Sunday, February 28, 2021

#51 John Whitehead - Chicago White Sox


John Henderson Whitehead
Chicago White Sox
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  195
Born:  April 27, 1909, Coleman, TX
Major League Teams:  Chicago White Sox 1935-1939; St. Louis Browns 1939-1940, 1942
Died:  October 20, 1964, Bonham, TX (55)

John Whitehead was a 19-game winner in 1934 for the Dallas Steers in the Texas League, leading to his signing by the White Sox for the 1935 season.  With the White Sox, Whitehead won at least 10 games each year between 1935 and 1938, enjoying the most success in his 1935 rookie season when he went 13-13 with a 3.72 ERA over 28 games.  He was traded to the Browns on June 2, 1939 for Johnny Marcum, and he'd spend the final three season of his big league career trying to regain the form he had found earlier with the White Sox.  Although he last appeared in the majors in 1942, he continued to pitch for seven more seasons with various minor league teams before retiring at the age of 40 following the 1949 season.  Whitehead had a career record of 49-54 with a 4.60 ERA over 172 games.

Building the Set
January 9, 2021 from Tomball, TX (The Battersbox) - Card #7
After a stressful first week of 2021, I decided there was really no better time to take advantage of the sale going on within the eBay store of The Battersbox, and I happily clicked Buy It Now on four reasonably priced Diamond Stars cards for my set.  I'm looking for cards in better than average shape, with no paper loss and no extraneous markings and these four cards passed my test.  This Whitehead card was tied with the Cliff Bolton (#47) card as the cheapest from the lot as both were $18.29.

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

Young collectors may have been confused when they found Whitehead's card in their pack of National Chicle Chewing Gum.  He had pitched in the Texas League in 1934, and made his debut with the White Sox on April 19, 1935 in the team's third game of the season.  By late May, he was a certifiable phenom, winning all eight of his first eight starts.  And while he started 8-0, he then went on a six start losing streak so that by the end of June he was a pedestrian 8-6.  The back of the card focuses on the importance of a pitcher keeping his legs strong, noting that "long sessions of outfield practice" is key in order to "season the legs and the wind."

Whitehead is the only player in the set to have made his big league debut in 1935.  Every other player or manager featured made his debut prior to 1935.

1935 Season
In his rookie season, and perhaps the best of his career, Whitehead won 13 games, pitching 18 complete games and 1 shutout.  Manager Jimmy Dykes (#42) guided the White Sox to a fifth place finish in the American League with a losing 74-78 record.  Whitehead's 222 1/3 innings pitched led the team, followed closely by Vern Kennedy who appeared in 31 games and pitched 211 2/3 innings.

1936 Goudey Wide Pen Premiums
1992 Conlon Collection TSN #568

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934-1936 Diamond Stars #51
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1992 Conlon Collection TSN #568

5 - Whitehead non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/17/21.

Sources:

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Sunday, February 21, 2021

#61 - "Billie" Werber - Boston Red Sox


William Murray Werber
Boston Red Sox
Third Base

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  170
Born:  June 20, 1908, Berwyn, MD
Major League Teams:  New York Yankees 1930, 1933; Boston Red Sox 1933-1936; Philadelphia Athletics 1937-1938; Cincinnati Reds 1939-1941; New York Giants 1942
World Series Appearances:  Cincinnati Reds 1939-1940
Died:  January 22, 2009, Charlotte, NC (100)

The speedy Billy Werber led the American League in stolen bases in three different seasons and provided steady defense at third base for the Red Sox, Athletics and Reds during the peak of his career between 1934 and 1941.  He enjoyed his best season in 1934 when he hit a career high .321 with 41 doubles and 40 stolen bases (both also career highs) while finishing 12th in the MVP voting.  Werber led all third baseman in assists twice (1934 and 1939) and in fielding percentage in 1940.

Werber in 2008 at his retirement home in North Carolina (Getty Images)
Sold by the Athletics to the Reds in March 1939, he helped lead that team to two straight World Series appearances, winning the title in 1940.  He was the first player ever to have a televised at bat when he led off for the Reds in a game against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field on August 26, 1939.  Werber was part of a strong Reds' infield consisting of Frank McCormick at first and Lonny Frey at second.  He led his team with a .370 average (10 for 27) in the 1940 World Series against the Tigers, in a series won in seven games.

