From the back of the card: “Fast ball pitcher.”

Last week, I posted that I was beginning a collection of 1933 Goudey baseball cards, with the intention of completing the entire 239 card set within half a decade or so. Here’s the first card.

Baseball-Reference lists Mahaffey as “Lee Roy” rather than “Leroy,” and I’m inclined to go with them over a gum company. Mahaffey, who was nicknamed “Popeye,” was a below average pitcher who began his big league career at age 22 in 1926 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but threw only 14 innings for the Pirates over the 1926 and 1927 seasons. According to the back of the card, Mahaffey “had a tryout with Pittsburgh…but failed to make the grade.” (Modern baseball cards really lack that kind of frankness about a player’s performance.)

From 1930-1935, Mahaffey was with the Philadelphia Athletics, primarily as a starter. During that time, he started 118 games and posted a 64-43 record with a 4.82 ERA (adjusted ERA+ of 93). The A’s won the World Series during Mahaffey’s first season with the team. He finished his career with a forgettable season for the St. Louis Browns in 1936.

Mahaffey’s best season came when he went 15-4 with a 4.21 ERA for Connie Mack’s 1931 A’s team that went 107-45 in the regular season, but lost the World Series in 7 games to the St. Louis Cardinals. On that team, Mahaffey was part of a rotation that included future Hall of Famers Lefty Grove (who went 31-4 with a 219 ERA+) and Waite Hoyt. The team also included future HOFers Mickey Cochrane at catcher, Jimmie Foxx at first base, and Al Simmons in the outfield, who batted .390 in 1931. What a team.

Despite being thoroughly mediocre, Mahaffey does have one feather in his cap: He faced the New York Yankees 14 times, both as a starter and reliever, and did not surrender a home run to Babe Ruth. He wasn’t as lucky with Lou Gehrig, though. Gehrig took him deep 7 times.