#50 "Mel" Ott - New York Giants

Melvin Thomas Ott

New York Giants

Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  170

Born:  March 2, 1909, Gretna, LA

Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1926-47

World Series Appearances:  New York Giants 1933, 1936-37

As a Manager:  New York Giants 1942-48

Died:  November 21, 1958, New Orleans, LA (49)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1951

Short in stature, Mel Ott was nevertheless one of the premier power hitters of his era, playing in parts of 22 seasons with the Giants and leading the league in home run six times.  He never played a minor league game, going directly from high school to the majors, and making his debut just a few months following his 17th birthday.  Ott was a force at the plate, capable of the long ball but also hitting for average.  He hit over 30 home runs in eight seasons, including a career-high 42 home runs in 1929.  He led the league in both home runs (35) and RBIs (135) in 1934, the first of 11 consecutive seasons he'd go to the All-Star Game.  A lifelong Giant, Ott helped his team to three National League pennants and a World Series title in 1933.  He was also an above average fielder and displayed some speed on the base paths, making him truly an exceptional five-tool player at the peak of his career.  He spent the last six seasons of his playing days also serving as the Giants' manager, guiding his team to a 464-530 record.

Ott was the first National League player to collect 500 home runs, and his 511 career blasts are currently 25th all-time.  Most of his career marks are still among the best all-time in baseball - 1,859 runs (15th), 2,876 hits (45th), 1,860 RBIs (14th), 1,708 walks (9th), 256 assists as an outfielder (21st).  His #4 was retired by the Giants in 1949, and he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1951.

January 11, 2026 - Citizens Bank Park lit up green
for the Eagles' playoff game

Building the Set

January 20, 2026 from Dan Barrett Sportscards - Card #116

My wife and I have reached the point where we mutually agree not to get each other anything crazy for Christmas, as (a) we really don't need anything and (b) if there was something one of us needed, we'd likely want to go and pick it out on our own.  She's left it up to me over the past several years to find "one big card" for her and our sons to present to me on Christmas morning, and I feign surprise each year, even though I'm the one who plotted the card's purchase for weeks or months in advance.  This past Christmas snuck up on me.  I don't know if it was stress at work or the ongoing transition of having our oldest son away at college for his first semester, but I completely whiffed on finding the "one big card" in time for Santa to leave it for me under the tree.

I hadn't planned on buying this Ott card, but I received an offer of a deep discount from eBay seller, Dan Barrett Sportscards, and after a quick confirmation that Santa still owed me "one big card," I clicked buy at some point in early January.  It's only the third card I've added to my Diamond Stars set build since the beginning of 2025, and with the addition of this card, I'm down to needing just three, but likely only two more cards for my version of a set.

I say likely only two, as I had every intention of adding both the error and corrected version of the Hank Greenberg (#54) card to my set, but either version of the card is crazy expensive, and I'm slowly talking myself out of needing both.  With the addition of a Greenberg card, preferrably the corrected version, and the high series Stanley Hack (#107) card, my set quest will be complete.

Actually . . . one more thing left on my to-do list is to track down reprints of the cards in my set currently slabbed.  Right now there are holes in my nine-pocket pages where the graded cards should go, and I've decided to use reprints of those cards as placeholders so there are no gaps whenever I'm flipping pages and admiring the set.

Variations Available

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

The Card / Giants Team Set

What a fantastic card, and a card I've seen countless times under glass display cases in my 40 years of collecting baseball cards.  This is the only card in the set featuring a player without his hat, and I wonder what made Ott decide to pose without his hat on?  Having now seen all the cards in the set, I'd say this card and the Jimmie Foxx (#64) card are by far my two favorite cards in the set, in all their 1930s art deco glory.

The back of the card features a baseball tip that still applies to today's hitters.  It's not about killing the ball, or swinging the bat as hard as you can.  Rather, it's about making contact with the ball at the sweet spot or the "sweet part" of the bat, and spending hours practicing a hitter's craft.  Ott was a master at this, resulting in a Hall of Fame career.

1935 Season

In 152 games with the Giants, Ott batted .322 with 31 home runs and 114 RBIs.  Once again the MVP of the Giants, he and first baseman Bill Terry (#14) helped lead the club to a third place finish in the National League.

