Lot 251. Pirates Vintage Collection – Autographs, Traynor Photo, 1960 Memorabilia, Etc. One highlight of this collection is an 11” x 13” photo, circa 1940, of Pie Traynor with William Benswanger matted and framed to 18 ½” x 21”. Benswanger was president of the Pirates 1932-46. Upon close examination, the photo shows some surface cracks and creases and a couple of very small scuffs. The decorative, quality vintage wood frame would benefit from being re-stained. Striking display item. Three uncommon autographs are also featured: Lefty Leifield, who signed “A P Leifield” on an unlined index card, was Pittsburgh’s winningest pitcher 1906-11. He died in 1907. His signature is a mint 9. Aubrey Epps appeared in exactly one major league game, for the Pirates in 1935, and he made the most of it. He collected three hits, including a triple, and he drove home three runs. He signed a handwritten letter that mentions Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. His signature is a 10. Epps died in 1984. “Buckshot” May also had a one-game major league career. He pitched one inning in 1924, allowing two hits and striking out one. May died in 1984. Publications: 1961 yearbook, owner’s name on front; otherwise, vg-ex. 1971 NLCS scorebook, Clemente cover, scored, vg-ex. 1971 Three Rivers Stadium Souvenir Book marking the opening of the new stadium, vg-ex. Photos: Vintage glossy 8” x 10” photo, possibly from 1961 spring training, with Willie Stargell, Al McBean, Vernon Law, etc. Vg+ to ex. Framed 11” x 14” pictures of Mazeroski’s home run that won the 1960 World Series, Clemente’s 3,000th hit and the 1961 Pirates team. Vg-ex to ex+. Also, an 11” x 17” picture of the World Champion 1971 Pirates, vg. Rain Checks: Two different, undated, probably 1940s-50s, vg. Stamps: U.S. Post Office “Legends” kit including stamps of Clemente, Ruth, Gehrig and Jackie Robinson. Cards and a stamp album also are included. Ex-m. Cards: 1991 Kellogg’s Sportflics card of Ralph Kiner, nm. 1994 ProMint 22 karat gold foil card of Barry Bonds, nm-m. Also, a 3” color pin of Stargell and two Pirates 2004 magnet schedules. Twenty items. Autographs authenticated by Kevin Keating.
Winning Bid $83.
Lot 260. 1962 “Mickey Mantle’s Big League Baseball” Game from Gardner & Company. Solid, rigid box with a couple of scuffs and a very small puncture on the lid. Inside, the game board of this dice game has an image of Mantle and is nm. Two sets of rules have Mantle’s image, vg. Some game pieces are present, although the Mantle photo and the dice cup are not.
Winning Bid $102.
Lot 261. Spectacular 1950s Mickey Mantle Photo Ring. This ring features a sepia photo of Mantle in a batting stance inside a ½” oval. The photo is mounted inside an adjustable metal band, which shows some wear. The photo itself is nm.
Minimum Bid $100.
Lot 263. 1950s PM10 Pins of New York Yankees - Berra, Ruffing, Turley. The pins of Yogi Berra and Charles Herbert Ruffing are the 1 ¾” variety with the name at the bottom. The Berra pin, which is ex, has a light blue or aqua background, and a 2 ½” catcher’s mitt is attached. The Ruffing pin, which shows some wear on the back, has a nm front. The Bob Turley pin, which is vg+ to ex with some light surface scratches, is 2” in diameter and has his name at the top. The Baseball Pinback Buttons book lists the Turley pin at $500.
Winning Bid $102.
Lot 264. 2 Babe Ruth Pins. The first is a 7/8” black & white “Baseball Club Member” pin that pictures Ruth. Nm. The second is a 1 ½” “Babe Ruth Boys Club” pin from the Esso (now Exxon) oil company. This pin shows surface wear.
Winning Bid $68.
Lot 265. 84 Different Babe Ruth First-Day Envelopes, Commemorative Stamps. The Post Office launched the 20-cent Babe Ruth stamp in Chicago on July 6, 1983, to mark the 50th anniversary of Major League Baseball’s All-Star game. At least 65 of the envelopes, produced by various companies, contain an image of Ruth. There are two numbered sets, a group of 10 from J:M, and another series of six from Den’s Collectors Den. One envelope is from Z Cachets, and six are from Santoe of Zanesville, OH. Five feature paintings by Robert Steven Simon. Generally, the envelopes are nm-m.
