Sunday, December 17, 2023

#23 Bill Hallahan - St. Louis Cardinals


William Anthony Hallahan
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  170
Born:  August 4, 1902, Binghamton, NY
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1925-1926, 1929-1936; Cincinnati Reds 1936-1937; Philadelphia Phillies 1938
World Series Appearances:  St. Louis Cardinals 1926, 1930-1931, 1934
Died:  July 8, 1981, Binghamton, NY (78)

Given the nickname "Wild Bill" due to his penchant for walks, Bill Hallahan pitched for 10 seasons with the Cardinals, helping his club to four World Series appearances and three World Championships.  Hallahan had a few brief stints with the Cardinals in 1925 and 1926, before coming up for good in 1929 and becoming one of the workhorses of the Gashouse Gang's pitching staff.  He led the league in both strikeouts and walks in 1930 and 1931, and was a 19-game winner in 1931 with a 3.29 ERA.  Hallahan was stellar in most of his World Series appearances, going 3-1 with a 1.36 ERA in seven games, five starts and 39 2/3 innings pitched.  He was the winning pitcher in Games 2 and 5 of the 1931 World Series, and recorded the final out in Game 7 to earn the save.  Hallahan pitched in at least 162 innings for seven straight seasons between 1930 and 1936.

Hallahan was the National League's starting pitcher in the first ever All-Star Game in 1933, held in Chicago's Comiskey Park.  He'd win another World Series title in 1934, and won 15 games in 1935, his fourth and final season claiming as many wins.  His Cardinals' career came to an end on May 31, 1936, when he was sold to the Reds.  After 2 1/2 seasons of mediocre pitching performances, Hallahan retired, seeing his last action with the Phillies in 1938.  He was 102-94 lifetime, with a 4.03 ERA in 324 games pitched.  Hallahan had 856 strikeouts to 779 walks in 1,740 1/3 career innings pitched.

Building the Set
December 3, 2023 from Oaks, PA (The Philly Show - Clean Sweep Auctions) - Card #95
This was the only Diamond Stars card I thought I'd add from the recent Philly Show, but I'd end up adding two more.  Hallahan has eluded me over the nearly three years I've collected this set, which is odd given he's a non-Hall of Famer, non-high number and non-Yankees player.  Most of the cards featuring players similar to Hallahan have been available in multiple eBay auctions or at The Philly Show over the past three years, with Hallahan and the card for Max Bishop (#6) being somewhat difficult to track down.  As of this writing, I need 26 more cards with Bishop and a variation of the Dixie Walker card (#12) being the only two non-Hall of Famer, non-high number cards remaining.

I found this Hallahan card in a stack of "commons" at the Clean Sweep Auction table, and given I had rarely seen a copy of this card available for sale, I gladly paid the $30 being asked for it.  I wrote a full report of the December Philly Show over at The Phillies Room.

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

The Card / Cardinals Team Set
The tip on the back of the card concerns how to stand on the mound without embarrassing yourself.  And I learned something here too.  The tip advises young pitchers to "read the thirteen ways that a balk can be made and school yourself to avoid them."  To this day, nearly 100 years later, there are 13 different ways a pitcher might commit a balk.  I honestly had no idea there were that many, and lists are readily available online.

1934 Season
Hallahan was the veteran on the Cardinals' pitching staff, and he struggled following his successful 1933 campaign.  The typical rotation for the eventual World Champions consisted of Dizzy Dean (#124), Paul Dean (#125), Tex Carleton, Bill Walker and Hallahan.  Hallahan was 8-12 with a 4.26 ERA, throwing 10 complete games and a pair of shutouts.  He started Game 4 of the World Series, facing off against the Tigers' Schoolboy Rowe (#33).  Hallahan departed the game with one out in the ninth, with the score tied 2-2.  Walker would lose the game in the 12th on an RBI single by Goose Goslin (#112) to score Charlie Gehringer (#77).  Rowe pitched a complete game, lasting all 12 innings.

