Sometimes you don’t remember a key birthday. And even when you do remember someone’s birthday, sometimes you just don’t get around to calling them for praise. That’s what happened here this week for Dizzy Dean. The Hall of Fame pitcher was born on January 16, 1910 and he would have turned 112 years old on MLK Day in 2022. Dizzy (or Diz) deserves a special tribute for The Hobby and vintage baseball card collecting.

Collectors Dashboard recognizes Dizzy Dean as one of the greatest pitchers of all-time in Major League Baseball history. Our view is that Dizzy Dean would have actually been great even by modern pitching standards, and his short career might have some parallels with Sandy Koufax more than two decades later.

We wanted to give a shout-out to Dizzy Dean for this Hall of Famer’s birthday. And more specifically, we wanted outline just why vintage sports and baseball collectors want to own a Dizzy Dean card or piece of Dizzy Dean memorabilia. Coming up with just 10 reasons was pretty easy, so you got a few more odds and ends to boot.

Born in Lucas, Arkansas the man Jay Hanna Dean was also known by Jerome Herman Dean. At a tall (for the era) 6-feet and 2-inches, Dean was known for hard throwing that led to wins. Those wins were delivered by low earned runs (ERA) and intimidating strikeouts. The 4-time All-Star player won 150 games in 12 seasons with 1,163 strikeouts and a 3.02 career ERA, but the bulk of this took place in just 6 seasons.

Jerome Dean played his entire MLB career in the National League, almost and with an asterisk. He first came up with the St. Louis Cardinals and then went to the Chicago Cubs after he was considered washed out. The Cubs and the Cardinals were popular teams. In 1947, some six-years since last playing he did get 1 more game in with the St. Louis Browns as a publicity stunt.

Dizzy got his nickname early on for making batters dizzy after they faced him. He won his first game at age 20 in 1930, his only game of that season (the last game of the year). He gave up 3 hits and 1 run, and he earned 5 strikeouts and walked 3 batters. His last on-field outing with the St. Louis Browns was also just 1 game in 1947, but he pitched just 4 innings gave up 3 hits and had no earned runs and only 1 walk.

Strong expectations were there from the start in the minor leagues. Before coming up to pitch at the tail end of 1930, Dean won 8 games and lost 2 games in the minors with a 2.86 ERA. And after playing in the minors for all of 1931, a year after his first Big League appearance, Dean won 26 games and lost 10.

He was a character on and off the field, and slang was not slang in his vocabulary. So, What else did Dizzy Dean have going for him?

DIZZY’S TOP BASEBALL CARDS

Dean’s first eligible true rookie season would have been 1932, where the Cardinals’ right-hander generated 18 wins versus 15 losses. He carried a 3.3 ERA and led the Big Leagues with an impressive 191 strikeouts. Most collectors will fall back to the 1933 Goudey as Dizzy Dean’s rookie card. Thats aid, there are cards and pins (George Miller 1933 set, Orbit Gum and Cracker Jack pins ahead of that).

The 1934 Goudey has the identical pose but it is more artistically pleasing to the eye with better colors and that prized “Lou Gehrig Says” set. Even two decades prior to this report, Joe Orlando featured the 1934 Goudey over the 1933 Goudey in The Top 200 Sportscards in the Hobby.

1933 Goudey Dizzy Dean #223 PSA Mint 9 at Heritage Auctions (Image here by Heritage Auctions) sold for $31,200.00 on September 21, 2017. Two other PSA 8 examples sold through Heritage for $8,700.00 (Sept. 2020) and $8,400.00 (April 2019). An SGC 7.5 grade of the 1933 Goudey card sold for $9,300.00 (Nov. 2021). SCP Auctions sold a 1934 Goudey #6 PSA 8 for $4,555.00 back in July 2008.

We did not do a universal search for the most expensive Dizzy Dean cards ever sold, but here are some other high sales we have found.

• A 1956-63 Dizzy Dean signed Artvue Hall of Fame Postcard, PSA/DNA Authentic sold via Heritage Auctions for $15,00.00 on August 20, 2017
• Circa 1934 Paul & Dizzy Dean “Beech-Nut Tobacco” oversized Die-Cut advertising sign. sold via Heritage Auctions for $14,340.00 on July 30, 2015… A similar item sold via SCP Auctions for $23,116.00 in the Spring 2013 auction.
• Goldin Auctions sold a Dizzy Dean Single Signed Baseball graded as PSA/DBA 9 and called it “The Nicest One on Earth!” for $24,654.00. A similar ball (unsure if the same) with a PSA 9 grade sold for $7,919.00 via SCP Auctions in the Fall 2012 auction.

WINS, WINS, MORE WINS

Dean followed up with winning seasons and became the Ace of the Gashouse Gang that the Cardinals were known for. He won 20 games in ’33, 30 games in ’34, 28 games in ’35 and then 24 games in ’36. Even his meager 13 wins in ’37 was better than the 10 losses he was credited with. That’s 133 wins as a Cardinal, against 75 losses credited for the team. (Image below by Heritage Auctions)

STRIKEOUTS

On top of wins, Dizzy Dean struck batters out as a routine. The impressive and major league-leading 191 strikeouts in ’32 were followed up as follows by year (through ’37): 199, 195, 190, 195, and 120 — and he was also the leader in the majors each year from ’32 to ’35. This hard throwing pitcher had the name Dizzy for a reason.

DEAD BALL ERA TO LIVE BALL ERA COMPS

On top of just having solid wins, the 1930s era was a harder-hitting era. The Dead Ball Era had ended and the 1920s became the live-ball era for smaller parks and more home runs. After literally being knocked out and taken to the hospital in the World Series in 1934, Dean came back and lost Game 5 but threw a shut out in Game 7 to give the Redbirds the World Series title.

