New York Yankees - Munson, Mantle, Ruth, Gehrig, Etc.
58 Lots
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Lot 39. George Steinbrenner Signed Letter Praising Tommy John. In a typed Sept. 12, 1984 letter on his New York Yankees’ letterhead, Steinbrenner recommend John for an award from the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge. In part, he writes, “I think Tommy John, not only as a competitor on the ball field, but as a person and a citizen, exemplifies the highest level of citizenship, conduct and religious belief of perhaps any athlete I have known.” He asserts that he is well qualified to judge whether John deserves such an award because “at times Tommy and I have been in somewhat adversarial positions with each other. But when I put petty things aside, and stop to consider the values, beliefs and actions of the man, he is an exceptional young man.” He also says that since elbow surgery, John “has probably been one of the 10 most-effective pitchers in the American League.” Steinbrenner’s signature at the close of this uncommon letter of praise is a 10. Authentication by Kevin Keating.
Winning Bid $390.
Lot 61. Billy Martin and Dave Winfield Autographed Hardback Books and a Pennant. Martin signed his biography by Gene Schoor, Billy Martin: The story of baseball’s unpredictable genius. His signature and inscription, personalized to “Tom and Sally,” is on the flyleaf of the 1980 stated first edition. Gem mint 10 autograph, nm book with one bumped corner and an ex-m dust jacket. Winfield’s autograph also is a 10, on the flyleaf of Winfield: A Player’s Life, which he wrote with Tom Parker. In has inscription, he calls Tommy “a Great Competitor.” Dated 1985, the signature is a 10. The book is ex-m, and the dust jacket, ex with light water stains visible on the inside. Both Martin and Winfield signed a Yankees full-sized pennant. Martin’s signature is mint 9, and Winfield’s, nm 7. The pennant is vg-ex. Martin died on Christmas day 1989 when his truck, driven by a friend, crashed. Cardinal John O’Connor eulogized him in a mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Dec. 29. A program from the mass is included. These collectibles come with a “From the Desk of Tommy John” letter stating they are from his collection.
Winning Bid $150.
Lot 63. John’s Surprise Party Jacket from Mickey Mantle’s Restaurant, 3 Signed Baseballs. These items represent two birthday parties for the Yankees’ hurler. A size large unsigned jacket from “Mickey Mantle’s” (Restaurant) is embroidered on the front with “Surprise!!! 46th Birthday Party for Tommy John, May 22, 1989.” Mantle’s logo is on the front and back. The three baseballs, from a 1988 birthday party, are autographed to “Tommy” by Jack Clark, Rick Rhoden and Dave Righetti. The signatures, mint 9 to gem mint 10 authenticated by Kevin Keating, are on the side panels of nm OAL Bobby Brown baseballs. The Righetti-signed ball shows light discoloration. Clark wrote, “From ‘1’ great to another, Happy Birthday.” The ball is dated 1988. Also included is a Yankees cap signed on the underside of the bill by John. His signature displays as nm 7 to nm-m 8 against the dark background.
Winning Bid $168.
Lot 79. 4 Signed New York Yankees 8” x 10” Color Photos – Mattingly, Giambi and Gooden. The autographs are mint 9 or gem mint 10 and have been authenticated by Kevin Keating. The photo autographed by Don Mattingly is mounted on a 10.5” x 13” plaque with a bronze plate identifying him as “The Hit Man 1985 American League M.V.P.” Jason Giambi signed two different photos that are framed. Gooden’s signature is on a photo that shows him and his teammates celebrating after a victory. They come with a signed letter “From the Desk of Tommy John.”
Winning Bid $75.
Lot 80. 29 New York Yankees Autographs Including Henderson, Mattingly, Guidry, Duren, John. Eleven autographs are on baseball cards, eight 1987 Topps: #5 Dave Righetti, 62 Bobby Meacham, 174 Henry Cotto, 224 Wayne Tolleson, 236 Tommy John, 584 Ron Kittle, 735 Rickey Henderson and 788 Tim Stoddard. John’s card is mounted on a 5.75” x 7.5” plaque. Ryne Duren, who died in January, signed a 2002 Winning Beyond Winning card; Gary Ward, a 1988 Sportflics card, and Ron Guidry, 1982 Donruss card #558 that shows him with John. Fifteen autographs are on a page from the Yankees’ 2000 Fantasy Camp: Gene Michael, Hector Lopez, Oscar Gamble, Johnny Blanchard, Mickey Rivers, Roy White, Mike Torrez, Joe Pepitone, Graig Nettles, Paul Blair, Elliott Maddox, Jim Spencer and John. Don Mattingly’s autograph and John’s are on folders that reproduce their 1988 Topps cards. There also is an 8” x 10” photocopied photo signed by John. The signatures are almost all mint 9 or gem mint 10, and they have been authenticated by Kevin Keating.