Winning Bid $92.
Lot 327. Ron Stark 20” x 24” Color Print of Babe Ruth on Canvas. Stark has been described as the next Norman Rockwell. He is one of the premiere sports artists of our time. His rendering of Babe Ruth is simply incredible. If there is a better one out there, we have not seen it. Clad in Yankee pinstripes and cap, the Babe stands, holding his bat against a dark-brown background. The appearance is that of an original oil painting and not a print. His image is so lifelike that it seems to jump out of the canvas. The detail is exceptional and meticulous. The canvas print is housed in a 23 ½” x 27 ½” frame. Stark has signed the print near the lower right corner.
Winning Bid $520.
Lot 328. Arthur K. Miller Framed Color Illustration of Ty Cobb. Cobb is colorfully shown in a bunting stance with his eye on the ball, which approaches his bat. The matted and framed piece measures 20 ¼” x 24 ¼”. Anyone interested in baseball knows something about Cobb. Miller, an award-winning artist, is less widely known. His work has appeared in many publications, most notably yearbooks for the Baseball Hall of Fame and SABR publications. The Cobb print is one of a series of lithographs. Interestingly, one night in late 1999, Miller had a dream that in 2019, he would be the first artist inducted into the wing of the Hall of Fame for writers and broadcasters. With artwork such as this, his is a dream that may just come true!
Winning Bid $75.
Lot 329. Game-Used Dave Concepcion 1980-82 Louisville Slugger Bat. Concepcion was the defensive star of “The Great Eight,” the starting players for Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” in 1976. He received less notoriety than his power-hitting teammates, but he was every bit as important to the team’s success. During his career, which spanned 1970-88, Concepcion won five Gold Gloves. For much of his career, only Ozzie Smith was better defensively. Tim McCarver called him “one of the best shortstops ever to play baseball.” This 34.5” dark-brown K55 bat shows plenty of game use. An 11 ½” section of tape obscures part of the crack in the handle. The bat displays well and will make an excellent addition to any bat or Reds collection.
Winning Bid $75.
Lot 330. Tony Conigliaro, Dom DiMaggio Store Model Louisville Slugger Baseball Bats. This group consists of three bats representing the Boston Red Sox stars. The 34” Hillerich & Bradsby 125 Conigliaro bat is from the 1970s, nm. The earliest of the DiMaggio bats is a 35” H&B No. 14 model with “Safe Hit” and “Dominic DiMaggio Model” on the barrel. It shows light to moderate use with some scratches and scuffs. Ex and displays well. The second DiMaggio bat is similar to Conigliaro’s and nm. It’s a 34” Hillerich & Bradsby 125 from the 1970s with “Dom DiMaggio” and “Genuine P72” on the barrel.
Winning Bid $185.
Lot 331. J. C. Romero Autographed Minnesota Twins Jersey. Romero was the winning pitcher as the Philadelphia Phillies won Game 5 of the 2008 World Series and garnered their first world championship in 25 years. He also won Game 3. Romero pitched in Minnesota 2001-05, Los Angeles 2006 and Boston 2007 before landing in Philadelphia for most of the 2007 season. His pitching improved signficantly with the Phils, and he has become a fan favorite. His signature is in silver on the second “3” of “33” on the back of the Russell Athletic Authentic Collection size 48 jersey. The signature is nm 7 to nm-m 8. A 2003 Letter of Authenticity from Clubhouse Collectibles of Cincinnati describes the jersey as game used. Autograph authenticated by Kevin Keating.
Winning Bid $68.
Lot 332. Rich DeLucia Collection of 4 Game Jerseys, Cards and More! DeLucia had a 10-season major league career that began in Seattle in 1990, ended in Cleveland in 1999 and included stops in Cincinnati, St. Louis, San Francisco and Anaheim. He won 12 games while losing 13 for Seattle in 1991, and he was 8-7 for the Cardinals in 1995. This collection includes home and away Mariners and Giants jerseys. The Mariners jerseys are Rawlings size 44, each with a “Set 1” tag. The Giants jerseys are Russell Athletic Diamond Collection size 44, and each has a stamp inside that says “Purchased from San Francisco Giants 1996.” Accompanying the jerseys is a Mariners Diamond Collection size L jacket from Starter with DeLucia’s uniform number, 55, and a similar second jacket that is XL and has #6 on it. The jerseys and jackets are nm. The equipment comes with 250 1991 Donruss cards of DeLucia, Rated Rookie #426, and 250 1991 Score cards, Rookie Prospect #728. The cards average at least nm.