1929 Kashin Publications (R316)

1933 Goudey #127

1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #27

1939 Play Ball #51

1941 Play Ball #8

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1929 Kashin Publications (R316)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2025 Topps Tribute #78

865 - Ott non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/24/26.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #49 "Buck" Jordan - Boston Braves

Next Card: #51 John Whitehead - Chicago White Sox

#103 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

February 22, 2025 from Clifton, NJ (Probstein123) - Card #114

I had no intention of this card actually entering my collection, putting what I thought was an incredibly low bid on a recent eBay auction from seller probstein123.  The card is slabbed and graded 1.5 (fair) according to SGC, but the front of the card looks just fine to me.  Given what comparable cards have sold for over the past few years, I'm happy with the price I paid for this.  The addition of this card drops me to needing five more Diamond Stars cards for my version of a master set - Mel Ott (#50), both the error and corrected versions of the Hank Greenberg (#54) card, Pie Traynor (#99) and Stan Hack (#107).  As I get closer to the end of collecting this set, I'm coming to terms with not really needing two versions of the pricey Greenberg card.

And speaking of the master set . . . I recently spent time over at TCDB updating this set's checklist to include all 170 cards found in a Diamond Stars master set.  It had bugged me for years the TCDB checklist didn't contain any of the many back variations found throughout the set, so I decided to fix that.

Variations Available

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

This is the second Dickey card in the set, with the Hall of Fame catcher first appearing on card #11.  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.  This card has the same text on the back as his earlier card, save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics.  Also, the ink on the back of card #103 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The Card / Yankees Team Set

When I posted card #11, I wrote it was the "cheaper" of two Dickey cards in the set, with this second card likely one of the hardest to find out of all Diamond Stars cards.  Given my luck on eBay, I didn't pay much more for this harder to find high-number version than its lower-number counterpart.  The tip on the back explains the catcher's role whenever a batter drops a bunt.

1936 Season

Dickey enjoyed one of his best seasons in 1936, batting a record-setting (for catchers) .362 in 112 games, with 22 home runs and 107 RBIs.  As mentioned above, it was to be the first of four years in a row he'd eclipse the 20-home run and 100-RBI marks.  His batting average was good enough for third in the league, behind Luke Appling (#95), who batted. 388.  Dickey was an All-Star for the third of what would ultimately be 11 appearances.  He didn't fare well in the World Series, batting .120 over six games, but his Yankees defeated the Giants in the first of four straight World Championship titles.

1933 Goudey #19

1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #30

1939 Play Ball #30

1941 Play Ball #70

1952 Topps #400

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #19

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1952, 1960

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2017 Panini Diamond Kings #2

558 - Dickey non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 2/23/25.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #102 Van Mungo - Brooklyn Dodgers

Next Card: #104 Robert Rolfe - New York Yankees

#1 "Lefty" Grove - Boston Red Sox

Robert Moses Grove

Boston Red Sox

Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  190

Born:  March 6, 1900, Lonaconing, MD

Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1925-33; Boston Red Sox 1934-41

World Series Appearances:  Philadelphia Athletics 1929-31

Died:  May 22, 1975, Norwalk, OH (75)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1947

One of the greatest pitchers of all-time, and a fitting selection for card #1 in this set, Lefty Grove dominated American League batters, and was nearly untouchable for the three seasons between 1929 and 1931.  Those were the years he helped lead Connie Mack's (#142) Athletics to three straight pennants and World Series titles in 1929 and 1930.  Grove was 79-15 with a 2.46 ERA in 133 games, 99 starts and 855 innings pitched during that run, winning the pitching Triple Crown in both 1930 and 1931, leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.  Grove was 28-5 with a 2.54 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 1930, and he topped those numbers in 1931 by going 31-4 with a 2.06 ERA and 175 strikeouts in 1931 while winning the league's MVP honors.  He was a 20-game winner in seven straight seasons, led the league in ERA nine times and in strikeouts in seven consecutive seasons between 1925 and 1931.  Grove was a six-time All-Star.

Grove retired following the 1941 season with a lifetime record of 300-141, a 3.06 ERA and 2,266 strikeouts in 3,940 2/3 innings pitched.  He threw 298 complete games, including 35 shutouts.  Inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1947 and widely acknowledged as the best left-handed American League pitcher of all-time, Grove was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.