Phillies Career
The Phillies were terrible in the 1930s, and Hallahan's former teammate Jimmie Wilson (#22) was their player-manager.  Wilson brought Hallahan on board, signing the pitcher on February 7, 1938, and giving him a front row seat to the Phillies' 105-loss season.  His last great pitching performance came on August 25th against the Pirates, when he threw an 11-inning complete game victory, and gave up only a run on five hits.  Hallahan was 1-8 with a 5.46 ERA in 21 games, including 10 starts.  He pitched 89 innings in his final big league season, striking out 22 and walking 45.

He was released on December 19, 1938, and he'd attempt a comeback in 1939 with the minor league Minneapolis Millers before retiring from baseball.  There's one Hallahan Phillies baseball card available, from the 1974 TCMA Nicknames set, and I've added that card to my want list.

1933 Goudey #200
1933 Tattoo Orbit (R305)
1934 Goudey #82
1934-36 Batter-Up (R318) #121
1991 Conlon Collection TSN #214

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #200
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1993 Conlon Collection TSN #685

51 - Hallahan non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/4/23.

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Sunday, December 10, 2023

#12 "Dixie" Walker - New York Yankees


Fred Walker
New York Yankees
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  175
Born: September 24, 1910, Villa Rica, GA
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1931, 1933-1936; Chicago White Sox 1936-1937; Detroit Tigers 1938-1939; Brooklyn Dodgers 1939-1947; Pittsburgh Pirates 1948-1949
World Series Appearances:  Brooklyn Dodgers 1941, 1947
Died:  May 17, 1982, Birmingham, AL (71)

Dixie Walker played in parts of 18 seasons in the majors, earning his way onto five All-Star teams while with the Dodgers and winning the N.L. batting title in 1944 when he hit .357.  He ended the 1946 season as the most popular player in Brooklyn history, according to legendary broadcaster Red Barber, but he'd later become better known as the player who tried to thwart Jackie Robinson from joining the Dodgers in 1947.  Walker initiated a player petition asking that Robinson not be permitted to join the team and then later requested that Dodgers owner Branch Rickey trade him.  Later in life, he told author Roger Kahn the petition was "the stupidest thing he'd ever done."

Rickey honored Walker's request and traded him to the Pirates on December 8, 1947, where he played the final two years of his career.  In his nine seasons with the Dodgers, Walker enjoyed the best years of his career, batting .311 with 67 home runs and 725 RBIs.  He was dubbed "The People's Cherce," in reference to the way the word "choice" sounds when said in a Brooklyn accent.  In 1,905 career games, Walker had a .306 average with 2,064 hits.  Following his playing days, he served as a coach for the Cardinals (1953, 1955), Braves (1963-1965) and Dodgers (1970-1974). 

Updated back from 1935
Building the Set
November 27, 2023 from Los Angels, CA (Greg Morris Cards) - Card #94
Surprisingly one of the least expensive cards I've added to our set, this is the second of three Walker cards I plan to add to my version of a master set - see below.  I don't think there were many other bids on this eBay auction, as I sent through my opening bid at a fairly low price and surprisingly won the auction a few days later.  Everyone once in a while I find myself getting lucky on eBay, and this was one of those instances.

Variations Available
1 - 1934 / green back / 1933 statistics / 1934 copyright / mentions Babe Ruth retiring ✅
2 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1934 copyright / mentions Babe Ruth to Braves
3 - 1936 / blue back / no statistics / 1934 copyright / no mention of Babe Ruth

The Card / Yankees Team Set
The first version of this card I added back in January 2021 was the variation version issued in 1935, noting that Walker "is expected to help fill the gap left by Babe Ruth moving to Boston (Braves)."  This version of this card, issued in 1934, notes that Walker "is expected to fill Babe Ruth's shoes when the great Yankee slugger retires."  Ruth (#109b) was released by the Yankees on February 26, 1935 and signed with the Braves that very same day so the card I now own was issued after that date.