Werber retired following the 1942 season with a .271 average and 1,363 hits over 1,295 games.  He stole 215 bases as one of the most aggressive baserunners of the 1930s, and he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1961.  Werber had the distinction of being the last living member of the original Diamond Stars set, and the last living teammate of Babe Ruth (#109b) as he passed away in 2009 at the age of 100.

Building the Set
January 8, 2021 from Lutz, FL - Card #6
This Werber card had been on my eBay watch list since December, and when I got the alert the listing was ending soon I decided to add it to my set.  The card was $30 from seller benb51 from Lutz, Florida and it arrived during a week when old baseball cards proved to be a welcome distraction from sad and historical events happening in the real world.

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

The Card / Red Sox Team Set
If I didn't know better, I'd say National Chicle was successfully predicting the Houston Astros' tequila sunrise jerseys that would debut 40 years after this card was issued.  The background rainbow behind Werber immediately made me think of those Astros' jerseys.  The write-up on the back of the card theorizes on Werber's success as a base stealer.

1935 Season
Before the start of the 1935 season, the Red Sox and Senators essentially traded managers with Joe Cronin (#123) coming to Boston and Bucky Harris (#91) going to Washington.  Under Cronin's leadership, Werber kept his job as the every day third baseman but his average slipped to .255 over 124 games.  Werber missed a number of games from the effects of a broken toe suffered the season before when he angrily kicked a dugout bucket after a pop up.  Werber still managed to lead the Red Sox in home runs with 14.

1934 Goudey #75
1936 Goudey #25
1938 Goudey Heads-Up #283
1941 Double Play #9
1998 Philadelphia A's Historical
Society Fan Favorites #41

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934 Goudey #75
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1979 TCMA Diamond Greats #331

41 - Werber non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/17/21.

Sources:

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Sunday, February 14, 2021

#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:

Previous Card:  #110 Babe Ruth - New York Yankees
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Sunday, February 7, 2021

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

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:

Next Card:  Negro League Stars #3 Satchel Paige - Pittsburgh Crawfords
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Sunday, January 31, 2021

#139 "Chuck" Klein - Philadelphia Phillies


Charles Herbert Klein
Philadelphia Phillies
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'0"  Weight:  185
Born:  October 7, 1904, Indianapolis, IN
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 1928-1933; Chicago Cubs 1934-1936; Philadelphia Phillies 1936-1939; Pittsburgh Pirates 1939; Philadelphia Phillies 1940-1944
World Series Appearances:  Chicago Cubs 1935
Died:  March 28, 1958, Indianapolis, IN (53)
Hall of Fame Induction:  1980

Chuck Klein won the Triple Crown in 1933, leading the league in batting average (.368), home runs (28) and RBIs (120) and he's one of only six National League players to have accomplished that feat.  One of the great all-time Phillies players, Klein was the 1932 N.L. MVP and the starting right fielder, batting third, in the first ever All-Star Game held in 1933.  He led the league in home runs four times, hitting a career high 43 during his first full season in 1929.  Klein also led the league in runs scored three times, hits twice, doubles twice, RBIs twice and stolen bases (with 20) once.  He was the first National League player in the modern era to hit four home runs in a game, accomplishing that feat on July 10, 1936.  He compiled a .320 average over his 17-year career, a mark that is currently 49th on the all-time list.

2006 Toyota Phillies Wall of Fame Postcards
In between three different stints with the Phillies, Klein played briefly with the Cubs and Pirates, reaching the World Series in 1935 with the Cubs.  He was also a great fielder, playing a shallow right field in Philadelphia's Baker Bowl and leading the league in assists with 44 in 1930.  In 1,753 career games, Klein amassed 2,076 hits, exactly 300 home runs and 1,201 RBIs.  He was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame and the Phillies Wall of Fame in 1980.

