Lot 16. Sports Illustrated Dummy #2 with Pebble Beach Golf Cover – April 19, 1954. In the early 1950s, Time-Life had a dream of a weekly sports magazine. In this second of two dummy issues, H.H.S. Phillips Jr., in a “Memo from the Publisher,” addresses the question, why publish a weekly sports publication. He provides two answers. First, it had never been done; second, the “season and climate” seemed “most propitious.” He explained that “Sport is the central theme in a new pattern of our American life.” Time-Life produced the dummy to promote the forthcoming magazine to advertisers, and Phillips added that “Because this magazine has its roots in the social and economic trends that are revolutionizing American marketing today, we feel it should serve its advertisers well.” Over the years, advertisers have demonstrated their agreement with Phillips’ assessment. Pebble Beach is on the cover of this “Dummy.” Inside is a story on the Masters focusing on Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. This Dummy is considered SI’s first golf issue. There also are articles on trout fishing, bowling, national parks and Bobo Olson. Very nice vg+ to ex example with a bright, clean cover that has a couple of creases in the lower right corner. The owner’s stamp also is on the cover. The back cover shows light soiling and a tiny tear. The interior is tight, clean and ex-m to nm. Distribution was very limited, making this a scarce publication that is especially desirable because the golf theme.
Winning Bid $321.
Lot 17. Sports Illustrated’s First Issue – Aug. 16, 1954 with Mathews Cover, Topps Cards. After two years of market research, the executives responsible for Time and Life launched what would become the nation’s most successful sports magazine. Eddie Mathews is on the cover. Inside is an article on baseball card collecting, accompanied by a three-page panel that reproduces the fronts and backs of 27 1954 Topps cards. The players include Mathews, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Larry Doby, Ted Williams, Ted Kluszewski and Gil Hodges. The copy of the magazine is extremely nice, ex with some corner creases and stress creases along the spine. The Topps cards are nm-m. The issue also has four full color pages of the Rocky Marciano-Ezzard Charles fight.
Winning Bid $148.
Lot 18. 1936 Time Magazine with Rookie Joe DiMaggio on the Cover. It’s not often that a rookie sports figure adorns the cover of a news magazine, but DiMaggio accomplished the feat on July 13, 1936. No doubt he benefited from playing in the nation’s media center in New York, but a starting role in the All-Star Game and a high batting average certainly contributed to his notoriety. DiMaggio also received much of the credit for the Yankees’ success. Expected to face tough competition from Detroit, the Yankees were atop the A.L. in July, and at season’s end, they had outdistanced the Tigers by 19.5 games. In an article in the magazine, DiMaggio is compared favorably to Ty Cobb and Shoeless Joe Jackson. The copy of the magazine is clean and very collectable. The front and back covers have a library stamp. The date is written on the front cover along the spine, and there is a diagonal print line. Scarce.
Winning Bid $134.
Lot 19. 1889 Athletic Sports in America, England and Australia - Including Baseball. This pioneering book focuses on Al Spalding’s 1889 baseball good will tour of four continents. It contains more than 400 pages of baseball history, including 300 pages by Chicago journalist Henry Clay Palmer, on the tour itself. It also has a three-page preface by Henry Chadwick, generally regarded as the “father of baseball.” Extremely interesting read, but also valuable for its hundreds of illustrations. It contains a dozen full-page b&w photos of the Baltimore, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis and Washington Ball Clubs. Frontispiece is an amazing full-page chromolithograph of the Chicago and All- American Team Exhibition Game at the Crystal Palace Grounds in London. Published by Hubbard Brothers in 1889, it has a g-vg cover with pages that average ex; a few pages have tears. The book is complete with all three chromoliths, including one picturing the Chicago and All-America teams. This is an excellent baseball reference. The color lithographs are showstoppers! We’ve seen copies of this book in lesser condition offered for $1500.
Winning Bid $770.
