#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.

1938 Goudey Heads-Up #250

1939 Play Ball #26

1941 Play Ball #71

1948-49 Leaf #1

1980-87 SSPC HOF #75

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1938 Goudey Heads-Up (R323) #250

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2025 Topps Living #832

2,103 - DiMaggio non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/31/26.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #111 Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees

Next Card: #113 Bob Feller - Cleveland Indians

#126 "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 1936-1942, 1946-1951

World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1936-1939, 1941-1942, 1947, 1949-1951

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.

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 / Yankees Team Set

The original Diamond Stars release would have been a lot more popular had they managed to release DiMaggio's rookie card in the set's underwhelming third series.  The back of the card mentions his excellent minor league play with his hometown San Francisco Seals between 1932 and 1935.  His older brother Vince played 10 seasons with the Braves, Reds, Pirates, Phillies and Giants between 1937 and 1946.  His younger brother Dom played 11 seasons with the Red Sox, and was a seven-time All-Star between 1940 and 1953.

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.

1938 Goudey Heads-Up #250

1939 Play Ball #26

1941 Play Ball #71

1948-49 Leaf #1

1980-87 SSPC HOF #75

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1938 Goudey Heads-Up (R323) #250

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Panini Chronicles Pinnacle #21

2,014 - DiMaggio non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/7/24.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #125 Paul Dean - St. Louis Cardinals

Next Card:  #127 Leo Durocher - St. Louis Cardinals

#82 John Babich - Boston Bees (Variation)

John Charles Babich

Boston Bees

Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185
Born:  May 14, 1913, Albion, CA

Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1934-1935; Boston Bees 1936; Philadelphia Athletics 1940-1941

Died:  January 19, 2001, Richmond, CA (87)

Johnny Babich pitched professionally for 15 seasons, spending five years in the majors.  His finest seasons came in the Pacific Coast League, where he was a 20-game winner in 1933 for the Mission Reds in and a 19-game winner in 1938 for the Hollywood Stars.  In the majors, Babich appeared in 62 games for the Dodgers in 1934 and 1935, winning seven games each season.  After a brief stint with the Bees in 1936, Babich spent three full years in the minors before returning to the big leagues with the Athletics.  He enjoyed his best season in 1940, going 14-13 with a 3.73 ERA in 31 games for an Athletics team that would lose 100 games.  His final action in the majors came in 1941 as he appeared in 16 more games for the Athletics.

Babich is credited with teaching the slider to many of his teammates.  In 112 career major league games, he was 30-45 with a 4.93 ERA.  He stayed in the game as a minor league coach for several years following his last year pitching in the minors in 1945.

Building the Set

August 1, 2023 from Garden City, MI (A to Z Cards, Comics & Coins) - Card #87

Long and unproductive virtual work meetings occasionally lead to me venturing over to eBay to look for Phillies team-issued photo cards I don't yet have or reasonably priced Diamond Stars cards needed for our set.  In late July, I clicked Buy It Now on a pair of Diamond Stars cards, including this variation card of Babich from A to Z Cards, Comics & Coins, located in Garden City, Michigan.

Variations Available

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

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

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright / No Dodgers on uniform ✅

Cards 73 through 84 were issued in 1935 with either green or blue ink on the back and statistics from 1934.  These same 12 cards were issued again in 1936 with blue ink on the back and statistics from 1935.  This is the third Babich variation, released in 1936 after the pitcher had joined the Boston Bees, and the Dodgers team name has been removed from his jersey.  I added the Dodgers variation to our set back April 2022.

The Card / Bees Team Set

I was surprised to see red pinstripes on Babich's Dodgers uniform on this card, but a quick check of the wonderful resource, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century by Marc Okkonen, shows the Dodgers did in fact have pinstripes in 1935.  Per Okkonen's illustration, the pinstripes were blue and Brooklyn was written across the chest and not Dodgers.  The Brooklyn word mark, along with the piping around the neck, were red.  And now you know.

The write-up on the back takes some liberties in calling Babich the "pitching star" of the Bees.  The tip explains it's best to pitch batters low and away until you figure out their specific weaknesses.  With the Boston Braves suffering from poor attendance and the owner in debt, a contest was held prior to the 1936 season to rename the team and hopefully generate renewed buzz for the National League team from Boston.  The Bees were the winning entry, and the team played under that nickname between 1936 and 1940.  When new ownership took over in early 1941, one of their first moves was to kill the Bees nickname and go back to being called the Braves.  Here's a great article from MLB.com with an in-depth look at the short history of the Boston Bees.

