1930's Cincinnati Premium Picture "card" and the Tragedy of Benny Frey

[Leon]

I think this can be loosely called a card (below) but might be more of a picture. Regardless of that it fits in with my genre of collecting. I got it from our well respected board member Tim N, so of course I could go back to ole Tim (hi Tim) and ask this question, but then I couldn't show and tell :).
First off is this "card" of Benny Frey? It looks like the signature says Donnie Frey?

It doesn't matter a lot to me as I just wanted it as a type. Does Benny Frey have any other cards of him? There is an interesting and tragic story of this former major leaguer that was 16th in voting for the MVP in 1934....This excerpt is borrowed from our friends at Wiki, with the newly acquired "photocard" following:

Benjamin Rudolph Frey (April 6, 1906 - November 1, 1937) was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball) from 1929-37, playing primarily with the Cincinnati Reds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati_Reds). Born in Dexter, Michigan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter,_Michigan), Frey played in 256 major league baseball games (127 as a starter) and had a lifetime record of 57-82 in 1160 innings pitched. He was a sidearm pitcher with a sweeping motion that was effective with right-handed hitters. His lifetime earned run average (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_run_average) of 4.50 was good for an Adjusted ERA+ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjusted_ERA%2B) of 90. In 1930, Frey lost 18 games, tops in the National League. His best season was 1934 when he was 11-16 for the Reds with a 3.52 ERA (Adjusted ERA+ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjusted_ERA%2B) of 116). Frey placed #16 in the 1934 National League Most Valuable Player voting.
Frey suffered an arm injury and was sent down to a minor league team in Nashville for the 1937 after eight years in the majors. Frey refused to report to Nashville and asked to be put on the voluntarily retired list. Frey committed suicide that November at age 31 in Spring Arbor Township, Michigan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Arbor_Township,_Michigan). Frey died from carbon monoxide after running a hose from his car. (Edward J. Rielly, "Baseball and American Culture: Across the Diamond" (2003), p. 274.)<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-0>[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Frey#cite_note-0)</SUP><SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-1>[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Frey#cite_note-1)</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
http://luckeycards.com/phunc1930scincinnatifrey.jpg

[Rich Klein]

For what it is worth is a question is this "Lonny Frey"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonny_Frey

He played for Cincy in the 1930's as well and I'd check out good old Lonny as well

Regards
Rich

[Leon]

I didn't even check for it to be Lonny :confused:. It's not like it says it on the card or anything.....So, thanks for that clarifictation and I now know who the player is on that card.

But while checking on this I did read about the trajedy of "Benny" Frey. Are there any cards of him....any reference material etc...? Thanks again!!

edited to add that I guess I just did hear about Lonny passing away at the ripe young age of 99, only a month ago....

[Chris Counts]

Here's a thread from this forum about Lonny, who passed away just a month ago ...

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=116040&highlight=frey

[rhettyeakley]

Leon, the item is definitely Lonny Frey, but I have also wondered if these are really "cards" or not. I sold a collection of 8-10 or so of these to Tim around 1-2 years ago, and I know that Tim already had several from the "set" previous to that as well.
-Rhett
http://www.starsofthediamond.com/36cubsmatchfrey.JPG http://www.starsofthediamond.com/40redsfrey.JPG

[FrankWakefield]

I agree with Rhett, that's Lonny Frey. He's also on some Goudeys, Playballs, and Double Plays.

Benjamin Frey is on a Conlon card from the early 90s. I am not aware of a card of his contemporary with his playing days. His is a story worthy of being known, and remembered.

[whitehse]

I believe the odd thing is that I was watching the Antiques Roadshow a few weeks ago and Lonnie Frey's son was on there with some of his memorabilia from Frey's playing days. It was pretty interesting to see!

[slantycouch]

Sad story about Benny.

And once again RIP Lonny. Seemed like a hell of a gentleman and was a great TTM signer for years.

