An Old Pie

I've been sitting on today's card for a while, as it was actually ordered along with the Alex Delvecchio tallboy I posted back in February.  Here's the other card I picked up alongside Alex in that order from Dave & Adam's Card World:

With the Red Sox opening their 2017 season against the Pittsburgh Pirates, it seemed as good a time as any to show this addition off.

I've long been a fan of the 1934-36 Diamond Stars release.  I love the smaller-sized vintage cards, and the paintings are well done.  If you're not a condition snob you can find them at reasonable prices too, at least as far as cards from the 1930s go.  I finished off the Red Sox team set a couple of years ago now, and this "Pie" Traynor is the only other card I've acquired from the set in the time since.  Scooped it up for $30 even, which seems like a bargain to me for an 80+ year old card of a bonafide HOFer!

Here's a better look at the front.  You can easily see why it graded so low, but despite the rounded corners I think the card has great visual appeal, and was certainly affordable.

Traynor was with the Pirates for the duration of his MLB career, from 1920 through 1937.  During those days he was almost unanimously regarded as the greatest third baseman of all-time.  I hadn't realized until picking up this card that he was actually born and raised right in Massachusetts, making this one even cooler and more significant in my book.

"Pie", whose real name is Harold Joseph Traynor, suffered an arm injury that diminished his playing time after 1934, so he was actually serving as player/manager for the team by the time this card was issued.  He played in his final MLB game in 1937, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1948!

I always have trouble with scanning graded card backs.  The backs in this Diamond Stars release typically have minimal info about the subject, and instead feature some generic advice for youngsters looking to learn about the game.  Here's the write-up in case you're interested:

Batting - The batter's box measures 4 feet by 3, allowing room for standing in different positions when batting.  Study your needs and find the spot which best suits your style.  Long armed boys should stand back farther than those with short arms, because of the difference in reach.  In recent years, since free swinging from the end of the handle has become usual, major leaguers have tended to stand well in the rear of the box and back from the plate.  Remember, the ball must cross some part of the plate to be a strike.  Hence stand where you can stretch your bat at arms length and cover the plate.  Study "Pie" Traynor, Pirate manager for correct batting style.

Here's one last look at this beauty.  Certainly one of my best (relatively) cheap pick-ups of the year so far.  It's not every day that '30s HOFer joins my collection, so it feels great adding this card.

Thanks for checking in!