Born on May 14, 1913, Babich is the youngest player featured in the original Diamond Stars set

1936 Season

Babich was traded from the Dodgers to the Bees on February 6th with Gene Moore (#115) in exchange for Fred Frankhouse (#62).  He pitched in only three games for the Bees, two in May and one in August, earning a 10.50 ERA over six innings pitched.  Babich would spend all of 1937, 1938 and 1939 in the minor leagues, returning briefly to the majors in 1940 and 1941.

1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #167

1940 Play Ball #191

1941 Play Ball #40

1948 Signal Gasoline Oakland Oaks

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #167

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 TCMA The 1930s #345

21 - Babich non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/14/23.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #54 "Hank" Greenberg - Detroit Tigers (Variation)

Next Card: #109 Benny Frey - Cincinnati Reds

#95 Luke Appling - Chicago White Sox

Lucius Benjamin Appling

Chicago White Sox

Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  183

Born:  April 2, 1907, High Point, NC

Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1930-1943, 1945-1950

As a Manager:  Kansas City Athletics 1967

Died:  January 3, 1991, Cumming, GA (83)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1964

Shortstop Luke Appling played for 20 seasons with the White Sox, with his career briefly interrupted by military service during World War II.  A long-time star, Appling was a consistent hitter with the White Sox throughout the 1930s and 1940s, winning batting titles in 1936 and 1943 - statistically, his two best seasons.  Appling batted .388 in 1936, making his first of seven All-Star teams and finishing as runner-up in the league's MVP voting behind Lou Gehrig (#130).  In 1943, Appling batted .328 while also leading the league with a .419 on-base percentage.  He'd miss most of the next two seasons while serving in the U.S. Army, and he'd make two more All-Star teams later in his career, in 1946 and 1947.  Known for complaining about minor ailments, Appling was given the affectionate nickname of "Old Aches and Pains."  He was also adept at fouling off pitches until he received a pitch to his liking.

Upon his retirement, Appling was baseball's all-time leader for games played (2,218) and double plays turned (1,424) by a shortstop.  He was also the American League leader for all-time putouts (4,398) and assists (7,218) by a shortstop, with his marks later broken by Luis Aparicio.  He batted .310 for his career, with 2,749 hits (currently 57th all-time), 1,319 runs scored and 1,116 RBIs.  A long-time minor league manager, Appling was named Minor League Manager of the Year in 1952.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1964, and the White Sox retired his #4 in 1975.  Appling briefly managed the Athletics in 1967, taking over for the departed Alvin Dark, and compiled a 10-30 record in his brief tenure.  He was on the major league coaching staffs of the Tigers (1960), Indians (1960-1961), Orioles (1963), Athletics (1964-1966), White Sox (1970-1971) and Braves (1981-1984).  Appling worked as a batting instructor in the Braves' organization up until 1990.

Building the Set

July 24, 2023 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #85

It's been a minute since I added any new cards to my growing Diamond Stars set build.  In fact, all set building has taken a back seat so far this spring/summer to the non-stop activities of our two teenage sons, who have kept us busy with baseball tournaments, tennis camps, trips to and from the gym, trips to and from the batting cages, piano lessons, outings with friends, trips to the beach and other time consuming but fun endeavors.  In need of vintage baseball cards, I ordered this Appling card and the Wes Ferrell (#94) card from The Battesbox in late July.  As further evidence of how busy we've been, again in a good way, the cards sat on my side project table for three weeks until I found some spare time on a late Friday afternoon in mid-August to appreciate them.

As of this writing, I'm 32 cards away from my version of a complete set, which includes 11 notable variations.  I have a feeling the final cards needed will be a combination of the priciest cards in the set, Lefty Grove (#1), Mel Ott (#50) and Jimmie Foxx (#64) and the hard to find cards from the third series - basically the final six cards of the set.

Variations Available

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

The Card / White Sox Team Set

Appling has a few unknown White Sox teammates making cameo appearances in the background of this card, and those teammates aren't present in the source photo, shown above.  The second sentence on the back needs a little explanation.  Appling played for two years with the Oglethorpe College baseball team, 1929 and 1930, and was signed by the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern League following his collegiate 1930 season.  He appeared in 104 games for the Crackers during the summer of 1930, batting .326, and the White Sox purchased his contract for $20,000 on August 19th.  He'd make his debut with the White Sox on September 10th, appearing in six games.  Appling wouldn't return to the minor leagues for over 20 years, and then as a manager following his retirement.  

The last sentence mentions White Sox manager Jimmy Dykes (#42), who managed the team until 1946.  In the 20 seasons spanning Appling's playing career, the closest the White Sox ever came to a pennant was in 1937 when they finished in third place, 16 games behind the division-winning Yankees.

1936 Season

As mentioned above, this was one of Appling's best seasons.  In 138 games for the White Sox, he batted .388, beating Earl Averill (#100) for the batting title by 10 points.  He also turned a career-best 119 double plays at shortstop to lead the league, with his infield partner for those double plays most often second baseman Jackie Hayes.  Appling had a 27-game hitting streak at one point during the season, but unfortunately his career year didn't help the White Sox get closer to a pennant as his team finished in fourth place.

1934 Goudey #27

1948-49 Leaf #59

1950 Bowman #37

1960 Topps #461

1983 Donruss Hall of Fame Heroes #8

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1932 W574

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1960

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #14

321 - Appling non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/13/23.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #94 Wes Ferrell - Boston Red Sox

Next Card: #96 Lew Riggs - Cincinnati Reds

#128 Bob Feller - Cleveland Indians

Robert William Andrew Feller

Cleveland Indians

Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  185

Born:  November 3, 1918, Van Meter, IA

Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1936-1941, 1945-1956

World Series Appearances:  Cleveland Indians 1948

Died:  December 15, 2010, Cleveland, OH (92)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1962

Bob Feller made his debut with the Indians in 1936 at 17 years old, and over the next six seasons he'd establish himself as one of the best young pitchers of his era.  He missed almost four full seasons while serving in the Navy during World War II, and upon his return he picked up where he had left off, ultimately leading the Indians to a World Championship in 1948.  Feller was an eight-time American League All-Star, and finished in the top three for the league's MVP voting in 1939, 1940 and 1941.  He won a career-high 27 games in 1940, one of six seasons he won at least 20.  A workhorse, Feller led the league in complete games three times, in shutouts four times and in innings pitched five times.  He won the league's ERA title in 1940 with a 2.61 mark.  Amazingly enough, his best season statistically was 1946 after he had been away from the game for three full years.  Feller went 26-15 that season with a 2.68 ERA and led the league in complete games (36), shutouts (10) and strikeouts (348).  He threw three no-hitters in 1940, 1946 and 1951, and he shares the record of 12 one-hitters along with Nolan Ryan.

Feller retired following the 1956 season and had his #19 retired by the Indians that same year.  At the time of his retirement, his 2,581 career strikeouts were third all-time behind Walter Johnson and Cy Young.  His lifetime record was 266-162, with a 3.25 ERA in 570 games pitched, including 279 complete games and 44 shutouts.  Feller and Jackie Robinson were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962, both on their first ballots.

In 2002, while journeying cross country from Chicago to Denver and back, I spent a pleasant hour inside the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, Iowa, located in the house where Feller was born in 1918.  In 2015, the house was donated to the city of Van Meter and is now the town's city hall.

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.

As I slowly collect the originals from the 1930s, I'll also highlight each of the cards from these extension sets with their own posts.  The complete set came with a small disclaimer card, indicating Feller and five other former players appear under license authorized by Curtis Management Group.

Variations Available

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

The Card / Indians Team Set

National Chicle can be forgiven for excluding Feller from its Diamond Stars third series release in 1936, given he would have still been a relatively unknown high school pitcher from Iowa when the company was building the set's checklist.  But I'm glad Feller was given a card in this extension set.  The back of the card specifically references his first start on August 23, 1936 (see below).  Manager Steve O'Neill (#87) is also referenced on the back as O'Neill was the Indians' manager between 1935 and 1937.

1936 Season

Feller joined the Indians while still in high school and made his major league debut on July 19th with a scoreless inning of relief against the Senators.  He made his first start on August 23rd, pitching a complete game win against the Browns while striking out 15 batters.  He'd strike out 17 Athletics batters in a start on September 13th, and Feller was quickly becoming a nationally known name.  He appeared in 14 games that fist year, going 5-3 with a 3.34 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched.  Baseball writer Richard Goldstein said at the time Feller was "the best-known young person in America, with the possible exception of Shirley Temple."