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 / 1935 statistics / 1993 copyright

Klein is portrayed wearing the Phillies home jersey worn by the club for their 1935, 1936 and 1937 seasons.  The back of the card highlights his four home run game from 1936.  The Evansville anecdote would have happened on opening day 1922 when Klein was playing in his first professional games as a 22-year-old for the Evansville Hubs.  The Phillies acquired him in July 1928 from the Fort Wayne Chiefs.

After playing the entire 1934 and 1935 seasons with the Cubs, Klein was traded back to the Phillies along with Fabian Kowalik for Ethan Allen (#92) and Curt Davis on May 21, 1936.  Given that these cards are imagined to have been issued in August 1936, I'm glad Klein was back with his original team by then and we get a fantasy Phillies card as a result.

1936 Season
After 29 games with the Cubs, Klein picked up where he had left off with the Phillies and slid into their line-up as the every day right fielder.  In 117 games with the Phillies, he hit .309 with 20 home runs and 86 RBIs.  First baseman Dolph Camilli led the club that season in both power categories with 28 home runs and 102 RBIs.  The Phillies finished in last place with a 54-100 record under manager Jimmie Wilson (#22).

Phillies Career
In his three different stints with the club, Klein was a bright spot for some dreadful Phillies teams.  His offensive statistics for his first five years are staggering as he batted .359 and averaged 131.6 runs, 46.4 doubles, 36 home runs and 138.6 RBIs per season.  His 43 home runs in 1929 was a Phillies season record until broken by Mike Schmidt in 1980 when Schmidt hit 48.  Klein still holds the Phillies single season records (since 1900) for runs (158), doubles (59), extra-base hits (107), total bases (445) and RBIs (170).  His 243 home runs with the Phillies are second on the team's all-time list among left-handed batters behind Ryan Howard, who hit 382.  Klein is the all-time franchise leader (minimum 3,000 plate appearances) with a .553 slugging percentage.

In 2001, the Phillies wanted to honor Klein by retiring his number.  The problem was, Klein had worn 7 different numbers during his time with the club - 1, 3, 8, 26, 29, 32 and 36 - so the team opted to "retire" the old English "P" worn by Klein during his first six season with the team as a symbolic gesture.

1929 Kashin Publications (R316)
1933 DeLong #22
1933 Goudey #128
1941 Play Ball #60
1994 Ted Williams #74

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1929 Kashin Publications (R316)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  2018 Panini Diamond Kings #37

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

Sources:
2020 Phillies Media Guide

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Sunday, January 24, 2021

#109 Benny Frey - Cincinnati Reds


Benjamin Rudolph Frey
Cincinnati Reds
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  165
Born:  April 6, 1906, Dexter, MI
Major League Teams:  Cincinnati  Reds 1929-1932; St. Louis Cardinals 1932; Cincinnati Reds 1933-1936
Died:  November 1, 1937, Spring Arbor Township, MI (31)

In eight major league seasons, mostly with the Reds, side-arming Benny Frey appeared in 256 games and earned a record of 57-82 with a 4.50 ERA.  His best season came in 1934 when he went 11-16 in 39 games, with a 3.52 ERA and a pair of shutouts.  As arguably the best player on the last-place 1934 Reds team, Frey's efforts earned him MVP votes in that year's tally.  Frey's continuous service with the Reds was interrupted by a month with the Cardinals.  On April 11, 1932, the Reds traded Frey and Harvey Hendrick (#41) with cash to the Cardinals for Chick Hafey (#18).  Less that a month later, on May 9th, the Cardinals sold Frey back to Cincinnati.

Before the start of the 1937 season, Frey suffered an arm injury and refusing a demotion to the minor leagues he announced his retirement at the age of 31.  Tragically, despondent over his arm injury and his dismissal from the Reds, Frey took his own life later that year.

Both Frey and the player he was traded to the Cardinals with, Hendrick, ended up committing suicide.  I'm only a few cards into this blog's life and I'm hoping there are more upbeat life stories on the way!

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

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

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

The 12 cards include more ambitious geometric designs than the original Diamond Stars cards,  although the overall color template remains the same as their 1934 to 1936 counterparts.

