Ben Cantwell - 1933 Goudey #139
1933 Goudey #139 Ben Cantwell
About Ben Cantwell
Benjamin Caldwell "Bear-Cat" Cantwell was born April 13, 1902, in Milan, Tennessee, and turned pro in 1923 with the Paris Parisians of the Class D Kitty League after his sophomore year at the University of Tennessee. A right-handed control artist who lacked an overpowering fastball but baffled hitters with a screwball and knuckleball, he debuted with the New York Giants in 1927 before moving to the Boston Braves in 1928, where he spent the bulk of an 11-year big-league career. His finest season came in 1933 (the year depicted on this card): Cantwell went 20-10 with a career-best 2.62 ERA, 18 complete games, and 254⅔ innings, joining Carl Hubbell, Dizzy Dean, and Guy Bush as the National League's only 20-game winners that year and helping the Braves to their best record since 1916. Two years later he suffered the reverse, going 4-25 for a dismal 38-115 Braves club while pitching through painful elbow bone spurs — the last major-league pitcher to lose 25 games in a season. He finished his career with the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937, retiring with a 76-108 record, 3.91 ERA, and 348 strikeouts in 1,534 innings. After baseball he taught pitching at Joe Stripp's Baseball School in Florida, stressing leg conditioning to protect the arm.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · SABR
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 303 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 14 | 26 | 51 | 191 | 6 |
| SGC | 135 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 25 | 93 | 5 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-03. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1933 Goudey Ben Cantwell card?
It is card #139 of the 1933 Goudey (R319) Baseball set - the 240-card, 2-3/8 by 2-7/8 inch color-art set issued in 1933 with Big League Chewing Gum. It pictures Ben Cantwell with the Boston Braves.
Is the 1933 Goudey Ben Cantwell #139 a rookie card?
By modern catalog convention, yes. 1933 Goudey is treated as the hobby's first major nationally distributed gum set, so nearly every card in it carries the rookie-card (RC) designation - a modern label applied retroactively, since many of these players had earlier tobacco, caramel, or strip cards.
How many cards are in the 1933 Goudey set?
240 numbered cards, though collectors usually count 241 collectible cards because #6 Jimmy Dykes exists in an error and a corrected version. Only 239 numbers were in 1933 packs - #106 (Nap Lajoie) was printed in 1934 and issued by mail.
Sources: Trading Card Database, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-07-04.