Sunday, September 17, 2023

#17 Frankie Frisch MG - St. Louis Cardinals


Frank Francis Frisch
St. Louis Cardinals
Second Base-Manager

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  165
Born:  September 9, 1897, Bronx, NY
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1919-1926; St. Louis Cardinals 1927-1937
World Series Appearances:  New York Giants 1921-1924; St. Louis Cardinals 1928, 1930-1931, 1934
As a Manager:  St. Louis Cardinals 1933-1938; Pittsburgh Pirates 1940-1946; Chicago Cubs 1949-1951
Died:  March 12, 1973, Wilmington, DE (75)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1947

Frankie Frisch was a switch-hitting superstar for the Giants and Cardinals throughout the 1920s and 1930s, helping his teams to eight World Series appearances and four World Series rings.  Frisch earned the nickname "The Fordham Flash" as a four-sport star at Fordham University.  He signed with the Giants before completing his collegiate career, bypassing the minor leagues and joining the starting line-up of John McGraw's team in 1919.  A strong defender, a great hitter and a threat on the base paths, Frisch led the league with 49 stolen bases in 49, 223 hits in 1923 and 121 runs scored in 1924.  He batted a career-high .348 in 1923.  The Giants went to the World Series four years in a row between 1921 and 1924, with Frisch hitting .362 (37 for 102) over 26 postseason games with New York.

Following a falling out with manager McGraw, Frisch was dealt to the Cardinals with Jimmy Ring in exchange for Rogers Hornsby (#44) in December 1926.  As the regular second baseman for the Cardinals, Frisch would become the spark plug for the Gashouse Gang, and he'd lead the league in stolen bases twice more in 1927 (48) and 1931 (28).  Frisch won MVP honors in 1931 while batting .311, as his Cardinals defeated the Athletics in seven games in the World Series.  Named player-manager in 1933, Frisch made his first of three straight All-Star Game appearances.  The Cardinals would win another World Series in 1934 as Frisch's playing time gradually decreased.  In 2,311 games, Frisch batted .316 with 2,880 hits, 466 doubles and 419 stolen bases.  He compiled a lifetime managerial record of 1,138-1,078 with the Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs.  Frisch was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947.

Building the Set
August 28, 2023 from Prairie Village, KS (Cam's Card Store) - Card #89
As I progress through collecting this 90-year-old set, I find it's becoming harder to add non-graded cards in relatively decent shape.  Browsing eBay or any of the big name dealer's websites, most of the remaining 31 cards needed for my version of a master set are only available in graded form.  As I get to the end of the set build, and as I hopefully and eventually add some of the priciest cards in the set, I'll likely need to buy graded versions and I'll also likely keep those cards housed in their slabs.  This Frisch card, acquired during a late August eBay hunt, was purchased at a reasonable price from Cam's Card Store in Kansas, and promptly jail-breaked (jail-broke?) from its slab upon arrival.  Don't get me wrong, the slabs look fine, but I'd much rather Frisch enter my set's binder in its natural place, and not kept separate in a display case.

Frisch was purchased the day before we left for a week-long Disney trip, and it was in the pile of held mail that was delivered to us the day we returned.

Variations Available
1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright ✅
2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright 

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
National Chicle made the wise design decision to use a horizontal format for Frisch's card, making this one of the most appealing cards in the set.  The photo itself could date back all the way to 1920 or 1921, as it appears to be the same photo used on Frisch's 1921 baseball cards, including the American Caramel card shown below.  The back of the card mentions his switch-hitting abilities, and suggests Frisch does better hitting left handed than right handed.  His career splits at Baseball Reference do not include a full breakdown, but they do show he batted .318 against right-handed pitchers and .311 against left-handed pitchers, supporting the statement on the back of this card by a slim margin.

1934 Season
In his first full season as manager of the Cardinals, Frisch led the Gashouse Gang to a National League pennant and eventually a World Series victory.  He made 113 starts at second base and 23 starts at third base, batting .305 with 30 doubles and 75 RBIs.  Frisch was the starting second baseman for the National League All-Stars, going 2 for 3 with a lead-off home run to start the game of Lefty Gomez (#118).  He batted just .194 in the World Series but his team ultimately prevailed against the Tigers in seven games.  The 1934 Cardinals team is one of the most memorable in franchise history, and it included pitchers Dizzy (#124)  and Paul Dean (#125), Pepper Martin (#26) at third base, Leo Durocher (#127) at shortstop and Ducky Medwick (#66) in left field.

1920 W519-2
1921 American Caramel Series of 80 (E121)
1933 Goudey #49
1940 Play Ball #167
1951 Bowman #282

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1920 W519 Strip Cards
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Panini Prizm #217

397 - Frisch non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/9/23.

