Billy Herman - 1933 Goudey #227
1933 Goudey #227 Billy Herman
No team banner: this card comes from Goudey's late-1933 press sheets 8-10, which dropped the team-name banner from the front design.
About Billy Herman
Billy Herman (born July 7, 1909, New Albany, Indiana; died 1992) was a standout second baseman who anchored the Chicago Cubs infield through the 1930s. Signed out of the Louisville Colonels' system, he reached the majors in August 1931 and by 1932 was a fixture, batting .314 with 102 runs and finishing ninth in MVP voting as Chicago won the NL pennant. In the 1933 season depicted on this card, Herman set the National League single-season record for putouts by a second baseman (466), a mark that still stands. He made 10 consecutive All-Star teams from 1934 through 1943, and his finest year came in 1935, when he led the majors with 227 hits and 57 doubles and hit a career-high .341 as the Cubs won another pennant. Over 15 major-league seasons with the Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves, and Pittsburgh Pirates (the last as player-manager), he batted .304 with 2,345 hits, 839 RBI, and 47 home runs across 1,922 games, reaching the World Series four times (1932, 1935, 1938, 1941) without a title. Herman was also the source who later disputed the legend of Babe Ruth's 1932 "called shot," insisting Ruth had pointed toward the Cubs dugout rather than the center-field bleachers. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1975.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · SABR
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 365 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 23 | 41 | 49 | 233 | 5 |
| SGC | 235 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 28 | 185 | 7 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-03. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Find on eBay
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #5 Babe Herman
- #23 Kiki Cuyler
- #39 Mark Koenig
- #51 Charlie Grimm
- #55 Pat Malone
- #64 Burleigh Grimes
- #67 Guy Bush
- #135 Woody English
- #152 Zack Taylor
- #186 Johnny Schulte
- #202 Gabby Hartnett
- #203 Lon Warneke
- #204 Riggs Stephenson
- #224 Frank Demaree
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1933 Goudey Billy Herman card?
It is card #227 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 Billy Herman with the Chicago Cubs.
Why does this card have no team banner?
It comes from Goudey's late-1933 press sheets 8-10, which dropped the team-name banner from the front design - 72 cards in the set share the bannerless look.
Is the 1933 Goudey Billy Herman #227 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.