Description

1948 Swell Sport Thrills card number 7 Hal Schumacher New York Giants "Never Say Die Pitcher!" recently graded SGC 1.5. This is a rare card from a rare set as only 53 copies of this card have been graded by PSA and only 26 copies have been graded by SGC. Combined shipping available. The 1948 Swell Bubble Gum Sport Thrills baseball set is comprised of 20 cards, each measuring approximately 2-7/16” by 3”. Produced by the Philadelphia Gum Company, the set honors the National Pastime’s most thrilling moments up to the post-war world. The cards have a black-and-white image framed with a baseball-themed border, the title “Sports Thrills Highlights in the World of Sport” at the top of the card, and the title of the card along the bottom. The backs give the story of the event pictured on the front. Most also promote Bob Feller’s then-recently printed “How to Pitch” book. The set is anchored by Dramatic Debut: Jackie Robinson ROY (#3), Most Dramatic Homer: Babe Ruth Points (#12), Great Slugging: Lou Gehrig’s Four Homers (#14), and Three Run Homer in Ninth: Ted Williams’ Homer (#16). Card #s 9, 11, 16, and 20 are more difficult to obtain than the other cards in this set, although the entire set is a challenge to secure in high grades due to their unusual sizes, resulting in many being found with folds or wrinkles along the edges. Schumacher was still an undergraduate at St. Lawrence University when he first signed with the Giants in 1931. He required only eight games of minor league seasoning before earning a place on the Giants' pitching staff in 1932. The following year (during which he received his degree from St. Lawrence), Schumacher helped pitch the Giants to the 1933 National League pennant and World Series championship. His 19 victories, 2582⁄3 innings pitched, 21 complete games, seven shutouts and 2.16 earned run average were second on the staff only to Carl Hubbell, the future Baseball Hall of Fame left-hander. During the 1933 fall classic, he started two games against the Washington Senators and won Game 2, 6–1, turning in a complete game, five-hit effort and driving in three runs himself. He also started the clinching Game 5, and departed in the sixth inning with the score tied, 3–3. Adolfo Luque came on in relief and was the winning pitcher, as the Giants triumphed 4–3 in extra innings. Schumacher won 23 games in 1934, his best season. From 1933 to 1935, he was 61–31 with 12 shutouts, but after their 1933 title, the Giants finished in arrears of the St. Louis Cardinals (1934) and Chicago Cubs (1935). Then the Giants won back-to-back NL pennants in 1936 and 1937. Schumacher's regular-season record was only 24–25, but he drew three more starting assignments in World Series play. In 1936, he started two games against the heavy-hitting New York Yankees. He dropped Game 2, exiting with none out in the third inning and charged with four runs against in an eventual 18–4 Yankee rout. Then he started Game 5 and held the Yanks to three earned runs in ten innings. His 5–4 victory kept the Giants' hopes alive, but they were eliminated in Game 6 by the Yankees, who were en route to four straight world championships. A year later, Schumacher started Game 3 of the 1937 World Series and lost a 5–1 decision. He continued to take a turn in the Giants' starting rotation from 1938 to 1942, then entered the United States Navy, serving in the Pacific Theatre of Operations, and missed three full seasons during World War II. Schumacher came back briefly in 1946 and won his first two starts, pitching complete games in each. But he worked infrequently after mid-June and retired at the close of the season. During his pitching career, Schumacher posted a 158–121 won-lost record, with 329 starting assignments. He registered 137 complete games and 26 shutouts and added seven saves during his infrequent bullpen appearances. In 2,4821⁄3 innings pitched, he allowed 2,424 hits and 902 bases on balls. He fanned 906 and compiled a lifetime ERA of 3.36. In World Series action, he went 2–2 (4.13), allowing 35 hits and 19 walks in 322⁄3 innings pitched; he struck out 17. An accomplished batsman and baserunner among pitchers, Schumacher appeared in 61 MLB games as a pinch runner, pinch hitter or centerfielder, hitting .202 (181-for-896) with 15 home runs lifetime, six of them in 1934. Defensively he was also above average, recording a .971 fielding percentage which was 11 points higher than the league average at his position. Schumacher was selected to the National League squad for two of the first three All-Star games ever played, including the inaugural edition in 1933. He did not appear in that contest, but returned to the NL All-Star team in 1935 and hurled four innings of one-run ball in the American League's 4–1 victory at Cleveland Stadium.