Sources:

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Sunday, September 10, 2023

#21 Johnny Vergez - New York Giants


Jean Louis Vergez
New York Giants
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'8"  Weight:  165
Born:  July 9, 1906, Oakland, CA
Major League Teams:  New York Giants 1931-1934; Philadelphia Phillies 1935-1936; St. Louis Cardinals 1936
Died:  July 15, 1991, Davis, CA (85)

Johnny Vergez played in six big league seasons and was the regular third baseman for the Giants between 1931 and 1935.  His best season came in 1933 when he hit .271 with a career high 16 home runs to go along with 72 RBIs.  He had previously reached his career peak in both average (.278) and RBIs (81) in his rookie season of 1931.  A steady defender at third, Vergez lead all third baseman in fielding percentage in 1935 and finished in the top ten in the league in three other seasons.  In 672 major league games, Vergez batted .255 with 52 home runs and 292 RBIs.

Both before and after his big league career, Vergez starred in the Pacific Coast League with the Oakland Oaks (1929-1930, 1939-1943) and the Sacramento Solons (1936-1938).  He was the Oaks' player manager between 1939 and 1943, and while the record from his first two seasons at the helm are unavailable, over the final three seasons he guided the Oaks to three first place finishes and an overall record of 512-244.  After his PCL career, Vergez scouted for the Giants and was the head baseball coach at Saint Mary's College.

Building the Set
August 18, 2023 from Howell, NJ (East Coast Cards & Slabs) - Card #88
This was a surprisingly hard card for me to find, and when I did find it on eBay in mid-August, I was surprised at how low the asking price was.  Most of the Vergez cards I've come across in my travels have been the Phillies version of the card, which updates his team designation from Giants to Phillies following his trade from New York in November 1934.  The few Giants versions of this card I've seen over the years have all been fairly beat up.  This card arrived a few days after I had clicked Buy It Now from East Coast Cards & Slabs, located in Howell, New Jersey, and I took the picture shown here with both my Vergez variations meeting for the first time.

Variations Available
1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright / team on back is the Giants ✅
2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright / team on back is the Phillies

The Card / Giants Team Set
The first sentence on the back misspells Vergez's name before going into a lengthy "running the bases" tip.  I believe Vergez is shown here wearing an Oakland Oaks jersey, meaning the source photo is likely from either 1929 or 1930, years in which Vergez spent the entire season with the Oaks.

1934 Season
Vergez was the regular third baseman for the Giants, appearing in 108 games and batting an even .200 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs.  The Giants finished just two games behind the Cardinals for the National League pennant, with Carl Hubbell (#39), Mel Ott (#50) and Bill Terry (#14) leading the way.

Phillies Career
The Giants traded Vergez along with Pretzel Pezzullo, Blondy Ryan (#40), George Watkins and cash to the Phillies on November 1, 1934 for All-Star shortstop Dick Bartell (#101).  Vergez was the Phillies' opening day third baseman in 1935, and he'd go on to start 148 games at the position with Mickey Haslin receiving the other 8 starts.  Vergez had a solid year with his glove, but struggled somewhat at the plate.  He led all National League third baseman with putouts (188) and double plays turned (25), while leading the league in fielding percentage (.953) at the position.  At the plate, Vergez batted .249 with 9 home runs and 63 RBIs.  The 1935 Phillies, managed by Jimmie Wilson (#22), finished 7th in the National League with a 64-89 record.

Vergez broke camp with the Phillies in 1936 and again was the club's opening day third baseman.  But on April 30th, the Phillies re-acquired Pinky Whitney from the Boston Bees and Vergez's time with the team was essentially over.  After 15 games with the Phillies at the start of the season, Vergez was sold to the Cardinals on May 24th.

1933 Goudey #233
1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #176
1993 Conlon Collection TSN #811

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #233
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1993 Conlon Collection TSN #811

19 - Vergez non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/18/23.


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Sunday, September 3, 2023

#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:

Previous Card:  #54 "Hank" Greenberg - Detroit Tigers (Variation)
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Sunday, August 27, 2023

#43 Ted Lyons - Chicago White Sox


Theodore Amar Lyons
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  200
Born:  December 28, 1900, Lake Charles, LA
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1923-1942, 1946
As a Manager:  Chicago White Sox 1946-1948
Died:  July 25, 1986, Sulphur, LA (85)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1955

Ted Lyons pitched in parts of 21 seasons with the White Sox, where he was a fan favorite throughout the 1920s, 1930s and the early 1940s.  Lyons was a 20-game winner in three seasons, first achieving the feat in 1925 when he was 21-11 with a league leading five shutouts.  He no-hit the Red Sox on August 21, 1926, at Fenway Park.  In 1927, Lyons was 22-14 while leading the league in complete games (30) and innings pitched (307 2/3).  He'd match up with Tigers' pitcher George Uhle on May 24, 1929, throwing a 21-inning complete game in a 6-5 loss, while Uhle threw 20 innings.  Lyons peaked in 1930, going 22-15 with a 3.78 ERA while again leading the league in complete games (29) and innings pitched (297 2/3).  In 1934, and in an effort to preserve his arm, the White Sox capped his pitching output to 30 games per season.  Beginning in 1939, his workload was cut even further when manager Jimmy Dykes (#42) scheduled him for only Sunday afternoon games, earning Lyons the nickname, "Sunday Teddy."  Lyons would make his only All-Star team in 1939.

