1933 Goudey #177 Walter French
About Walter French
Walter Edward French (1899-1984), born in Moorestown, New Jersey, was one of the era's rare two-sport stars before settling into a big-league baseball career as an outfielder. A standout halfback at West Point, French earned All-American recognition in 1920, scoring on long touchdown runs in Army's famous loss to an undefeated Notre Dame team. Signed by a Philadelphia Athletics scout for his speed, he broke in with Connie Mack's club in 1925 after minor-league seasoning at Williamsport and Shreveport, and played six major-league seasons (1925-1929) exclusively for the A's, primarily as a reserve right fielder and one of the American League's top pinch-hitters. He batted .303 for his career, with 297 hits, 2 home runs, and 109 RBI in 397 games, hitting a career-high .305 in 1926. Reduced to a bench role once Mack stacked the roster with Ty Cobb and other veterans, French appeared in just 45 games for the 1929 World Series champion Athletics, going hitless in his lone World Series pinch-hit at-bat against the Chicago Cubs. His Goudey card depicts his post-Athletics chapter: by 1933 he was a veteran minor-league outfielder, finishing that season with the Knoxville club of the Southern Association after a mid-year trade, where he batted .351 with 215 hits and was honored as the circuit's outstanding player by The Sporting News despite team-imposed pay cuts during the Depression. French later returned to West Point as head baseball coach (1937-1942) before serving as an Army Air Corps intelligence officer in World War II.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · SABR
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 359 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 33 | 28 | 72 | 209 | 5 |
| SGC | 122 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 25 | 80 | 3 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-03. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1933 Goudey Walter French card?
It is card #177 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 Walter French with the Knoxville Smokies.
Is the 1933 Goudey Walter French #177 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 2026-10-05.