Winning Bid $68.
Lot 81. 7 Baseballs Signed by 8 Yankees – Gossage, Mattingly, Berra, Larsen, John, Etc. All are signed on the sweet spot. Six are single-signed: GOOSE GOSSAGE, mint 9 signature on a mint OML Selig ball. DON MATTINGLY, gem mint 10, re, ex-m to nm cream-colored Bobby Brown ball. DON LARSEN, 9-10 signature, nm+ OAL Budig ball. BERNIE WILLIAMS, 10 signature, mint OML Selig ball. John Candelaria, 9-10, ex-m to nm Brown ball. TOMMY JOHN, gem mint 10 signature, apparent game-used Brown ball. In addition, DON ZIMMER signed the sweet spot of an nm-m Selig ball, and YOGI BERRA autographed the south panel. Their signatures are 9s. Authenticated by Kevin Keating and accompanied by a signed letter “From the Desk of Tommy John.”
Winning Bid $291.
Lot 82. 1979 New York Yankees Picture Album Autographed by 22 Including Martin, Jackson. These autographs are mint 9s or gem mint 10s authenticated by Kevin Keating and accompanied by a signed letter “From the Desk of Tommy John.” Most are personalized to “Tommy,” one of John’s sons. The autographs are by Billy Martin, Mike Ferraro (not personalized*), Art Fowler*, Jim Beattie, Juan Beniquez*, Chris Chambliss, Ron Davis, Bucky Dent, Ed Figueroa, Rich Gossage, Ron Guidry, Don Hood*, Jim Catfish Hunter*, Reggie Jackson, Jim Kaat, Bobby Murcer, Jerry Narron*, Lou Piniella*, Jim Spencer, Fred Stanley, Roy White and Kenny Clay.
Winning Bid $248.
Lot 87. 5 Yankees Team-Signed Baseballs– 1979, 1982 and 1986-88. Tommy John pitched for all five of these teams. The autographs are on various types of baseballs. 1979: OAL MacPhail ex ball, 18 signatures, Billy Martin on the sweet spot and Reggie Jackson over a significantly faded pre-printed panel. Other signatures by Ken Clay, Chris Chambliss, Art Fowler, Luis Tiant, Don Hood, Ray Burris, Jim Hegan, Yogi Berra, Willie Randolph, Brian Doyle, Jim Spencer, Jim Kaat, Tommy John, Lou Piniella and others. The signatures range from ex-m 6 to gem mint 10 and average nm 7 to nm-m 8. 1982: Ex-m OAL MacPhail ball with strong pre-printed areas. Sixteen signatures (none on the sweet spot) by Ken Griffey, Dave Righetti, Roger Erickson, Tommy John, Shane Rawley, Dave Collins, Lou Piniella, Willie Randolph, Oscar Gamble, Bobby Murcer, Andre Robertson, Butch Wynegar, Rudy May, Dave Winfield and Rich Gossage. The autographs are generally nm 7 with some ex-m 6. 1986: Nm OAL Bobby Brown ball with 23 signatures. Tommy John’s autograph is a bold 10 on the sweet spot. Other autographs are by Bryan Little, Claudell Washington, Henry Cotto, Scott Nielsen, Juan Espino, Tim Stoddard, Bob Shirley, Bob Tewksbury, Mike Armstrong, Leo Hernandez, Bobby Meacham, Gary Roenicke, Ron Kittle, Eric Rasmussen, Mike Easler, Joe Altobelli, Doug Drabek, Mike Fischlin, Phil Lombardi, Joel Skinner and Joe Niekro. The autographs average nm 7. 1987: Nm-m+ Diamond Professional League ball with 18 signatures, including Tommy John on the sweet spot. The other signers are Gary Ward, Charlie Hudson, Don Mattingly, Jay Ward, Ron Kittle, Joel Skinner, Dan Pasqua, Joe Niekro, Ron Guidry, Henry Cotto, Jeff Torborg, Mike Pagliarulo, Dave Righetti, Mike Ferraro and others. The signatures are 9s and 10s. 1988: Nm-m OAL Bobby Brown baseball with 25 nm-m 8 to gem mint 10 autographs. Lou Piniella is on the sweet spot. Other autographs are by Pat Clements, Charlie Hudson, Rick Rhoden, Ken Phelps, Mike Pagliarulo, Don Slaught, Al Leiter, Roberto Kelly, Tommy John, John Candelaria, Wayne Tolleson, Jack Clark, Luis Aguayo, Neil Allen, Dale Mohorcic, Joel Skinner, Ron Guidry, Jeff Torborg, Dave Righetti, Richard Dotson, Don Mattingly, Gary Ward, Steve Shields and Rafael Santana. Authenticated by Kevin Keating and accompanied by a signed letter “From the Desk of Tommy John.”
