#136 Billy Herman - Chicago Cubs

William Jennings Bryan Herman

Chicago Cubs

Second Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  180

Born:  July 7, 1909, New Albany, IN

Major League Teams:  Chicago Cubs 1931-41; Brooklyn Dodgers 1941-43, 1946; Boston Braves 1946; Pittsburgh Pirates 1947

World Series Appearances:  Chicago Cubs 1932, 1935, 1938; Brooklyn Dodgers 1941

As a Manager:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1947; Boston Red Sox 1964-66

Died:  September 5, 1992, West Palm Beach, FL (83)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1975

Named for the three-time Presidential candidate and long-time politician, Billy Herman was an All-Star second baseman for the Cubs throughout the 1930s and into the early 1940s.  He earned a spot on the All-Star Game roster ten times, including his career year of 1935 when he led the league with 227 hits and 57 doubles.  Herman helped his teams win four pennants (1932, 1935 and 1938 with the Cubs and 1941 with the Dodgers) but he was never a World Series winner as a player.  He missed all of the 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving during World War II and he'd play his final years with the Dodgers, Braves and Pirates.  Herman's managerial career began in 1947 as the player-manager for the Pirates, but his team struggled to a 61-92-2 record and seventh place in the National League.  A consistent and steady fielder, Herman led all second baseman in fielding percentage three times and finished in the top ten for the mark 12 times.  Over 1,922 games he collected 2,345 hits while batting .304.

Herman was a long-time coach, spending time with the Dodgers (1952-57), Braves (1958-59) and Red Sox (1960-64) before being named the Red Sox manager at the end of the 1964 season, replacing the departing Johnny Pesky.  Herman's Red Sox lost 100 games in 1965 and they'd lose another 82 in 1966 under his watch until he was replaced by Pete Runnels for the final weeks of the season.  Herman would return to the coaching ranks with the Angels (1967) and Padres (1978-79).  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975 by the Veterans Committee.

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

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 / Cubs Team Set

The front of the card features Herman making another clean play in the field, while the back highlights his accomplishments up through the 1935 season.  Cubs teammates Frank Demaree, Stan Hack (#34) and Gabby Hartnett (#134) are all name-checked as the sluggers bringing Herman home once he's reached based.

1936 Season

One of Herman's best seasons statistically, he batted .334 in 153 games with 211 hits, 57 doubles and 93 RBIs.  He was named to his third All-Star team and finished third in the MVP voting behind Carl Hubbell (#39) and Dizzy Dean (#124).

1933 Goudey #227

1933 Tattoo Orbit

1941 Double Play #3-4

1952 Topps #394

1965 Topps #251

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #227
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (6):  1952, 1954-55, 1960, 1965-66
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #35

328 - Herman non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/2/26.

Sources:

1965 Topps Blog

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #135 "Babe" Herman - Cincinnati Reds

Next Card: #137 Waite Hoyt - Pittsburgh Pirates

#150 "Casey" Stengel MG - Brooklyn Dodgers

Charles Dillon Stengel

Brooklyn Dodgers

Manager

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  July 30, 1890, Kansas City, MO

Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1912-1917; Pittsburgh Pirates 1918-1919; Philadelphia Phillies 1920-1921; New York Giants 1921-1923; Boston Braves 1924-1925

World Series Appearances:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1916; New York Giants 1922-1923; New York Yankees 1949-1953, 1955-1958, 1960

As a Manager:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1934-1936; Boston Bees 1938-1942; Boston Braves 1943; New York Yankees 1949-1960; New York Mets 1962-1965

Died:  September 29, 1975, Glendale, CA (age 85)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1966

Before he became "The Old Perfessor" with a Hall of Fame managing career, Casey Stengel was an outfielder for 14 big league seasons primarily with the Dodgers and Giants.  In 1,277 career games he hit .284 with 60 home runs and 535 RBIs.  His best seasons came in 1914 with the Dodgers when he led the league with a .404 on-base percentage and finished fifth in batting average at .316, and in 1922 with the Giants.  He only appeared in 84 games that year but hit .368 with 48 RBIs.  He won a World Series ring with the Giants in 1922, hitting .400 in that year's World Series against the Yankees.

Following his playing days, Stengel had managing stints with the Dodgers and Bees/Braves but he'd find his greatest success leading the Yankees through one of the most successful stretches in franchise and baseball history.  Stengel's Yankees' teams won World Series titles every year between 1949 and 1953, and then again in 1956 and 1958.  The only years his Yankees teams didn't make the World Series were 1954 when the club still won 103 games and 1959.  He had a .623 winning percentage with the Yankees, winning 1,149 games to just 696 losses.

Stengel and the Yankees parted ways following the 1960 season, and at the age of 71 he was named the first manager for the expansion New York Mets for the start of their inaugural season in 1962.  In the three full seasons Stengel managed the Mets, the team finished each year with at least 100 losses.  He compiled a record of 174-404 with the Mets and retired part way through the 1965 seasons after falling and breaking his hip.

The Mets retired Stengel's #37 on September 2, 1965 and the following year the Hall of Fame waived its five-year waiting period to induct him that summer.  He threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the 1969 World Series between the Mets and Orioles, and the Mets gave him a World Series ring following their series win.  The Yankees retired his #37 in 1970.  He's the only person to have worn the uniform as a player or manager for all four major league teams to have called New York home in the 20th century - Dodgers, Giants, Yankees and Mets.

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

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 / Dodgers Team Set

The back of the card summarizes a few highlights from Stengel's playing days and notes he's in his third year as the Dodgers manager.  The young players mentioned as Stengel's young sparks are outfielder Frenchy Bordagray, catcher Babe Phelps and first baseman Buddy Hassett.

1936 Season

This was to be Stengel's third and final season as manager of the Dodgers, and his team would finish in seventh place with a 67-87-2 record.  Only the 100-loss Phillies team kept them out of the National League basement.  The Dodgers received decent pitching from Van Mungo (#19), Ed Brandt and Fred Frankhouse (#62), but not much in the way of offense.  First baseman Hassett led the team with 82 RBIs, and catcher Phelps topped all Dodgers' batters with five home runs.

Phillies Career
The Phillies acquired Stengel from the Pirates on August 9, 1919 for Possum Whitted, after Stengel had had a salary dispute with the Pirates' owner.  Upon arriving in Philadelphia, he repeated his salary demands and when the Phillies didn't agree, Stengel went home to Kansas City and played for barnstorming clubs.  He came back to Philadelphia for the 1920 season and had a fairly successful year as the team's regular right fielder.  In 129 games, Stengel hit .292 with a career-high 9 home runs and 50 RBIs.

Injuries slowed him down in 1921 and he'd appear in only 24 games with the Phillies before being traded to the Giants on July 1st with Johnny Rawlings for Lee King, Goldie Rapp and Billy Southworth.  In 153 total games for the Phillies, Stengel hit .294.  He'd later manage the 1950 Yankees team that would sweep the Whiz Kid Phillies in the World Series.

1910 Old Mill Cigarettes T210

1916 Sporting News M101-4 #169

1940 Play Ball #141

1950 Bowman #217

1959 Topps #552

1965 Topps #187

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1910 T210 Old Mill
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (7):  1958-1960; 1962-1965
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Topps 206 (Wave 3)

449 - Stengel non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/7/24.

Sources:

1965 Topps Blog

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #149 Al Smith - New York Giants

Next Card: #151 Floyd Vaughan - Pittsburgh Pirates