#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:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #152 "Gee" Walker - Detroit Tigers

Next Card: #1 James "Cool Papa" Bell - Pittsburgh Crawfords

#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

#113 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 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 Feller, 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 / Indians Team Set

This is Feller's second "extension" card for the Diamond Stars set, with his first appearing in the 36-card set released in 1993.  As mentioned above, the cards were created for the National held in Cleveland in 2014, so Feller's inclusion here makes sense.

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."

1950 Bowman #6

1951 Topps Red Backs #22

1952 Topps #88

1956 Topps #200

1983 Donruss Hall of Fame Heroes #36

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:  #112 Joe DiMaggio - New York Yankees

#121 Moe Berg - Boston Red Sox

Morris Berg

Boston Red Sox

Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185

Born:  March 2, 1902, New York, NY

Major League Teams:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1923; Chicago White Sox 1926-1930; Cleveland Indians 1931; Washington Senators 1932-1934; Cleveland Indians 1934; Boston Red Sox 1935-1939

Died:  May 29, 1972, Belleville, NJ (70)

On the field, Moe Berg was a back-up catcher and pinch-hitter who played in parts of 15 seasons in the majors, appearing in the most games with the Red Sox and White Sox.  In 1928, he led all American League catchers with a 60.9% caught stealing percentage.  Collecting mostly singles, Berg hit a career high .287 in 1929 while also attaining a career high with 47 RBIs.  He was known for his intelligence, having graduated from Princeton University and Columbia Law School and developed a reputation around the game as an intellectual.  Casey Stengel (#150) would say of Berg he was "the strangest man ever to play baseball."  In 663 games, Berg collected 441 hits and batted .243 with 206 RBIs and only six home runs.  He would serve as the first base coach for the Red Sox in 1940 and 1941.

Off the field, and after retiring from baseball, Berg put his intellect and his ability to speak several languages to work for the U.S. Government as a spy during and after World War II.  He had previously traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia in the early 1930s.  

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, Berg was sent on missions to Yugoslavia, the Caribbean, South America and Italy to gather intelligence on resistance groups, assess the physical fitness of American troops and to serve as a spy of the Nazi nuclear program.  Following the war, Berg briefly worked for the CIA.  He was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Truman, but declined the honor without any public explanation.  Berg's story was told in the 2018 file The Catcher Was a Spy, starring Paul Rudd in the title role.

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 #120, 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.

Variations Available

1 - 1993 / blue back / no statistics / 1993 copyright

The Card / Red Sox Team Set

A Japanese flag is included in the multi-color background behind Berg, alluding to his time as an American spy during the war.  There's also what appears to be Japanese writing cleverly inserted on the baseball in Berg's catcher's mitt.  The narrative on the back of the card is clever as well, beginning "If you were to spy Moe Berg of the Red Sox," foreshadowing his future career in espionage.

1936 Season

Berg served as a seldom used back-up to Red Sox catcher and future Hall of Famer Rick Ferrell (#48).  He appeared in 39 games, making 31 starts, batting .240 with 19 RBIs.  The Red Sox finished in sixth place in the American League under manager Joe Cronin (#123) with a record of 74-80-1.

1933 Goudey #158

1939 Play Ball #103

1940 Play Ball #30

1991 Conlon Collection TSN #184

2014 Panini Golden Age #43

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #158

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2014 Panini Golden Age #43

37 - Berg non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/22/21.

Sources:

Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #120 Lon Warneke - Chicago Cubs

Next Card: #122 Harlond Clift - St. Louis Browns

#111 Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees

Henry Louis Gehrig

New York Yankees

First Base

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  200

Born: June 19, 1903, Bronx, NY

Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1923-1939

World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1926-1928, 1932, 1936-1938

Died:  June 2, 1941, Bronx, NY (37)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1939

One of the greatest baseball players of all time, Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse, was a dominant offensive force for the Yankees' dynasty in the 1920s and 1930s before the disease that now bears his name claimed his life.  Gehrig was the A.L. MVP in 1927 and 1936, and won the triple crown in 1934.  He was a seven-time All-Star and a six-time World Champion batting .361 over seven World Series appearances.  Gehrig led the league five times in RBIs and his 1,995 career total is currently 7th all-time.  His .340 lifetime batting average is 17th all-time.  At one time, he sat atop the all-time list for grand slams with 23 (a record since broken by Alex Rodriguez) and consecutive games played with 2,130 (broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. in 1995).

Gehrig retired as a result of the debilitating effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) giving his iconic "Luckiest man on the face of the Earth" speech at Yankee Stadium in 1939.  He became the first player to have his uniform number retired when the Yankees retired his #4, and the Hall of Fame inducted him via special election in 1939 as well.  In 1999, Gehrig was the leading vote-getter for the MLB All-Century Team.

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 Gehrig, 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

Both Gehrig and Ruth are glaring omissions from the original Diamond Stars set, and the silver lining to those omissions is that the set becomes more attainable because of their absence.  As noted in the Anson Whaley article on the set in the December 2020/January 2021 issue of Beckett Vintage Collector, some collectors assume the reason for the two sluggers' omission is an exclusive contract with Goudey.  Whatever the case for Gehrig being left out of the original set, this "what if" card is a welcome addition to the Diamond Stars lineage.  The back of the card provides a fielding tip for first baseman, and notes that Gehrig's numbers slipped a bit in 1935 after the team released Ruth.