Walker's father, also Dixie Walker, is mentioned on the back of the card and the elder Walker pitched for four seasons with the Senators between 1909 and 1912.  His brother, Harry Walker, was a two-time All-Star for the Cardinals and played for 11 seasons in the majors.  The batting tip on the back encourages batters to relax and step out if needed "until the nervousness has disappeared."

1934 Season
Walker was expected to play a big role with the Yankees in 1934, but he developed an arm injury in spring training that would limit him to just 17 games throughout early August.  By mid-August, unable to help the team at all, Walker was put on the voluntarily retired list, missing the rest of the season.  Of his 17 games, only one was a start.  On July 28th, he started in left field against the Athletics, going 0 for 5.  The rest of his 16 appearances were as a pinch-hitter or a pinch-runner, so it was truly a wasted season.  Walker batted just .118 (2 for 17) for the year.

1934 Goudey #39
1941 Double Play #21
1953 Topps #190
1961 Fleer Baseball Greats #151
1992 Conlon Collection TSN #506

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934 Goudey #39
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1953
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1995 Conlon Collection TSN #1387

51 - Walker non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/2/23.

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Sunday, December 3, 2023

#86 Frank Crosetti - New York Yankees


Frank Peter Joseph Crosetti
New York Yankees
Shortstop

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  165
Born:  October 4, 1910, San Francisco, CA
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1932-1948
World Series Appearances:  New York Yankees 1932, 1936-1939, 1942-1943
Died:  February 11, 2002, Stockton, CA (91)

Frankie Crosetti, nicknamed The Crow, spent nearly four decades working in the infield for the Yankees, between 1932 and 1946 as a player, and then until 1968 as the team's third base coach.  Crosetti was a two-time All-Star and won seven World Series rings with the Yankees between 1932 and 1943.  He'd win another 10 rings as a coach between 1947 and 1962.  Occasionally accused of being the weak link in a powerful Yankees' line-up, Crosetti made up for his light hitting with steady fielding up the middle.  Offensively, his best season came in 1936 when he reached career highs in all three Triple Crown categories, batting .288 with 15 home runs and 78 RBIs.  He led the league with 27 stolen bases in 1938, and he also had a penchant for getting hit by pitches, leading the league in that category in eight different seasons.  He batted .245 during his career with the Yankees, with 1,541 hits, 98 home runs and 649 RBIs.

Crosetti took on a player-coach role in 1947, and switched to full time coaching in 1949.  He'd stay with the Yankees through the 1968 season, leaving to join the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969 in order to be closer to his West Coast home.  When the Pilots moved to Milwaukee in 1970, Crosetti joined the Twins, where he'd coach for two more seasons, finally retiring in 1971.

October 20, 2023 - Brown University
Building the Set
October 23, 2023 from Old Saybrook, CT - Card #93
On Friday, October 20th, Doug and I made a four-hour drive for a campus visit at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut.  Following the tour, we drove a few more hours to Providence, Rhode Island, as he was participating in a baseball camp at Brown University that Saturday.  These are exciting times, and I'm excited to be making these trips with him as he whittles down his college choices.  The camp at Brown was all indoors, as it was pouring rain outside, and there were long stretches of time I couldn't see what he was doing whenever his group was stationed at the far end of Brown's indoor facility.  

I scrolled social media, I did several New York Times crossword puzzles, and I browsed eBay for baseball cards.  I clicked Buy It Now on this card at some point that Saturday, as Doug was in the midst of fielding drills, and the card arrived at our house a few days later.  Ironically enough, the seller (ehazuka) is located in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, which is between Providence and New Haven.  Had I known, I could have picked up the card on our way home!