[timn1]

Yup, that's Lonny-- as far as we know about this set, which isn't much, it comes from the 1939-40 era.

Benny is in several premium and matchbook sets. I have him in R310, R312, and U1 and U3 matchbooks. Might be one or two others.

Tim

[V117collector]

It's funny how poeple come up with nick names like Lonny. Does anyone know how "Lonny Frey" got his nick name? I'm sure there's A great story behind it all...:cool:

[Chris Counts]

Here's some great info on Lonny I found at www.thebaseballpage.com. It doesn't mention how he got the name, "Lonny," but it does say how he got the name, "Linus," and another nickname, "Junior" ...

Lonny Frey
A three-time All-Star, Lonny Frey was practically run out of Brooklyn because of his shaky defensive play in the infield and his corrosive relationship with manager Casey Stengel. At one point during his stint as a Dodger, fans would boo and catcall each time a ball was hit in his direction, and respond with sarcastic applause when he completed a play without error. He was a fine hitter, and settled down defensively as a second baseman, enjoying his best seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, helping them to back-to-back pennants in 1939-1940. After missing two full seasons while he was serving in World War II, his career was essentially over. In 1969, as part of the franchise's 100th anniversary, Frey was selected the Reds all-time second baseman.
Career Batting Stats
G AB H R HR RBI SB AVG SLG OBP OPS OPS+
1535 5517 1482 848 61 549 105 .269 .374 .359 .734 104.1
Where does Lonny Frey rank among baseball greats?
Lonny Frey ranks #35 among the Top 50 all-time at 2B. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1939
Lonny set career-highs in batting average (.291), OBP (.388) and slugging (.452). He was also settling in at second base, committing just 18 errors, a modest figure compared to the totals he posted in Brooklyn.

Factoids
For the first five years of his big league career, Lonny Frey was a switch-hitter. In 1938, he switched to batting only from the left side.

Description
Frey was a sandlot star in St. Louis as a teenager, and received a tryout with the Cardinals when he was still quite young. He weighed just 130 pounds at the time and was dismissed. Later in his career, The Sporting News described him as a "rosy-cheeked 27-year old veteran whose secondbasemanship was an outstanding feature in Cincinnati's spring sensationalism..."

Where He Played
Frey was a shortstop when he first came up, but his defensive woes (and his weak arm) caused his switch to second base. Stengel actually considered moving him to the outfield, and briefly tried him at third.

Born
Linus Reinhard Frey was born on August 23, 1910, in St. Louis, MO.

Batted: Left
Threw: Right

Major League Debut
8 29,

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1933
Bob Johnson
Lonny Frey
Dolph Camili
Pete Fox
Cecil Travis
Hal Trosky
Dutch Leonard
Schoolboy Rowe
Elden Auker

Nicknames
Junior

Frey's mother named him Linus, after the Bishop of Rome... He apparently was called "Junior" going back to his days on the sandlots in St. Louis, because of his small size.

Similar Players
Frey bore a striking resemblance to Dave Bancroft, and even drew comparisons to him as a shortstop. But Bancroft was far superior defensive shortstop than was Frey.

Related Players
Frey and Dodger pitcher Whit Wyatt were involved in a pair of fights in the late 1930s. After being traded by the Dodgers to the Reds, Frey played hard against his former team. The fans in Brooklyn had always given him a hard time.

Post-Season Appearances
1939 World Series
1940 World Series
1947 World Series
Post-Season Notes
Frey, who was still alive in 2005 at the age of 95, said in an interview: "Not many people can say they wore a size-17 collar in the World Series."

Indeed, amazingly, Frey had gone 0-for-17 in the 1939 World Series for the Reds. In 1940, Frey was injured and appeared in just three Series games, going 0-for-2. As a utility player for the Yankees in 1947, he got his third shot at the Fall Classic, but was 0-for-1 in a pinch-hitting role. Thus, he was 0-for-20 with a walk, one RBI, and no runs scored, in eight Series games.

