Showing posts with label 1960. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1960. Show all posts

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:

Previous Card:  #152 "Gee" Walker - Detroit Tigers
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Sunday, January 19, 2025

#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:


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Sunday, January 12, 2025

#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:

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Sunday, March 31, 2024

#118 Vernon Gomez - New York Yankees


Vernon Louis Gomez
New York Yankees
Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  173
Born:  November 26, 1908, Rodeo, CA
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1930-1942; Washington Senators 1943
World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1932, 1936-1939
Died:  February 17, 1989, Greenbrae, CA (80)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1972

Lefty Gomez pitched for 14 seasons, appearing in 368 games, with all but his final game coming with the Yankees.  Gomez was an ace for the Yankees dynasty that went to the World Series five times between 1932 and 1939, winning championship titles each time.  Carrying over his regular season success to the World Series, Gomez was 6-0 with a 2.86 ERA in seven World Series starts.  He was a 20-game winner in four different seasons, including his career year in 1934.  That year he was 26-5 with a 2.33 ERA, with 25 complete games, six shutouts and 158 strikeouts in 281 2/3 innings pitched, leading the American League in all those categories.  Gomez was a seven-time All-Star, and was the winning pitcher for the American League in the first ever All-Star Game in 1933.  He had two seasons in which he won the pitching Triple Crown - most wins, lowest ERA, most strikeouts - 1934, as mentioned above, and 1937 when he was 21-11 with a 2.33 ERA and a career-high 194 strikeouts.

1934 Butterfinger Premiums (R310)
Gomez had a lifetime record of 189-102 with a 3.34 ERA and 1,468 strikeouts over 2,503 innings pitched.  He threw 173 complete games and 28 shutouts.  Known for his wit, Gomez became a sought after public speaker following his retirement.  The Veterans Committee unanimously inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 1972.

Building the Set
December 11, 2020 from San Diego, CA (Kit Young Cards)
On the night I impulsively decided to collect the original Diamond Stars set, and I subsequently purchased the Harvey Hendrick (#41) card from Kit Young Cards, I also added the complete, and first, extended set to my cart for the very reasonable price of $7.50.  The 12 cards in this first extended set were originally issued in 1981.

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

The Beckett online database lists the set as "1981 Diamond Stars Continuation Den's" and the set's description notes "This set was created and produced by Denny Eckes.  Hobbyist Mike Galella was involved in bringing this sheet to the the public.  These cards were originally available from the producer for $3."  The back of the cards have a 1981 copyright attributed to Den's Collectors Den, the company belonging to the aforementioned Eckes.

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 / Yankees Team Set
Gomez was known for his overpowering fastball, referred to as "hopping" on the back of this card.  Given his success in 1933, it's surprising National Chicle didn't include him in its original checklist.  The photo used for the card was first seen in the 1934 Butterfingers Premium set, shown above.

1937 Season
As mentioned above, this was Gomez's second Triple Crown season.  He was the winning pitcher in the All-Star Game, pitching three shutout innings and allowing just one hit.  Gomez was 2-0 in the World Series, both complete games, allowing three earned runs in 18 innings pitched, as the Yankees overtook the Giants in five games.  He finished ninth in the MVP voting, with teammate Red Ruffing (#60) the only pitcher getting more votes than Gomez.

1933 Goudey #216
1933 DeLong Gum #14
1939 Play Ball #48
1941 Play Ball #72
1960 Fleer Baseball Greats #54

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #216
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #27

399 - Gomez non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 3/30/24.

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Sunday, March 17, 2024

#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.


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Sunday, February 4, 2024

#97 "Al" Lopez - Boston Bees


Alfonso Ramon Lopez
Boston Bees
Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  165
Born:  August 20, 1908, Tampa, FL
Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Robins 1928, 1930-1931; Brooklyn Dodgers 1932-1935; Boston Bees 1936-1940; Pittsburgh Pirates 1940-1946; Cleveland Indians 1947
As a Manager:  Cleveland Indians 1951-1956; Chicago White Sox 1957-1965, 1968-1969
Died:  October 30, 2005, Tampa, FL (age 97)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1977

As a catcher, Al Lopez played in 19 seasons and was a two-time All-Star in 1934 with the Dodgers and 1941 with the Pirates.  Durable behind the plate, he at one time held the record for total games caught with 1,918, broken by Bob Boone in 1987 and since bested by nine other backstops.  Known more for his defense than his bat, Lopez was still a career .261 hitter and he hit 51 home runs with 652 RBIs over 1,950 games.

As a manager, Lopez built a Hall of Fame resume by leading the 1954 Indians and 1959 White Sox to the World Series, interrupting a dynasty of Yankee pennant winning teams between 1949 and 1964.  Over 17 seasons as a manager he compiled a lifetime winning percentage of .584, going 1,410-1,004.  In the years between 1951 and 1965, his teams finished in second place or won the pennant 12 out of 15 times.  The Veterans Committee elected him into the Hall of Fame in 1977.  At the age of 97, Lopez watched the White Sox win the World Series in 2005, their first title since 1917.  He passed away four days later and at the time of his death he represented the last living ballplayer who had played in the Majors in the 1920s.

Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.

Building the Set
January 6, 2024 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #102
Wanting to start the new year off appropriately, I impulsively took advantage of a storewide sale at The Battersbox on New Year's Day, with this Lopez card as the cornerstone of my purchase.  Lopez arrived five days later from Texas, along with three other cards from sets I'm actively collecting (1969 Topps) or soon to be collecting (1955 Bowman and 1959 Topps).

The addition of this card drops the total needed to 17 for my version of a master set, which includes eight more elusive (and expensive) third series cards.

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

Lopez is found earlier in the set as card #28, and he's listed as a member of the Dodgers on the back of that card.

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.  Lopez shows up again as card #97, with the same text on the back save for his 1935 statistics at the bottom replacing his 1934 statistics, and the mention that Lopez is now a member of the Boston Bees.  The ink on the back of card #97 is blue, similar to all cards from the third series.

The Card / Bees Team Set
As I wrote with the post for card #28, this is Lopez's rookie card, and it's one of the more recognizable cards in the set.  There's so much going on here and so many different elements to the action scene depicted on the front.  Lopez is shown tossing off his catcher's mask in an attempt, I think, to catch a foul pop up.  Granted, the angles and the depth perception are all wrong here, but a baseball fan would get the gist of what is supposed to be happening.  We've got shadows behind Lopez and the mystery batter, the mystery batter's hand holding the bat as he completes his backswing and four multi-color pennants in the background to fill the open yellow space beyond the outfield wall.  The back of the card gives the collector a tip on how to prepare as a catcher to throw out a would-be base stealer.  And in what is a first for me, or at least the first time I've seen it on the back of one of these cards, we have a reference to another card in the set!  The collector is directed to view Mickey Cochrane's (#9) card for further catching tips.

1936 Season
On December 12, 1935, the Dodgers dealt Lopez, Ray Benge, Tony Cuccinello and Bobby Reis to the Boston Bees in exchange for Ed Brandt and Randy Moore.  As the regular catcher for the Bees, who had changed their name temporarily from the Braves following the 1935 season, Lopez played in 128 games, batting .242 with seven home runs and 50 RBIs.

1938 Goudey Heads-Up #281
 
1951 Bowman #295
 
1960 Topps #222
 
1969 Topps #527
 
2022 Topps Chrome
Platinum Anniversary #85

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934-36 National Chicle Diamond Stars (R327) #28
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1960-1965, 1969
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Panini Prize #267

228 - Lopez non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/31/24.


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