Building the Set

December 16, 2024 from Santa Ana, CA (dahardaway) - Card #113

This was the second eBay auction I got lucky with in December, netting me the first card in the set and dropping the number of cards needed for my version of a master set down to six.  I was surprisingly one of only two bidders on this auction from seller dahardaway, and I won the card with a bid only slightly higher than the starting price.  To be honest, and given I had no expectation of winning the auction, I was caught off guard when the alert came through notifying me of the win and asking for payment.  Fortunately, the auction was won well in advance of The Philly Show, meaning I didn't risk doubling up on the expensive Grove card while there.

Similar to the Jimmie Foxx (#64) card, and given this card's price tag, I opted to let Santa deliver it on Christmas morning.

Variations Available

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

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

The Card / Red Sox Team Set

Given that Grove joined the Red Sox following the 1933 season, collectors finding this card in early packs of Diamond Stars cards were likely getting their first look at the pitcher in his new team's uniform.  The first line on the back of the card compares Grove's fastball to that of another all-time great, Walter Johnson.  Ironically, Grove's fastball all but disappeared following his trade to the Red Sox, and he'd depend more on his curveball in his later years to get batters out.  The write-up ends with a warning to boys under the age of 16 not to work too hard on mastering the fastball pitch.

1934 Season

With Mack and his Athletics in financial distress, and looking to capitalize on his aging stars, Grove became one of several superstars dealt away from Philadelphia following the World Series run that ended in 1931.  On December 12, 1933, Grove, Max Bishop (#6) and Rube Walberg were traded to the Red Sox for Bob Kline, Rabbit Warstler and $125,000.  Perhaps due to wear and tear over the years, Grove's arm started hurting in spring training, and he'd struggle throughout the season.  In 22 games, including 12 starts, Grove was 8-8 with a 6.50 ERA.  He threw just 109 1/3 innings.

1933 DeLong Gum #23

1934 Goudey #19

1934-36 Batter-Up #31

1960 Fleer Baseball Greats #60

1976 Topps #350

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1927 Playing Cards (W560)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1976

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary #462

382 - Grove non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/2/25.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Next Card: #2 Al Simmons - Chicago White Sox

#64 Jimmie Foxx - Philadelphia Athletics

James Emory Foxx

Philadelphia Athletics

First Base-Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  195

Born:  October 22, 1907, Sudlersville, MD

Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1925-35; Boston Red Sox 1936-42; Chicago Cubs 1942, 1944; Philadelphia Phillies 1945

World Series Appearances:  Philadelphia Athletics 1929-31

Died:  July 21, 1967, Miami, FL (59)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1951

One of the greatest hitters of all-time, Jimmie Foxx was a veteran of 20 big league seasons, spending most of his career with the Athletics and Red Sox.  Foxx was dominant at the plate, winning a pair of batting titles, and a Triple Crown in 1933 when he batted .356 with 48 home runs and 163 RBIs.  He helped lead the Athletics to three straight American League pennants, winning World Championships in 1929 and 1930.  Foxx clubbed at least 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive seasons, and drove in at least 100 runs in 13 consecutive seasons, between 1929 and 1941.  He was a nine-time All-Star, and the first player to win three MVPs, collecting the awards in 1932, 1933 and 1938.

Foxx became the second member of the 500 home run club, joining Babe Ruth (#110), on September 24, 1940.  In 2,317 major league games, Foxx collected 2,646 hits, scored 1,751 runs, had 534 home runs and 1,922 RBIs.  His RBI total is still 10th all-time.  His .325 average is currently 45th all-time, his on-base percentage of .428 is 12th all-time and his OPS of 1.038 is sixth all-time.  A member of the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame, the Athletics Hall of Fame and the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, Foxx was inducted into Cooperstown in 1951.

Building the Set

December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (707 Sportscards Ltd.) - Card #112

Before starting our drive to the The Philly Show, recently held inside Hall A at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, I texted Doug a photo of Foxx's Diamond Stars card and told him to be on the look-out at the show.  Soon after we arrived, he reported back fairly quickly he had found a version of the card on the far side of the showroom floor, but that it was slabbed.  He knows I've been avoiding slabbed cards whenever possible, as they tend to carry a premium, and because I'd prefer to display the cards in my sets in their proper home, in order, within the set binder's nine-pocket pages.  (I wrote a full post summarizing the show over at The Phillies Room.)