1937 Goudey Premiums Type 4

1938 Goudey Heads-Up #288

1948 Bowman #5

1951 Bowman #30

1953 Topps #54

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premiums (R314) #C9

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (4):  1951-1953, 1956

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2021 Topps Update Topps Platinum Players Die Cuts #PDC-64

1,166 - Feller non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/24/22.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database

National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #127 Leo Durocher - St. Louis Cardinals

Next Card: #129 Carl Fischer - Buffalo Bisons

#82 John Babich - Brooklyn Dodgers

John Charles Babich

Brooklyn Dodgers

Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185
Born:  May 14, 1913, Albion, CA

Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1934-1935; Boston Bees 1936; Philadelphia Athletics 1940-1941

Died:  January 19, 2001, Richmond, CA (87)

Johnny Babich pitched professionally for 15 seasons, spending five years in the majors.  His finest seasons came in the Pacific Coast League, where he was a 20-game winner in 1933 for the Mission Reds in and a 19-game winner in 1938 for the Hollywood Stars.  In the majors, Babich appeared in 62 games for the Dodgers in 1934 and 1935, winning seven games each season.  After a brief stint with the Bees in 1936, Babich spent three full years in the minors before returning to the big leagues with the Athletics.  He enjoyed his best season in 1940, going 14-13 with a 3.73 ERA in 31 games for an Athletics team that would lose 100 games.  His final action in the majors came in 1941 as he appeared in 16 more games for the Athletics.

Babich is credited with teaching the slider to many of his teammates.  In 112 career major league games, he was 30-45 with a 4.93 ERA.  He stayed in the game as a minor league coach for several years following his last year pitching in the minors in 1945.

Building the Set

March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Dean's House of Cards) - Card #49

I wrote about this show over at The Phillies Room, and admittedly the focus of my morning was putting a huge dent in the remaining cards needed for our 1965 Topps set.  But shortly after entering the showroom floor, my attention was drawn to a table containing open binders with DeLong and Goudey cards from the 1930s.  I thought this dealer would also have some Diamond Stars cards for sale, and my assumption was correct.  I soon found a decent amount of Diamond Stars in a binder, in varying conditions, and from all three series of the set.  

The backs of the cards had two prices listed - one fairly high and one relatively reasonable.  The dealer, Larrie  Dean, told me it was my choice which price I paid.  Appreciating that sort of sense of humor, I set out to find three or four cards and I told Larrie I'd be opting to pay the lower of the two prices.

This Babich card was one of four cards purchased from Dean's House of Cards from Midlothian, Virginia.  Based on the lower of the two prices on the back of the card, it cost me $30.

Variations Available

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

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

3 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright / No Dodgers on uniform

Cards 73 through 84 were issued in 1935 with either green or blue ink on the back and statistics from 1934.  These same 12 cards were issued again in 1936 with blue ink on the back and statistics from 1935.  The Babich card for my set is the first of the three variations available.  The third Babich variation, released in 1936, came after the pitcher had joined the Boston Bees, and the Dodgers team name has been removed from his jersey.

The Card / Dodgers Team Set

I was surprised to see red pinstripes on Babich's Dodgers uniform on this card, but a quick check of the wonderful resource, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century by Marc Okkonen, shows the Dodgers did in fact have pinstripes in 1935.  Per Okkonen's illustration, the pinstripes were blue and Brooklyn was written across the chest and not Dodgers.  The Brooklyn word mark, along with the piping around the neck, were red.  And now you know.

The write-up on the back takes some liberties in calling Babich the "new pitching star" of the Dodgers.  The tip explains it's best to pitch batters low and away until you figure out their specific weaknesses.

1935 Season

Babich had a tough season, going 7-14 with a 6.66 ERA in 37 appearances, including 24 starts.  Casey Stengel's (#150) Dodgers finished with a 70-83-1 record, and in fifth place in the National League.  Babich was the club's third most used starting pitcher behind Van Mungo (#19) and Watty Clark.

1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #167

1940 Play Ball #191

1941 Play Ball #40

1948 Signal Gasoline Oakland Oaks

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #167

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1972 TCMA The 1930s #345

20 - Babich non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/31/22.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #81 Bill DeLancey - St. Louis Cardinals

Next Card: #83 Paul Waner - Pittsburgh Pirates