hornsby

First Mainstream Card:  1917 Collins-McCarthy (E135) #80

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3):  1961, 1976, 1979

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps Allen & Ginter #326

808 - Hornsby non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/7/23.

Sources - Hornsby:  

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

Wikipedia

1917 Collins-McCarthy (E315) #80

1920-21 W516-2-2

1922 American Caramel Series of 240 (E120)

1933 Goudey #188

1933 Tattoo Orbit

1976 Topps #342

Previous Card:  #118 Vernon Gomez - New York Yankees

Next Card: #120 Lon Warneke - Chicago Cubs

#59 Jim Bottomley - Cincinnati Reds

James Leroy Bottomley

Cincinnati Reds

First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  180

Born:  April 23, 1900, Oglesby, IL

Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1922-1932; Cincinnati Reds 1933-1935; St. Louis Browns 1936-1937

World Series Appearances:  St. Louis Cardinals 1926, 1928, 1930-1931

As a Manager:  St. Louis Browns 1937

Died:  December 11, 1959, St. Louis, MO (59)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1974

Nicknamed "Sunny Jim" as a result of his cheerful personality, slugger Jim Bottomley starred for the Gashouse Gang Cardinals throughout the 1920s, helping his team reach four World Series, winning titles in 1926 and 1931.  Bottomley's first big season came in 1924 when he crossed the 100-RBI plateau for the first of six consecutive seasons.  On September 16, 1924 against the Brooklyn Robins, Bottomley set an all-time single-game record with 12 RBIs, going 6 for 6 with a double and two home runs.  As the regular first baseman for the Cardinals, he enjoyed a career-year in 1925, leading the league in hits (227) and doubles (44) while batting .367 with 128 RBIs.  

He batted .345 in the 1926 World Series, as the Cardinals defeated the Yankees in seven games, giving St. Louis its first franchise series title.  Bottomley consistently hit for average and provided power for the Cardinals, culminating in 1928 when he won National League MVP honors after his league-leading 20 triples, 31 home runs and 136 RBIs.  He nearly won a batting title in 1931, finishing with a .3482 average with Bill Terry (#14) hitting .3486 and winner Chick Hafey (#18) hitting .3489.

Dealt to the Reds following the 1932 season, Bottomley would continue to be productive at the plate although his overall numbers started to decline.  He wrapped up his career with the Browns, spending part of his final season in the majors as the team's player-manager.  Bottomley batted .310 for his career with 2,313 hits, 465 doubles, 219 home runs and 1,422 RBIs, with he and Lou Gehrig (#130) becoming the first two major leaguers to collect 150 or more doubles, triples and home runs.  He was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame in 1974 by the Veterans Committee, and was among 22 inaugural players and personnel inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.

Building the Set

October 6, 2022 from Ambler, PA - Card #64

It was quite the unexpected October for Phillies fans, as the team surprisingly advanced to the postseason on October 3rd with a 3-0 win over the Astros in Houston.  The Phillies hadn't been to the postseason since a shocking defeat to the Cardinals in the 2011 NLDS.  It was on this day I added three more cards to my Diamond Stars set, starting with this Bottomley card from eBay seller ercr3727 from Ambler, Pennsylvania.  The card is a bit beat up, but after I had added the card to my watch list the seller sent me a very reasonable discount for the card, and I ended up pulling the trigger.  This card arrived quickly on October 6th with the two other Diamond Stars cards I purchased - Roy Mahaffey (#10) and Lew Fonseca (#7) - arriving on October 11th.  I took the picture shown below in the second inning of NLDS Game 1, before Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez had fallen apart, and way before the Phillies eventually closed out a 7-6 win.

Variations Available

1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright

The Card / Reds Team Set

It's appropriate to see Sunny Jim smiling here, and there are three uncredited Reds teammates getting ready for the game in the dugout behind him.  A Getty Images search shows the photo is from way back in 1923 and was taken by famed baseball photographer Charles Conlon.  The back explains batting line-up makeup, crediting Bottomley with being a good three or four hole hitter given his power numbers, and further explaining that first baseman are expected to "drive the runs around."  Also name checked in this tutorial are Jimmie Foxx (#64), Gehrig, Terry and Jimmy "Rip" Collins (#116).

Photos of Bottomley show that he was prone to wearing his baseball cap either tilted to the side or turned completely sideways, as modeled on his 1933 Goudey card.

1935 Season

In his final season with the Reds, Bottomley appeared in 107 games, making 96 starts at first base.  He batted .258 with one home runs and 49 RBIs for the Chuck Dressen-led team that finished with a 68-85-1 record.  On March 21, 1936, the Reds dealt Bottomley to the Browns for Johnny Burnett, as Bottomley reunited with Browns' manager Rogers Hornsby (#44).  The two future Hall of Famers had been long-time teammates with the Gashouse Gang, and the extended Diamond Stars set issued in 1981 shows National Chicle intended to include a combo card (#119) for the two Cardinals' legends.

1923-24 Exhibits (W461)

1929-30 R315

1933 Goudey #44

1940 Play Ball #236

1980 SSPC HOF #142

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1923-24 Exhibits (W461)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #47

180 - Bottomley non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/5/22.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #58 Glenn Myatt - Cleveland Indians

Next Card: #60 Charley "Red" Ruffing - New York Yankees