Still, I was curious, and Doug led me to the dealer's table.  The Foxx card was in a display case, and having asked to view it, I almost immediately handed it back when I saw the price tag on the back for $725.  I'll give the dealer some credit for his assessment of the situation, as he picked the price tag off with his thumbnail and said that price was at least a few years' old.  He countered with a price nearly half the original sticker price and after a brief back and forth, I was scanning his phone to send a Venmo payment.  Given the importance of this card to the Diamond Stars set (and me), I opted to tuck the card away for 10 days so that Santa would get credit for the gift on Christmas morning.

Variations Available

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

1945 - Foxx with the Phillies

The Card / Athletics Team Set

This is an absolutely iconic card, and a card I've seen many, many times in my 50 years of collecting.  I'm thrilled I finally have it in my collection.  National Chicle opted to show Foxx as a catcher, even though he hadn't caught a game in the majors since the 1928 season.  The Athletics, up until the 1934 season, had Mickey Cochrane (#9) behind the plate, necessitating a position change for Foxx.  The first line on the back of the card isn't accurate, as Foxx wouldn't catch a game until the start of the 1935 season, likely after this card was being found in early packs of Diamond Stars cards.

The write-up on the back also credits Foxx's strong wrists to his years spent milking cows on his father's dairy farm in Maryland.

1935 Season

Now in his 11th season, Foxx showed no signs of slowing down.  In 147 games for the Athletics, he batted .346 with a league-leading 36 home runs and 115 RBIs.  Connie Mack's (#142) team was in shambles following a fire sale of top tier players, leaving Foxx as the sole remaining star on a club that would lose 91 games.  Foxx was the opening day catcher, making 24 starts behind the plate before shifting over to first base for the duration of the season.  He'd make 121 starts at first.  Foxx moved over to third base for the All-Star Game in Cleveland, given the American League squad had Lou Gehrig (#130) at first base.  Foxx would lead the American League All-Stars to a 4-1 victory, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs, including a first-inning, two-run home run.

On December 10th, Mack would complete the team's dismantling, dealing Foxx and Johnny Marcum to the Red Sox for George Savino, Gordon Rhodes and cash.

Phillies Career

Foxx finished his legendary career back where it all began, in Philadelphia, but this time he'd be in the National League and playing for the Phillies, who signed the aging slugger on February 10, 1945.  With rosters crunched due to the war, the Phillies invited Foxx to spring training and he made the team as a pinch-hitter and surprisingly, an occasional pitcher.  Throughout the season, Foxx made 50 starts - 35 at first base, 13 at third base and two starts on the mound.

In his final major league action, he batted .268 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs.  As a pitcher, Foxx was a surprising 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in nine games and 22 2/3 innings pitched.  Offering to help the team however he could, Foxx started games on August 19th and September 2nd.  His lasted into the seventh inning in his August outing.  In Foxx's final big league game, he laced a two-run double against the Dodgers on September 23rd, before being lifted for pinch-hitter Tony Lupien in the game's seventh inning.

1933 Goudey #29

1934-36 Batter-Up #28

1938 Goudey Heads-Up #249

1941 Play Ball #13

1960 Fleer Baseball Greats #53

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1927 Playing Cards (W560)

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Panini Chronicles Classics #33

931 - Foxx non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/25.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #63 "Stonewall" Jackson - New York Giants

Next Card:  #65 "Zeke" Bonura - Chicago White Sox

#104 Robert Rolfe - New York Yankees

Robert Abial Rolfe

New York Yankees

Third Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  170

Born: October 17, 1908, Penacook, NH

Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1931, 1934-42

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

As a Manager:  Detroit Tigers 1949-52

Died:  July 8, 1969, Gilford, NH (60)

Red Rolfe played in 10 major league seasons with the Yankees, reaching the World Series in six of those seasons and winning five World Series rings as a key member of the "Bronx Bombers" of the 1930s.  As the team's regular third baseman, Rolfe went to four All-Star Games and provided both a steady glove and a reliable bat.  His best season came in 1939 when he helped the Yankees reach the World Series by leading the league in runs (139), hits (213) and doubles (46) while hitting his career highs in batting average (.329) and home runs (14).  He tied his career high with 80 RBIs that season as well.  With his glove, Rolfe twice led the league in fielding percentage for third basemen (1935 and 1936).