1936 Season

Gehrig was still a powerhouse, winning his second MVP award.  He led the league in runs scored (167), home runs (49), walks (130), on-base percentage (.478) and slugging percentage (.696) while driving in 152 runs.  The Yankees made it back to the World Series after a four-year absence, defeating the Giants in six games.  Gehrig hit a key home run in Game 4 off the Giants' Carl Hubbell (#39), giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead in a game they'd eventually win.

1925 Exhibits W461

1933 Goudey #92

1934 Goudey #37

1961 Topps #405

1985 Donruss #635

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1925 Exhibits W461

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (5):  1961-1962, 1973, 1976, 2010

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2020 Topps Gallery Hall of Fame Gallery #HOFG-1

1,843 - Gehrig non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/16/21.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #110 Babe Ruth - New York Yankees

Next Card: #112 Joe DiMaggio - New York Yankees

Negro League Stars #2 Josh Gibson - Pittsburgh Crawfords

Joshua Gibson

Pittsburgh Crawfords

Catcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  220

Born:  December 21, 1911, Buena Vista, GA

Major League Teams:  Homestead Grays 1931; Pittsburgh Crawfords 1933-1936; Homestead Grays 1937-1940, 1942-1946

Died:  January 20, 1947, Pittsburgh, PA (35)

Hall of Fame Induction:  1972

1941 - Gibson and Satchel Paige

One of the best sluggers and catchers of all-time, Josh Gibson was never given the chance to play on the game's biggest stage, putting together a legendary baseball career while playing in the Negro Leagues between 1930 and 1946.  Gibson's records and statistics are sketchy at best and work is continuously ongoing to try to form a more complete analysis of his career.  But by all accounts, he would have been one of the most famous and prolific baseball sluggers of his day if not for the color of his skin.

Some accounts credit Gibson with between 800 and 1,000 home runs during his professional baseball career.  His annual home run tallies were said to be in the 70s and 80s, although his official statistics (for now) show only 113 career home runs.  During a playoff game in 1934 at Yankee Stadium against the Chicago American Giants, witnesses say Gibson hit a home run blast completely out of the ballpark.  He played year-round during the prime of his career, playing in independent leagues and in the recognized Negro Leagues for either the Grays or Crawfords, all while also suiting up in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic or Mexico.

Gibson suffered a brain seizure on January 1, 1943, and spent the last four years of his life dealing with painful headaches.  He died of a stroke on January 20, 1947 at the age of 35.

With the December 2020 announcement that the Negro Leagues would finally have their statistics included within Major League Baseball historic records, there's a chance Gibson could find himself atop the all-time batting average list, supplanting Ty Cobb.  He's also certain to shake up the known hierarchy of all-time home run leaders with Barry Bonds currently atop that list with 762.

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 #120, given the 1981 extension set had left off with #120.  The final three cards in this set pay tribute to three Negro League greats, including Gibson.  There are also cards of his Crawfords teammates, James "Cool Papa" Bell and Satchel Paige.

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.

Variations Available

1 - 1993 / blue back / no statistics / 1993 copyright

The Card / Crawfords Team Set

I'm not that familiar with the logos of the Negro Leagues, and I had always assumed the Crawfords had worn red hats.  A little bit of internet digging does show that the Crawfords did wear a navy blue hat with a white "C" in the early 1930s.  The red hats must have come later.

The story on the back of the card tells of how Gibson was discovered during a game that took place on July 25, 1930.  With the 1929 Negro League Champion Kansas City Monarchs in town, the Grays' regular catcher, Joe Williams, broke a finger and their back-up catcher, Vic Harris, was playing in the outfield.  Gibson was asked to suit up for the Grays as an emergency substitute, and the rest, as they say, is history.

1936 Season

This was to be Gibson's last season with the Crawfords and his incomplete Baseball Reference statistics show he batted .451 for the season.  His unofficial home run tally for the year was 84.  He'd return to the Homestead Grays in 1937.

1980-87 SSPC HOF #128

1983 Donruss Hall of Fame Heroes #4

2001 Topps What Could Have Been #WCB1

2005 Topps Turkey Red #306

2014 Panini Golden Age #62

Other Notable Baseball Cards

First Mainstream Card:  1980-87 SSPC Hall of Fame #128

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2015 Topps Update Tape Measure Blasts #TMB-15

First mainstream card is fairly subjective here, as Gibson would have appeared on a Cooperstown Hall of Fame Plaque postcard beginning in 1972.  He's also in the oddball 1974 Laughlin Old-Time Black Stars and 1976 Shakey's Pizza sets.

240 - Gibson non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/23/20.

Sources:

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

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  Negro League Stars #1 James "Cool Papa" Bell - Pittsburgh Crawfords

Next Card:  Negro League Stars #3 Satchel Paige - Pittsburgh Crawfords