Winning Bid $704.
Lot 88. OAL Bobby Brown Ball Signed by 29 Yankees – Martin, Hunter, Tresh, Richardson, Etc. Billy Martin and Mickey Rivers share the sweet spot of the ball, which shows uneven light discoloration and has strong pre-printed areas. Tom Tresh, Clete Boyer, Art Ditmar, Jim Catfish Hunter, Sparky Lyle and Rudy May are on the north panel, Steve Hamilton, Johnny Kucks, Norm Siebern, Fritz Peterson, Bucky Dent, Jim Spencer and Bill Skowron on the south, Jake Gibbs, John Blanchard, Elliott Maddox, Jim Mason, Phil Linz and Paul Blair on the east, Mike Torrez, Hector Lopez, Bill Stafford, Dick Tidrow and Peter Filson on the east, and Bobby Richardson beneath Brown’s facsimile signature. The autographs are nm-m 8 with several nm 7. Kevin Keating authenticated the autographs, and the ball comes with an authenticating letter “From the Desk of Tommy John.”
Winning Bid $113.
Lot 89. Tommy John Book Containing More Than 125 Yankees Autographs. The signatures are inside “The Bronx Bombers,” a 1992 hardback by Bruce Chadwick and David M. Spindel. The hardback book, issued without a dust jacket, has a vg cover with tape along the spine. Thirty-nine of the 140 pages, which are ex, present autographs. Some of the better signatures are on removable cuts grading mint 9 or gem mint 10 that are in holders glued into the book: Billy Martin (2, died 1989), Lefty Gomez (d. 1989), Elston Howard (lined, d. 1980), Andrew O’Connor (one-game career in 1908, d. 1980) and “Joe” Dugan (starting third baseman for the 1927 Yankees and played in five World Series; d. 1982); also, Ken Silvestri (d. 1992) and Marty McHale (d. 1979). John signed an individual photo in the book, and so did Phil Rizzuto (2, d. 2007), Moose Skowron and Don Larsen (2). The book is signed also by Gene Woodling, Tom Henrich, Frank Crosetti, Spec Shea, Tommy Byrne, Joe Ostrowski, Charlie Silvera, Hank Bauer and Gil McDougald, as well as the Dodgers’ Johnny Podres (2 signatures). Almost every page contains multiple autographs, and there are multiple signatures of each signer. Almost all of the autographs are mint 9 or gem mint 10. Authentication by Kevin Keating.
Winning Bid $321.
Lot 102. Don Baylor 1986 New York Yankees Home Jersey. Baylor went to spring training with the Yankees, but less the two weeks before the start of the season, they traded him to Boston for Mike Easler. The trade made uniform No. 25 available for Tommy John to wear again when he rejoined the Yankees on May 2. The jersey has “Baylor 86 2” stitched onto a label sewn into the neck of the Wilson Prestige Teams size 46 jersey. Nm. For display purposes, we’ve included Yankees pinstripe pants apparently assigned to Bobby Munoz for the 1993 season and a Yankees’ cap SIGNED ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE BILL BY JOHN. His signature, authenticated by Kevin Keating, displays as nm 7 to nm-m 8 against the dark background. The jersey comes with a certifying letter “From the Desk of Tommy John.” Baylor batted .260 for his career with 338 home runs and 1,276 RBI. He was the A.L. MVP in 1979. He managed the Colorado Rockies from 1993 to 1998 and was named N.L. Manager of the Year in 1995. Under his leadership, the Rockies posted the best five-year record (363-384) of any expansion club in MLB history.
Winning Bid $390.
Lot 103. Roy White 1979 Batting Helmet. The helmet, which has White’s uniform number on the bill and back, is cracked from the back to the top and shows other significant use. In 15 major league seasons, all with the Yankees, White was a dependable outfielder and batter who helped the Yankees to win the 1976 A.L. pennant and World Championships in 1977 and 1978. He gave the helmet, which he used when batting right-handed, to John in his final season with the Yankees. The helmet comes with a letter from John stating that it is from his collection.
Winning Bid $403.
Lot 172. 6 1979 UPI Sports Nostalgia Photo Cards PSA-Graded EX 5 or Better – Ruth, Gehrig, Etc. These six cards are from a subset of 9 cards that are 2.75” x 5” and have a 2” x 2.25” clear vinyl record on the back. The photos are black & white. The subjects of the cards and their PSA grades are: Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak, EX 5. Lou Gehrig Day 7/4/39, EX 5. Stan Musial 3,000th hit, EX 5. Babe Ruth called shot, EX-MT 6. Bobby Thomson “Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” EX 5. And Ted Williams’ last at-bat, EX 5.
Winning Bid $185.