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

The Card / Yankees Team Set
I found this great SABR article covering background cameo appearances in the Diamond Stars set, in which there's a loose theory put forward that the two Yankees behind Crosetti are none other than Lou Gehrig (#130) and Babe Ruth (#109).  The source photo can be found on a 1933 Worch Cigar card of Crosetti - shown below.  As is the case with these later series cards, the baseball tips have been replaced with some short background information on the player.  The back of the card observes how Crosetti is among many young Italian-Americans who have recently entered the majors.  Crosetti's double play partner, Tony Lazzeri (#74) also gets recognized as a fellow Italian-American.  Everett Scott gets mentioned as well, and Scott was a shortstop who played for the Yankees between 1922 and 1925.

Finally, the double play combination of Crosetti-Lazzeri is compared to the Tigers' current double play combo of Bill Rogell (#76) and Charlie Gehringer (#77).

1936 Season
As mentioned above, this was Crosetti's strongest year offensively.  He played in 151 games for the Yankees, starting at shortstop in all but four games in late August.  In the World Series, won by the Yankees over the Giants in six games, Crosetti batted .269 (7 for 26).

1933 Goudey #217
1933 Worch Cigar
1952 Topps #384
1960 Topps #465
1990 Pacific Legends #19

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #217
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (2):  1952, 1960
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2016 Panini Diamond Kings #28

219 - Crosetti non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/19/23.

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Sunday, October 15, 2023

#9 "Mickey" Cochrane MG - Detroit Tigers


Gordon Stanley Cochrane
Detroit Tigers
Catcher-Manager

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  180
Born:  April 6, 1903, Bridgewater, MA
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Athletics 1925-1933; Detroit Tigers 1934-1937
World Series Appearances:  Philadelphia Athletics 1929-1931; Detroit Tigers 1934-1935
As a Manager:  Detroit Tigers 1934-1937, 1938
Died:  June 28, 1962, Lake Forest, IL (59)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1947

One of the greatest catchers of his era, Mickey Cochrane spent his 13-year career with the Athletics and Tigers, winning MVP honors in 1928 and 1934 and leading his teams to three World Series titles.  As the backstop for Connie Mack's (#142) Athletics, Cochrane batted .331 in his rookie season of 1925 and his MVP title in 1928 was mainly due to his defensive skills.  In 1929, with a line-up including Al Simmons (#2) and Jimmie Foxx (#64), Cochrane helped the Athletics reach and win the World Series, batting .331 with 37 doubles and 95 RBIs.  Philadelphia would repeat in 1930, as Cochrane's .357 average was second on the team to only Simmons, who batted .381.  In 1931, the Athletics fell short of their attempted three-peat, with many attributing some of the blame for the loss on Cochrane's inability to control the Cardinals' running game.

Cochrane was dealt to the Tigers following the 1933 season, and as the team's player-manager he'd win his second MVP award in 1934, again mainly on the strength of his solid work defensively.  As a rookie manager in 1934, Cochrane guided the Tigers to a 101-win season, but they fell in the World Series to the Cardinals in seven games.  He'd lead his club back to the World Series in 1935, with the Tigers downing the Cubs in six games.  He was an All-Star in 1934 and 1935.  On May 25, 1937, Cochrane was drilled in the head with a pitch from Yankees' pitcher Bump Hadley (#131), eventually leading to his early retirement.  He batted .320 for his career and his .419 on-base percentage currently ranks 21st all-time.  Cochrane was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947 and onto the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 1982.

Building the Set
October 10, 2023 from Los Angeles, CA (Greg Morris Cards) - Card #92
I stumbled upon this card while taking a break during the work day, looking for reasonable eBay prices for the remaining 28 cards needed for our set.  I've given Greg Morris Cards, from Los Angeles, quite a bit of my money over the past few years, but I feel what I paid for this card was a steal.  The auction description labeled this card as being LOW GRADE, but honestly for a card that's nearly 90 years old it looks pretty good to me.  This auction was bid on while attending one of my final work seminars in Dallas, won shortly after I came home and the card arrived the day following the Phillies' painful Game 2 loss to the Braves in the NLDS.