Retiring following the 1942 season, Rolfe coached baseball and basketball at Yale University before returning to the majors in 1947 as a coach for the Yankees.  He took over as manager of the Tigers beginning in 1949, going 278-256 over four years at the helm.  Rolfe returned to his alma mater, Dartmouth, as their athletic director in 1954 where he stayed until retiring in 1967.  In a 1969 Yankees fan poll, Rolfe was named the third baseman on the Yankees' all-time greatest team.

Building the Set

December 10, 2024 from Los Angeles, CA (Greg Morris Cards) - Card #111

The addition of this high-number Rolfe card was a pleasant surprise, and helped me avoid getting completely shut out from a series of auctions from Greg Morris Cards following yet another Diamond Stars set break by the dealer.  On a whim, I spent an evening in early December searching for any of the final nine cards needed for my version of a Diamond Stars master set.  Greg Morris Cards had a bunch of cards up for auction from the set, including most of the cards I needed.  I entered my highest bid on each of them, waited a few days until the auctions closed, and came away with this Rolfe card for what I deemed to be a reasonable price.

This card joins the less pricey Rolfe card from early in the set (#29), added almost exactly four years to the day prior to this newer card arriving in the mail.

Variations Available

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

As mentioned and shown above, this is the second Rolfe card in the set, with the infielder first appearing on card #29.  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.  This card has the same text on the back as his earlier card, save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics.  Also, the ink on the back of card #104 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The Card / Yankees Team Set

There's all kinds of stuff going on in that Art Deco photo.  Rolfe is presumably getting ready to make a throw from third to first while the shortstop (maybe?) looks on and an umpire preemptively makes a safe call even though Rolfe is still holding the ball.  In the distance, a factory's smokestack sends smoke into the cloudless blue sky.  Rolfe is wearing a Yankees road uniform, as those sported "New York" across the front while the Yankees home uniforms contained nothing but pinstripes up until 1936.

The back contains a fielding tip, advising the reader to learn how to anticipate in which direction a batted ball will go based on the location of the pitch.  Rolfe had mastered this, according to the write-up, which is part of the reason he had become a successful fielder.

1936 Season

Rolfe was a year away from stardom and four straight All-Star Game appearances.  The regular third baseman for the Yankees, Rolfe appeared in 135 games, batting .319 with 10 home runs, 70 RBIs, and a league-leading 15 triples.  Manager Joe McCarthy (#143) had Rolfe bat second most of the year, setting the table for the power hitters in the middle of the order, including Joe DiMaggio (#126), Lou Gehrig (#130) and Bill Dickey (#11).  In his first World Series action, Rolfe batted .400 (10 for 25) against the Giants, as the Yankees won in six games.

1934 Goudey #94

1941 Double Play #65

1951 Bowman #319

1952 Topps #296

1973 Fleer Famous Feats #22

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1934 Goudey #94

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1952

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2010 Topps New York Yankees 27 World Series Championships #YC8

123 - Rolfe non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/1/25.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Previous Card:  #103 Bill Dickey - New York Yankees

Next Card:  #105 "Ernie" Lombardi - Cincinnati Reds

#98 "Schoolboy" Rowe - Detroit Tigers

Lynwood Thomas Rowe

Detroit Tigers

Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  210

Born:  January 11, 1910, Waco, TX

Major League Teams:  Detroit Tigers 1933-42; Brooklyn Dodgers 1942; Philadelphia Phillies 1943, 1946-49

World Series Appearances:  Detroit Tigers 1934-35, 1940

Died:  January 8, 1961, El Dorado, AR (50)

While playing on an adult baseball team while a 15-year-old high school student, Lynnwood Rowe was given the nickname "Schoolboy," and the moniker stuck throughout his career.  Superstitious and a fan-favorite, Rowe was a star pitcher for the Tigers in the mid-1930s, winning a career-high 24 games in 1934 and following that up with consecutive 19-win seasons in 1935 and 1936.  Rowe was second in the league in strikeouts with 140 in 1935, and recorded a career-high 149 strikeouts in 1934.  He was named to both the 1935 and 1936 American League All-Star teams.  He started four games for the Tigers in the 1934 and 1935 World Series, as the team lost to the Cardinals in seven games in 1934, but won the Championship in six games over the Cubs in 1935.  In Game 2 of the 1934 Series, he pitched a 12-inning complete game for the win.  Rowe was 2-3 with a 2.76 ERA over 42 1/3 innings pitched in those two Series, to go along with 26 strikeouts.  A threat at the plate too, he batted .307 with five home runs in 1934 and 1935.

