Born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, he grew up in nearby Nanty Glo, where he was a standout in sandlot baseball in his youth. Collins started his professional baseball career in 1923. He played in various minor leagues for eight seasons until 1930, when he hit .376 with 40 home runs for the Rochester Red Wings of the International League. His 180 runs batted in set an IL record.\n', '

For that performance, Collins was called up to the majors. As a member of the Gashouse Gang Cardinals teams, Collins had a breakout season in 1934 with 35 homers (sharing the league\'s long-ball championship with future Baseball Hall of Famer Mel Ott), 128 runs batted in, and a .333 batting average. He also hit .367 in the World Series, which the Cardinals won in seven games.\n', '

Collins is the only first baseman to have twice recorded no putouts in a nine-inning game – once for the Cardinals in 1935, and again for the Cubs in 1937. Between his time with the Cubs and the Pirates, Collins spent two years with the Los Angeles Angels, and played in 346 games during that time.\n', '

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