And now I'm writing this the day after the Phillies came back to win Games 3 and 4 against the Braves, sending them to the NLCS to face off against the Diamondbacks.  We have souvenirs from our recent Wild Card series and NLDS visits still scattered about our kitchen area, and I thought I'd take a picture of Cochrane's card along with a few recent additions to our Phillies collections.

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

The Card / Tigers Team Set
I'd consider this another iconic card from the Diamond Stars set, as it's a card I've seen for years in publications, under glass at baseball card shows and as an example of one of the key baseball cards from the 1930s.  The tip on the back of the card addresses the catcher's throw when aiming to throw out would be base stealers.  Cochrane led the league in runners caught stealing in 1926 (42) and 1932 (47) and he'd finish in the top five in nine different seasons.  The back of catcher Al Lopez's card (#28) refers collectors to the tip on the back of Cochrane's card.

1935 Season
In his second season as Tigers' manager, Cochrane made 108 starts behind the plate and batted .319 with five home runs and 46 RBIs.  His team was 93-58-1, finishing three games ahead of the Yankees for the pennant, and they'd defeat the Cubs in six games in the World Series.  It was the first World Series title in Tigers' franchise history.  This was to be his final full season as a player, as Cochrane would play in only 44 games in 1936 and 27 games in 1937 before retiring.

1931 W517 #54
1933 DeLong Gum #6
1933 Goudey #76
1940 Play Ball #180
1976 Topps #348

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1928 Exhibits (W461)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (1):  1976
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2022 Panini Diamond Kings #106

280 - Cochrane non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 10/13/23.

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

#83 Paul Waner - Pittsburgh Pirates


Paul Glee Waner
Pittsburgh Pirates
Oufield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  5'8"  Weight:  153
Born:  April 16, 1903, Harrah, OK
Major League Teams:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1926-1940; Brooklyn Dodgers 1941; Boston Braves 1941-1942; Brooklyn Dodgers 1943-1944; New York Yankees 1944-1945
World Series Appearances:  Pittsburgh Pirates 1927
Died:  August 29, 1965, Sarasota, FL (62)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1952

Nicknamed "Big Poison" to go along with his younger brother Lloyd's (#16) nickname of "Little Poison," Paul Waner is one of the best outfielders in Pittsburgh Pirates franchise history.  Waner played for 15 seasons with the Pirates, winning batting titles in 1927, 1934 and 1936.  His sophomore season of 1927 was his best, as along with the batting title and career-high .380 average, he led the league in hits (237), triples (18) and RBIs (131) and was named league MVP.  In the 1927 World Series, lost to the powerhouse Yankees in four games, Waner batted .333 (5 for 15).  Waner was named to four All-Star teams, including the inaugural National League squad in 1933.  Following his departure from the Pirates in 1940, Waner would spend the final five seasons of his career with the Braves, Dodgers and Yankees.  He became the 7th member of the 3,000 hit club on June 19, 1942, as a member of the Braves.

Waner batted over .300 in 14 seasons and collected at least 200 hits in eight seasons.  He retired with a .333 average, 3,152 hits (20th all-time), 1,627 runs scored, 605 doubles (15th all-time), 191 triples (10th all-time), 113 home runs and 1,309 RBIs.  A fine right fielder, his 2,250 games played at the position are currently second all-time behind future Pirate superstar Roberto Clemente.  Waner was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1952 and his brother Lloyd joined him in 1967.  The Pirates' retired Waner's #11 in 2007 on the 55th anniversary of his Hall of Fame induction.

Building the Set
September 23, 2023 from The Philly Show (Ed's Old Baseball Cards) - Card #91
I wrote about this quick show visit over at The Phillies Room.  Doug and I drove through a hard, steady rain on Saturday morning, navigated our way through the confusing admission lines, found the not-well-marked autograph pavilion, stood in line again, purchased our autograph tickets for Michael Lorenzen and Jim Thome and waited our turn.