Shoulder pain and related injuries began to take a toll on Rowe beginning in 1937, although he rebounded in 1940 to go 16-3 with a 3.46 ERA for the pennant-winning Tigers.  He'd be limited to pitching in only 55 games between 1942 and 1946, due his injuries and two years of service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.  Finishing up his career with the Phillies, Rowe won at least 10 games each season between 1946 and 1948 and made his final All-Star team in 1947.  He retired with a career record of 158-101 and an ERA of 3.87 with 913 strikeouts.  Rowe batted .263 for his career with 18 home runs and 153 RBIs.  He served as the Tigers pitching coach in 1954 and 1955.

Building the Set

August 1, 2024 from Valley View, OH (Stan's Vintage Sports Cards) - Card #108

The seventh card added to our Diamond Stars set in 2024, the addition of this card put me 11 cards away from my version of a master set.  I knew adding the final cards to our set would be tough, and pricey, and I've shied away from recent eBay auctions as most of the opening bids or buy it now prices are way out of my price range.  

I made a reasonable offer to the seller, Stan's Vintage Sports Cards, on this card, the seller made a counteroffer, and I quickly accepted.  Aesthetically, I wanted to have all these cards in order in the set's binder, but with some of these more expensive cards, I'll likely leave them in their slabs and fill the empty spaces in the binder pages with reprint cards.  It could be a little while before I add another card to our set, although I do have several current eBay auctions on my watch list.  I'm assuming I'll be able to get better deals and do some more negotiating live, and I'm looking forward to hunting Diamond Stars cards at the upcoming Philly Show in September.

Variations Available

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

The Card / Tigers Team Set

This is the second Rowe card in the set, with the pitcher first appearing on card #33.  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.  This card has the same text on the back as his earlier card, save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics.  Also, the ink on the back of card #98 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The back of the card contains an odd tip, basically telling a pitcher not to aim for the catcher's mitt but rather to aim at some part of the catcher's body other than the mitt.  The tip goes on to claim that Rowe not only endorses this tip, but that Rowe himself can't hit a target more than two out of every three times.

1936 Season

Rowe was 19-10 with a 4.51 ERA in 41 appearances for the Tigers, as his club finished in second place behind the Yankees.  Tommy Bridges (#5) was the ace of the staff, with 23 wins and a 3.60 ERA.  Rowe made his second All-Star Game, and pitched three innings in relief of Lefty Grove (#1), giving up a pair of runs.  Battling shoulder pain, Rowe would pitch in only 14 games for the Tigers in 1937 and 1938.

Phillies Career

Rowe was purchased by the Phillies from the Dodgers on March 24, 1943.  Now throwing a knuckle ball, he'd appear in 27 games that season for the Phillies, going 14-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 199 innings pitched.  Rowe was also the team's top pinch-hitter with 15 pinch-hits in 51 at-bats.  After two years in the Navy, Rowe made an impressive comeback in 1946, and was 11-4 with a 2.12 ERA in 17 games pitched.  In his first start in nearly two years on April 21, 1946, the 36-year-old Rowe threw an 11-inning complete game, although in a losing effort.  He'd win 14 games in 1947 and was named to the National League All-Star team.  Rowe would pitch in two more seasons for the Phillies before injuries finally caught up to him, and the team released him following the 1949 season. Rowe would just miss participating in the triumphant march of the Whiz Kids towards the 1950 National League pennant.  In 128 games with the Phillies, he was 52-39 with a 3.54 ERA and 245 strikeouts.

1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #184

1935 Goudey 4-in-1 (R321)

1939 Play Ball #60

1949 Bowman #216

1954 Topps #197

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #184

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1954

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Topps Archives 1954 #197

57 - Rowe non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/4/24.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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