Winning Bid $248.
Lot 333. 5 1914-16 Coca-Cola Ads Featuring HoFers Evers, Collins, McGraw and Wagner. Coke was among the earlier companies to use sports stars to promote products unrelated to sports. Johnny Evers, then with the Boston Braves, promotes the cola in a 5 ½” x 16” ad that appeared in the May 1914 issue of American Boy. John McGraw, the New York Giants’ Hall of Fame coach, is depicted as a player in an ad the same size from the July 1916 issue of the same publication. Both are vg+ to ex. Eddie Collins is the star promoter in a 4 ½” x 7 ½” ad from the May 1915 Successful Farming, ex, and the same ad from the Sept. 4, 1915 Progressive Farmer, vg with very light staining. The first three are on quality newspaper stock, and the last, on newsprint. The ad featuring “The Great Hans Wagner,” undated but from the same period, is 5 ½” x 6 ¾” on newsprint and vg+ to ex. The ad offers a booklet on The Truth About Coca-Cola and a scorer, “The Coca-Cola Perpetual Counter.” The magazine ads are part of complete pages. All of the ads but the newsprint Collins display as ex.
Winning Bid $60.
Lot 334. Wonderful Collection of 47 Ads with Baseball Player Endorsements. Most are from 1930s-50s magazines, and sizes range from 2 ½” x 4” to a full magazine page. Most take up half a magazine page or more. The image area averages ex; there typically are creases and minor tears along the edges. Perhaps the most dramatic ad, which is from 1926, promotes the Eddie Collins Reach model glove. Jackie Robinson: Smaller ads for his baseball game and tie rack. Babe Ruth: Aurora models, 1965. Lou Gehrig: 1930s ads for Williams Shaving Cream, Aqua Velva and Gillette. Joe DiMaggio: 1950 TSN Baseball Register, Babe Ruth watch. Mickey Mantle: The Mickey Mantle Story, Camels (with Zoe Ann Olsen, Julius Boros), Viceroy Cigarettes (with Sam Snead). Yogi Berra: Shelby bicycle, Kraft Italian Dressing. Ted Williams: Kissimmee Baseball School, Sears (congratulates the 1971 NL champion Pittsburgh Pirates), 1951 Dodge, Magic Scorecard, Wilson gloves with Bob Feller. Stan Musial: 1952 for Rawlings baseball gloves, Marlboro Big Legue Denims, clothing cutouts for Quadriga Cloth, Stan Musial & Biggie’s Restaurant. Carl Hubbell: 1951 N.Y. Giants Tryout Camp, Camels. Bob Feller: Two different for Roadmaster bicycles. Dixie Walker: Great ad for Champ Hats. Charlie Grimm: Comic for Gillette. Three ads are for Wilson gloves and feature Gus Mancuso in one and Harvey Kuenn in another; the third has Roy McMillan, Billy Martin, Kuenn and Sammy White. Fifteen ads are from Gillette’s “Cavalcade of Sports” series; 14 are half-page ads. The stars are Lou Boudreau (full page with Guy Lombardo, the bandleader, and Larry Hughes), Phil Cavaretta, Dom DiMaggio, Boo Ferriss, Ned Garver, Jim Hegan, Ralph Kiner, Bob Lemon, Johnny Mize, Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds, Paul Richards, Al Rosen, Bobby Thomson and Gus Zernial.
Winning Bid $125.
Lot 335. 1940s Habana Cuban Baseball League Felt Pennant. Organized baseball in Cuba is almost as old as it is in the U.S. During a span of more than 100 years, one rivalry has stood the test of time - Habana and Almendares. These rivals met in the first Cuban League game, on Dec. 29, 1878. This pennant dates from the period when Cuba was a host of the “Winter Leagues.” White artwork on a red field reads “Habana” with the tail of a stylized Lion intersecting the “H.” The 6 ½” x 17 ¼” pennant, plus tassels, has a small hole near the base of the “H,” and two pinholes are visible. Cuban baseball collectibles are not easy to find, and this is an attractive pennant!
Winning Bid $92.
