1936 Goudey Wide Pens

I managed to win two nine-card lots of 1936 Goudey Wide Pens when I won with a minimum bid of about $2 per. I guess they went cheaply because they are all trimmed. No borders but the full photo (or close to it) and the backs are blank anyway.

Probably not something I should do two often, but pre-war cards at this price feel like a good deal.

Hall-of-Famer Earl Averill is one of the best hitters in Cleveland history. Rowdy Richard Bartell had an 18-year career and was one of the best-fielding shortstops in the NL. August Galan was known as Augie, not Gus, and was the first NLer to switch-hit home runs in a game. Earl Grace set the NL fielding percentage record for catchers in 1932 with the Pirates. Myril Hoag won three World Series for the Yankees, with a .320 average in the Fall Classic.  "Indian Bob" Johnson was an 8 time All-Star who finished his career playing in Boston in 1944 and 1945 (He made the All-Star team both of those years). When he retired, his 288 career home runs ranked 8th all-time! (Blatantly cutting-and-pasting from Diamond Jesters' latest post for that last one.)

Hall-of-Famer Chuck Klein is in a Cubs uniform here but is best known as a Phillie. He led the NL in HR four times and achieved a triple crown in 1933. John Marcum got a great photo for his card. He was coming off a 17-win season for the A's. Gene Moore was the first left-handed hitter to hit a home run over the distant left-field wall in Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, while with the Boston Bees in 1936. Wally Moses was in the middle of a six-year-run of .300 seasons for the A's. He was the last A's hitter with 200 hits in a season until Miguel Tejada. Fritz Ostermueller of the Red Sox has a duplicate. He won 114 games over a 14-year season. The more trimmed one is available for trade.

When Rabbit Pytlak retired after a 12-year career with the Indians and Red Sox, he had the highest fielding average for a catcher in baseball history. Schoolboy Rowe was a three-time All-Star and a key part of three Tigers pennant-winning teams. Gus Suhr was in the middle of a then-NL-record 822 consecutive games streak. Another terrific photo. Senators star Cecil Travis is the all-time AL leader in career batting average for a shortstop (.314). His promising career was cut short by damage caused by frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star. Hal Trosky led the NL in RBI in 1936; his 405 total bases that year are still a team record. Finally, that rarest of all photos - a Yankee and a Red Sox shaking hands! Nice to see good sportsmanship between the two rivals.