He missed three full years while serving with the Marines during World War II, returning to pitch in five games in 1946 before retiring as a player.  Lyons was 260-230 lifetime with a 3.67 ERA in 594 games pitched.  Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955, he's the only pitcher in the Hall with more walks (1,121) than strikeouts (1,073).  He managed the White Sox for three seasons following the dismissal of Dykes, guiding his team to a 185-245 record.  Lyons was later a coach with the Tigers (1949-1953) and Dodgers (1954), and he'd serve as a scout and minor league instructor with the White Sox until retiring from baseball in 1967.  The White Sox posthumously retired his #16 in 1987.

Building the Set
July 31, 2023 from Scottsdale, AZ (TONYeTRADE Enterprises) - Card #86
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 card of Hall of Famer Lyons from TONYeTRADE Enterprises, located in Scottsdale.

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

The Card / White Sox Team Set
According to the fantastic resource, Baseball Uniforms of the 20th Century by Marc Okkonen, the White Sox uniform Lyons is shown wearing on this card was last worn by the club in 1929.  The tip on the back explains how not to let the batter know what type of pitch is coming, by hiding the ball in your glove while setting your grip.

1935 Season
With the relatively new 30-game cap in place for Lyons' workload, the pitcher appeared in 23 games in 1935, going 15-8 with a 3.02 ERA over 190 2/3 innings pitched.  Not only were his appearances limited, but manager Dykes started giving Lyons six days of rest between starts, resulting in his lowest ERA in eight years.  Despite the decreased work load, Lyons compiled the highest bWAR on the club among all pitchers with a 4.9 mark.  He led the staff with his 15 wins, two more than John Whitehead (#51), who made 27 starts.

1928 Exhibits (W461)
1933 Goudey #7
1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #119
1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #122
2005 Upper Deck Classics #89

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1928 Exhibits (W461)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #21

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

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Sunday, August 20, 2023

#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.

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Sunday, August 13, 2023

#94 Wes Ferrell - Boston Red Sox


Wesley Cheek Ferrell
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  February 2, 1908, Greensboro, NC
Major League Teams:  Cleveland Indians 1927-1933; Boston Red Sox 1934-1937; Washington Senators 1937-1938; New York Yankees 1938-1939; Brooklyn Dodgers 1940; Boston Braves 1941
Died:  December 9, 1976, Sarasota, FL (68)

Wes Ferrell pitched in parts of 15 big league season, finding the most success in his 11 years with the Indians and Red Sox.  Ferrell joined the Indians' staff for good in 1929, putting up his first of six 20-win seasons.  He'd have a career year in 1930, going 25-13 with a 3.31 ERA in 43 appearances with a career best 143 strikeouts.  Ferrell would win 22 games in 1931, 23 games in 1932 and be named to the first American League All-Star team in 1933.  He pitched a no-hitter on April 29, 1931 against the Browns.  Dealt to the Red Sox in May 1934, Ferrell would be a workhorse for Boston, leading the league in innings pitched and complete games three seasons in a row between 1935 and 1937.  He'd win 25 games again in 1935 and travel to his second All-Star Game in 1937.  Ferrell bounced around towards the end of his major league career, spending time with the Yankees, Dodgers and Braves.

In 374 games, he was 193-128 with a 4.04 ERA and 227 complete games, which is currently 104th all-time.  He walked more (1,040) than he struck out (985).  Some have argued for Hall of Fame status for Ferrell, given his impressive pitching statistics all came while pitching for mostly mediocre teams.  He was a major threat at the plate too, setting records for home runs in a season (9) and over his career (37), while batting .280 overall.  Ferrell is a member of both the Hall of Fames for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox.  His brother, catcher Rick Ferrell (#48), was a teammate of his with the Red Sox between 1934 and 1937, and Rick was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.

Building the Set
July 24, 2023 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #84
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 Ferrell card and the Luke Appling (#95) 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 / Red Sox Team Set
This is probably the most well-known baseball card of Ferrell's, and it's much more appealing than his 1933 Goudey rookie card, which features a somewhat eerie photo.  As is the case with many third series cards, the back includes biographical and career summary information in lieu of a baseball tip.  The write-up here covers all the highlights of Ferrell's career, including his no-hitter, his being named to the All-Star team in 1933, his fantastic 1935 season, his solid hitting skills and finally, the fact his current catcher is his brother Rick.

1936 Season
Ferrell led the league in starts (38), complete games (28), innings pitched (301) and hits allowed (330), while going 20-15 with a 4.19 ERA.  The Red Sox finished in sixth place in the American League, spared from the basement by the Browns and Athletics.  Their most frequently used starting pitchers were Ferrell, Grove, Fritz Ostermueller (#73) and Johnny Marcum.

1933 Goudey #218
 
1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #174
 
1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #26
 
1982 TCMA Baseball's
Greatest Pitchers #21
1994 Conlon Collection
TSN #1169

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #218
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Conlon Collection TSN #1169

60 - Ferrell non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/11/23.

Sources:

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