OTHER 30 GAME WINNERS!

Sometimes collectors need some context for other great players as a comparison. Outside of Denny McLain for the Detroit Tigers in 1968, Dizzy Dean was the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in a season. Outside of Dean and McLain, here is a list of the other 30-game winners in a single MLB season: Jack Chesbro, Ed Walsh, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Joe McGinnity, Smoky Joe Wood, Pete Alexander, Cy Young, Jim Bagby, Jack Coombs, and Lefty Grove.

HEY, BRO!

One issue which added to Dizzy Dean’s popularity was that brother Paul Dean, the Daffy in the Diz and Daffy pair, was also a winning pitcher going 19 wins and 11 losses when Dizzy won 30 games. Imagine having two pitchers like that on a team today with almost 50 wins in a single season. This is by and large unheard of.

AMERICA’S TEAM PLAYER

One issue to consider is that St. Louis being in the Midwest was not a rich team by other standards like those in and around New York City. Dean’s career was thriving in the Great Depression, and his hard pitching gave at least some reprieve to the local and fans and those in the West and South while they struggled to survive America’s hardest decade. As St. Louis was the furthest south and farthest west, the Gashouse Gang and the Cardinals team were effectively the hearts and soul of America outside of the Northeast and the East Coast.

‘DEM CUBBIES!

Dizzy Dean was not as successful for the Cubs in Chicago, although his shortened seasons 16 wins versus 8 losses. Imagine having two pitchers like that on a team today with almost 50 wins in a single season. Still, Dean was brought on “at any cost” to help sell tickets for the Cubs based on his past wins. Dizzy Dean was not as successful for the Cubs in Chicago, although his shortened seasons 16 wins versus 8 losses.

DO NIGHT GAMES MATTER?

We would also point out that in the 1930s the seasons were also shorter and by and large night games were not the norm yet. On May 24, 1935, the first MLB night game was played at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. This is just one more advance in technology that is forgotten about in baseball’s key advancements.

COLORFUL ANTICS

Dean was a colorful player known for many antics and bragging. Dean was credited for saying, “‘If ya done it, it ain’t braggin’.” Dizzy didn’t exactly have the longest time served in education as it has been written that he went as far as second grade. No High school, no college. And, again, lots of slang. The Hall of Fame page for Dizzy Dean quoted teammate Pepper Martin:

“When ole Diz was out there pitching it was more than just another ballgame… It was a regular three-ring circus and everybody was wide awake and enjoying being alive.”

MVP AWARD – AND ALMOST 2 MORE!

That same 1934 season also gave Dean the MVP award, and he was runner-up for the league’s MVP award in both ’35 and ’36.

VINTAGE DUDES VERSUS NEW DUDES

Many critics of vintage baseball note that some of the base or common players simply would not have made the teams in a post-segregation time. That wasn’t true for Dizzy Dean. As for why Dean would make it as a pitcher in the modern era, Dizzy Dean ranked as #85 on “The Sporting News” 100 greatest players list even in 1999. The Bleacher Report also has Dizzy named in the top 10 pitchers of the Live-Ball Era from 1923 to 1945.

DIZZY & SATCHEL PAIGE BARNSTORMING

Dizzy Dean was also known for being a barnstormer, with tour games set in cities and towns in the off-season against Negro League pitchers like Satchell Paige. This was a full decade before Jackie Robinson broke into Major League Baseball. These contests were one aspect which helped to ultimately usher integration.

YOUNG CAREER CUT SHORT

After breaking a toe in 1937, Dean came back to the pitching mound too soon. His toe had not recovered enough and he changed his throwing mechanics to avoid coming down hard on the toe. He then hurt his arm and his fastball was not the same after that. In fact, he was already considered “washed up” by the time the Cubs got him.

THE END GAME

That last season of 1947 with the St. Louis Browns, after a long break from playing and with him as a broadcaster, Dean was basically brought in for a publicity stunt to sell tickets. He quit after pulling a hamstring after rounding first base.

MOVIES & BOOKS HELP!

Dean was popular enough for a movie themed after him, of sorts. The Pride of St. Louis was released in 1952 and the motion picture was based on his career. This was shortly before being elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Multiple books have been written about Dizzy Dean and even more include Dean in them alongside other baseball greats.

BEING A BROADCASTER HELPS!

One thing that made Dizzy Dean so popular after his baseball career ended was becoming a well-known radio and television sportscaster. He called baseball for the Cardinals from 1941 to 1946) and the Browns up through 1948. He then called games for the New York Yankees in 1950 and 1951), and he ultimately called games for Atlanta Braves in 1966 to 1968. He was a national broadcaster during the fifties and sixties, known for wit but also for butchering the English language.

THE GREAT DEANISMs

Pehaps the funniest retort Dizzy Dean was known for was after an English teacher called him out for saying “ain’t” as a bad influence on kids. Dean’s on-air retort:

“A lot of folks who ain’t sayin’ ‘ain’t,’ ain’t eatin’. So, Teach, you learn ’em English, and I’ll learn ’em baseball.”

HOW ABOUT A MUSEUM

Many great baseball players get their own little museum after them. Guys like Babe Ruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Jackie Robinson are just a few, but Dizzy Dean also at one time had a small museum. A Dizzy Dean Museum was established in Jackson, Mississippi, and now the Dean exhibit is a part of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame & Museum.

DIZZY WAS AVAILABLE TO FANS

One other issue that helped Dizzy was his availability in sports. This allowed for more autographs of his to be signed for fans, and it is rather easy to find a multitude of Dizzy Dean’s signed items on eBay and in other auctions. This may not be the end-all-be-all for fans, but it allows many autographed items to be available for collectors.

(Hall of Fame plaque image by Baseball Halll of Fame)