Office Hours | The Quietest Superstar Ever

The Legend of Jimmie Foxx

In his time, Jimmie Foxx looked like a successor to Babe Ruth; he was that good. In numerous statistical columns, his career numbers are almost unbelievable. With a lifetime batting average of .325, including 13 seasons over .300, his 534 HRs and 1,922 RBIs have kept him in the top 20 all-time in both categories.

His titanic slugging was certainly respected in his day, but somehow, Foxx’s timing was all wrong. His performance peaked during the worst years of the Great Depression. In 1932, he was on-pace to break Ruth’s record of 60 HRs for most of the season and finished with 58. But attendance was down that year, and playing for the Philadelphia Athletics wasn’t the same as playing for the Yankees. The media coverage just didn’t turn up for Foxx.

He retired from baseball in 1945, just a few years before the sport began to be televised regularly and less than a decade before baseball cards would become a national obsession. Lou Gehrig once said Foxx’s only mistake was being born 25 years too early. In reply, Foxx, who filed for bankruptcy shortly after his retirement, said, “I guess I was born to be broke.”

The Early Cards of Jimmie Foxx

A couple of postcard-style black and white cards of Foxx were printed in the late 1920s, but his first standard cards appeared in the 1933 Goudey set (#29 and #154). Both cards feature the same illustration of him twisting through his powerful swing. The prominent yellow background brightens the pictures, and card #154 includes the “Lou Gehrig says…” feature. These two cards are generally considered to be the most highly prized Foxx cards.

The same year, Foxx appeared in the 1933 DeLong set. Card #21 features an impressive photo of Foxx superimposed on an illustration of a generic baseball field. He was in the middle of his career, and this limited and rare set remains popular with collectors. Interestingly, the spelling of his first name often appears as “Jimmy” on cards, but “Jimmie” seems to be the preferred version of baseball historians.

While the Goudey and DeLong cards say “Jimmy,” the 1934-1936 Diamond Stars card #64 reads “Jimmie,” and features him in his catcher’s gear. Foxx began playing for Boston in 1936, and two cards from that era deserve mention. The 1938 Goudey set featured two Foxx cards (#173 and #249). Both feature the same illustration of Foxx with the memorable “Heads Up” oversized head on a cartoon body. The 1941 Play Ball card #13 features Foxx in his Boston uniform.

Jimmie Foxx Renaissance: Later Cards

A few minor card companies produced cards honoring Foxx quite soon after his career ended. In 1950, the Callahan HOF card featured a colorless (but nice) portrait illustration of Foxx. The 1961 Golden Press Hall of Fame set featured 33 punch-out cards, and Foxx’s card #22 deserves acknowledgement.

The earliest Topps card to feature Foxx appeared in 2003. Card #71 in the Topps Gallery set features a beautiful illustration of Foxx in his Red Sox jersey. There are abundant numbers of this card, and the set is widely available, but it is well-designed, and hobbyists looking to add Foxx cards to their set can acquire this one quite easily.

The 2008 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Icons mini card #BI12 is equally attractive and interesting. With a vintage look (and tobacco era proportions), this card features an impressive illustration of Foxx in his Athletics jersey leaning on his bat handle. His career stats are presented in a unique format on the card-back, making it another nice collectible for Foxx fans who are unable to acquire cards from the early days.

Foxx was also featured in Topps’ Triple Thread series in 2008-2010, with the 2009 card #45 being a standout in terms of design. The sepia tone images of Foxx on these cards are aesthetically compelling. The 2009 card was limited to a 525-count printing.

Recent Jimmie Foxx Cards

In recent years, Topps has continued to honor Foxx’s remarkable career. The 2022 Topps Chrome Update Diamond Great DGC #68 is a notable recent example. With a photo of Foxx in his Philadelphia jersey and a colorful backdrop, the card provides an anecdotal career highlight on the back side.

Topps has produced a few Foxx cards as part of its Tribute line, including the 2018 Topps Tribute #42, with a limited print run of only 10 cards, as well as the 2010 Topps Tribute Relics Gold /25, which features a fragment of a bat. Although the relic may not exactly be from a Foxx bat, it is a rare card, and the overall design is impressive.

The 2018 Topps Archives Foxx card (#156) is also a solid retrospective, especially as it showcases Foxx’s full career stats on the reverse side. A reproduction of Foxx’s signature accompanies a colorized photo highlighting his placid blue eyes.

Most of the recently printed Foxx cards are easily acquired and relatively affordable, but in 2020, Topps produced a 1/1 definitive cut signature card. The desirability of a card like this is hard to overstate, and it is only matched by the equally impressive 2016 Topps Transcendent Jimmie Foxx card (also a 1/1), which is oversized and features another cut signature from the Hall of Famer known as “The Beast.”

If Jimmie Foxx had played a quarter of a century later, he might’ve been as well-known as Mickey Mantle, and if he had played in New York, he might’ve been another Ruth. Instead, he is often overlooked and at times almost forgotten, even by serious fans of the game. Fortunately, The Hobby refuses to lose sight of such a superstar, and it’s reasonable to expect that Topps will continue to honor him as one of the all-time greats in future sets.

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