Variations Available
1 - 1981 / blue back / 1936 statistics / 1981 copyright

The Card / Reds Team Set
I wouldn't have guessed by the picture used here that Frey was a pitcher, as he looks more like a middle infielder snagging a line drive.  The source for the picture originates from the 1934 Butterfinger (R310) issue, shown below.

The back of the card, written in the style of the original Diamond Stars cards, gives great advice of trying to be a good-hitting pitcher.  Frey owned a lifetime average of .255 and he hit a lofty .344 in 1935 with the Reds, going 11 for 32 with a double.

1937 Season
As mentioned above, Frey never pitched in 1937.  Had this card been issued contemporaneously, collectors would have wondered, "What ever happened to Benny Frey?" while chewing their National Chicle gum.

1934 Butterfinger (R310)
1936 National Chicle Pastels (R312)
1992 Conlon Collection
TSN #381

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1934 Butterfinger (R310)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1992 Conlon Collection TSN #381

6 - Frey non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/22/20.

Sources:

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Sunday, January 17, 2021

#62 Fred M. Frankhouse - Boston Braves


Frederick Meloy Frankhouse
Boston Braves
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'11"  Weight:  175
Born:  April 9, 1904, Port Royal, PA
Major League Teams:  St. Louis Cardinals 1927-1930; Boston Braves 1930-1935; Brooklyn Dodgers 1936-1938; Boston Bees 1939
Died:  August 17, 1989, Mifflintown, PA (85)

Known for his roundhouse curveball, and possibly a spitball as well, Fred Frankhouse pitched in 13 different seasons spending most of his career in Boston.  He was a member of the 1928 National League Champion Cardinals, although he didn't pitch in that year's World Series against the Yankees.  His best season came in 1934 when he went 17-9 with a 3.20 ERA, and he appeared in the second ever All-Star Game, pitching a scoreless ninth inning.  Known for his wildness, Frankhouse tallied 701 career walks to his 622 career strikeouts, but he still accumulated at least 10 wins a season for five straight years between 1933 and 1937.  In 402 major league games, Frankhouse went 106-97 with a 3.92 ERA.

After retiring from baseball, Frankhouse served for four years in the Army during World War II, earning the rank of Captain.  A long-time resident of Port Royal, Pennsylvania, Frankhouse started that town's Little League program and later had the town's baseball field named in his honor.

Building the Set
December 15, 2020 from Longmont, CO (BBC Emporium) - Card #5
1935 - Frankhouse & Ruth
Bitten by the bug of collecting a new set, I decided I could justify an early Christmas present to myself and while on a particularly long and unproductive work video meeting, I found four more cards for my set.  Along with this Frankhouse card, I added the cards of Roy Mahaffey (#10), Red Rolfe (#29) and Jo-Jo White (#45).  Rolfe and White were the priciest two of the four-card lot from BBC Emporium located in Longmont, Colorado.

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

The Card / Braves Team Set
Frankhouse is the only subject of the set with his middle initial appearing on the front of his card, which I find odd and mysterious.  The back of the card touches on Frankhouse's dominant, but occasionally wild, curve ball.

1935 Season
The Braves were awful in 1935, sparking the franchise to change its nickname to the Bees in 1936 in an attempt to re-invigorate the fan base and provide a fresh start for the team.  Under manager Bill McKechnie (#144), the Braves went 38-115 with Frankhouse leading the pitching staff with 11 wins - almost 30% of the team's total wins for the year.  He finished the season with an 11-15 record, and a 4.76 ERA while leading the staff in both walks (81) and strikeouts (64).  Frankhouse was the starting pitcher for the Braves on May 30, 1935, in game one of a double header against the Phillies at Shibe Park.  The game is notable as Babe Ruth (#109b) batted third and started in left field for the Braves, the final game of his legendary career.

Ruth is a notable omission from the original Diamond Stars set, and he received two re-imagined Diamond Stars cards in a 2014 "extended" set available at that year's National Sports Collectors Convention.

1933 Goudey #131
1935 Goudey 4-in-1
1939 Play Ball #70
1992 Conlon Collection TSN #498

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1933 Goudey #131
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Conlon Collection TSN #1110

23 - Frankhouse non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 12/22/20.

Sources:

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