For the first time ever, I spent all my allotted baseball card show money at one table and one table only.  Technically, it was two tables, but the two dealers from the Buffalo area were working together and even provided me with a joint business card.  From the Ed Hans side of the table, I found this Waner card needed for my Diamond Stars set build.  From the Gary Nuchereno side of the table, I first settled on four star cards needed for our 1969 Topps set - all in good shape and very reasonably priced.  After we secured Thome's and Lorenzen's autographs, I went back and found 11 needed commons and semistars from the same dealer's 1969 Topps binder.

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 

Cards 73 through 84 were issued in 1935 with either green or blue ink on the back and statistics from 1934.  These same 12 cards were issued again in 1936 with blue ink on the back and statistics from 1935.  The Waner card for my set is the second of the three variations available, issued in 1935 with blue ink used for the back.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
There is quite a bit going on behind Waner on this card.  National Chicle added a catcher, a home plate umpire and an on-deck batter instead of having Waner just shown smiling while holding his bat.  The Pirates didn't have a player who wore #28 between 1932, the year they first wore uniform numbers and 1935.  It would have been cool if the artist tasked with adding the on-deck batter had given him uniform #10, worn by Lloyd Waner.  

The write-up on the back explains how Waner, being left-handed, has an advantage when he puts the ball in play as he's closer to first base.  I don't follow what the "Turn around hitting" statement is supposed to mean?

1935 Season
Waner was again the regular right fielder for the Pirates, with his brother Lloyd usually next to him in center field.  Waner appeared in 139 games, batting .321 with 176 hits as his Pirates finished in fourth place in the National League.  He was sixth in the league with a .392 on-base percentage.  

Phillies Connection
It doesn't appear it was ever an official arrangement, but Waner spent time in the early 1960s as a part-time hitting coach with the Phillies.  A quick Google search turned up a few images of Waner wearing the red pinstripes of the Phillies, including the 1960 press photo shown above.

1927 Playing Cards (W560)
1928 Exhibits (W461)
 
1933 Goudey #25
 
1940 Play Ball #104
 
1983 Donruss
Hall of Fame Heroes #22

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1926 Spalding Champions
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2023 Panini Prizm #228

289 - Waner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 9/30/23.

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Sunday, September 24, 2023

#2 Al Simmons - Detroit Tigers (Variation)


Aloysius Harry Simmons
Detroit Tigers
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
September 8, 2023 from Champaign, IL (Monster Cards) - Card #90
This is the card that put me over the three-quarters mark for a complete set, and as of this writing I need 29 more cards out of 119 for my version of the master set.  I've been searching for the White Sox version of this card for some time now.  During a recent search I came across this Tigers version of the card with a surprisingly low price as I believe this is the rarest, and usually the most expensive, of the three variations of this card.  There's some scuffing on the front and the corners aren't sharp, but otherwise it's a great looking card.  The card was purchased during the unofficial end of summer and arrived during the unofficial beginning of autumn.  Monster Cards included a 1988 Donruss Paul Molitor card in the box, along with a humorous quote about arrows and bananas.

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 / Tigers Team Set
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.

1936 Season
The White Sox sold Simmons to the Tigers on December 10, 1935 for $75,000 and he'd spend just one season playing for Detroit.  The opening day center fielder for the Tigers, Simmons would play in 143 games, batting .327 with 13 home runs and 112 RBIs.  He was one of four Tigers' sluggers with over 100 RBIs, joining Goose Goslin (#112) who had 125, Charlie Gehringer (#77) with 116 and Marv Owen (#67) with 105.  The Tigers finished in a distant second place to the Yankees, 19 1/2 games behind the top spot.  Before the start of the 1937 season, Simmons was on the move again, sold to the Senators for $15,000, a $60,000 drop in price from the year before.

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

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

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