One of the vintage Red Sox team sets that I've been pursuing is the National Chicle Diamond Stars release from the mid-1930s. There are only 6 Red Sox cards on the checklist for this set, which was released in batches between 1934 and 1936. Earlier this year I knocked off Max Bishop, Billy Werber and Wes Ferrell which got me to the 50% mark. Today I've got a fourth card to show in the form of #73, Fritz Ostermueller:
This card is absolutely beautiful in my humble opinion. It's probably my favorite of the 6 Sox cards as far as pure aesthetics go. The Diamond Stars release is famous for its art deco ballpark backgrounds, and Fritz Ostermueller's card is a fine example. Ostermueller's card is also in the minority in that it uses a horizontal layout, whereas most of what I've seen from this set is your standard vertical fare.
For a card that's around 80 years old we've got some interesting perspective. In the foreground we have Fritz, who was a longtime starting pitcher for Boston, following through on his left-handed delivery to the plate. Behind him is a random Red Sox infielder against the stadium and city backdrop, complete with waving flags. Despite being smaller than your average modern-day trading card, there's certainly plenty going on here.
The card backs aren't nearly as exciting as the fronts in this release. I will say that I love reading the older write-ups on players. I don't recall hearing the phrase "a nice stock of curves" in relation to a pitcher before.
I'm left with just two cards to go as far as Diamond Stars are concerned. Both of them are HOFers, but I'm determined to track them down. Hopefully I'll be showing them off here on Shoebox Legends soon enough!
C.A.: 2024 Topps Update Josh Gibson checklist
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* (Greetings. It's that time of year when pumpkins share the same space
with Christmas decorations, at least in my neighborhood. At least the
12-foot tall ...
7 comments:
Grove is a tough one. Good luck. I finally completed this team set last year.
That is one fine looking card. Congrats on starting the second half of your team set!
Wow, what a card! Congrats and good luck pulling in the last two.
Thanks gents! Mark are there any Red Sox cards you DON'T have?!?! You must have an incredible collection. Maybe we could swap some Sox sometime?
There's still a few Sox cards I need . I'll shoot you an email we can take Sox for Sox
Shoot me an email.
Markhoyle913ATyahooDOTcom
Love the card. It has a great art deco look to it.
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