Notes
In 1936, the 25-year old Frey was named captain of the Dodgers. By May, he was benched for his poor defensive play... In the off-season, Frey worked as a bookkeeper and stenographer.

Injuries and Explanation for Missed Playing Time
In spring training in 1934, Frey was hit on the head by pitch from Leslie Munns, a fellow Dodger farmhand. The ball hit Frey in the right temple (he was batting left-handed). He lay unconscious for 20 minutes, but finally was revived by the team physician and rushed to the hospital in Orlando, Florida. He had suffered a concussion, was out of action for about a week, won the shortstop job, and was in the lineup to start the regular season.

Transactions
December 5, 1936: Traded by the Brooklyn Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Roy Henshaw and Woody English.

February 4, 1938: Purchased by the Cincinnati Reds from the Chicago Cubs.

April 16, 1947: Purchased by the Chicago Cubs from the Cincinnati Reds.

June 25, 1947: Purchased by the New York Yankees from the Chicago Cubs.

May 18, 1948: Released by the New York Yankees.

August, 1948: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Giants.

October 3, 1948: Released by the New York Giants.

Trivia Question
Who fielded the final groundball to end the 1940 World Series, giving the Reds their first Championship in 21 years?

Trivia Answer
Lonny Frey fielded a groundball hit off the bat of Detroit's Earl Averill.

All-Star Selections
1939 NL
1941 NL
1943 NL

Replaced
The duo of Jimmy Jordan and Glenn Wright.

Replaced By
His last regular job was as the Reds' second baseman in 1943. After he went into the military, Woody Williams took that spot.

Best Strength as a Player
Frey had good judgment of the strike zone.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Frey was one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball in the 1930s. Later, he was an average second baseman, at best, but palatable. In 34 games at short as a rookie, he made 18 errors. In 1936, he made 51 errors at short, posting a putrid .918 fielding percentage. In May he was benched when he made his 17th error in the first 38 games of the season. He was less of a liability at second, but he was never a star with the leather. He was a fan favorite in Cincinnati, however, which was a welcome change from the way the Brooklyn fans roasted him.

The level at which Brooklyn fans hounded Frey was dramatic. The World-Telegram wrote, on July 22, 1936:

"So prone to err in the field was [Frey] and so futile at bat that boos and catcalls became his daily salutation. Indeed, there were times when the sentiment against him caused [Dodger manager] Casey Stengel to take him from the line-up and there was considerable talk of shipping him down the river."

One unidentified Dodger teammate said: "When they roast a ball player like that, a fellow might as well root to be traded. No one with any sensibilities at all can listen to that kind of a roar and not get the jitters and become ten times worse."

Ironically, during his Dodger days, Frey seemed to thrive away from the boos at Ebbets Field. In away games he hit 20-30 points higher, and his fielding improved a bit, as well.

Another weakness was his weak throwing arm.

[fkw]

Hi Leon, I have those uncataloged cards listed as ...... ca.1939 Cincinnati Reds Team Issue 2.5" by 3.5" (modern card size, real photo).


I had a Frey and Weber so thats not a good group to try to pinpoint a year, but I got 1939 as an est date.

I believe yours is a different example as the Frey I had had a pinhole in it.

Yours is only the 3rd example Ive seen from this set.

Here is a scan of the other player... #56 Weber

http://centuryoldcards.com/images/unc1930reds.jpg

[nolemmings]

since Werber is wearing the arm patch from 1939, seems Frank and Tim have got the date down

[timn1]

Frank,

I bought your Werber and Frey from you, Leon got his Frey from me, so I think we're back down to two examples :)

Tim

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

"Lonny" was to Linus like Bobby is to Robert. That was always my understanding. Regarding "Junior": I asked him about it. Even in his early 90's, the moniker nearly inspired rage in an otherwise happy gentleman: "That's NOT my nickname! I was NEVER a 'Junior'!".

Here's a Benny Frey autograph to go with the other part of this thread: