Lot 3. Rare 1883 Scorecard Scored for a Sept. 1 New York Gothams-Providence Grays N.L. Game. These two teams fielded some of the greats of the 19th century – Old Hoss Radbourne and Arthur Irwin for Providence and Buck Ewing, Roger Connor, Mickey Welch and Monte Ward for New York. Playing at the Polo Grounds, the Gothams won this game, 6-4, as Welch outperformed Radbourne. When opened, the scorecard measures 6” x 7 3/8”. It is neatly scored in pencil and pen. The notations in pen clearly are vintage; the scoring in pencil could be either vintage or a later addition. The date and a number “5” have been added to the front cover. The back cover promotes an upcoming American Association game between the New York Metropolitans and the Louisville Eclipse. The two halves of the scorecard are held together with tape neatly applied to the spine. The corners are somewhat rounded, and one is clipped. The scorecard displays well, and it is especially collectible for its rarity and the list of players who participated in this game!
Winning Bid $770.
Lot 188. 1950s “PREMIERE Gum and Card Vendor” Vending Machine. This vintage machine, which measures 13” x 13” x almost 5 ½”, dispensed gumballs and cards in the 1950s. The two glass panels displaying the cards are intact. The center panel has a mirror, which is uncommon. The baseball cards pictured are not included, but others will be. Produced by the Oak Manufacturing Co. of California, the machine delivers one card and one gumball for one cent. Originally painted red and then re-painted green, it shows moderate wear. It is in good working order and comes with a key that provide access to both interior compartments. This vintage vendor appears to be an early version of Oak Manufacturing’s vendor. It will be a pleasant addition to a family room, eating place or collectibles store.
Winning Bid $294.
Lot 189. Rube Waddell Collection – T206 Cards, Photos, Articles and Some Original Material. These items are assembled in about 200 pages in a three-ring binder, apparently placed there by someone who planned to write a book about the eccentric and effective Hall of Fame pitcher. Waddell may very well have been the zaniest character ever to don a major league uniform. Wherever he went, chaos ensued. Generally, so did success. In 13 major league seasons, he won more than 20 games four times and had two seasons with 19 victories. His 1904 record of 349 strikeouts lasted until Sandy Koufax broke it in 1965. Stories of the craziness that surrounded Waddell in and out of baseball are captured in copies of various articles in the binder by such authors as Connie Mack, J. G. Taylor Spink and Lee Allen. Spink wrote that “As P. T. Barnum was known to the circus, so was Waddell to baseball.” Three 1909-11 T206 cards are in the collection – Waddell’s portrait (Piedmont back), the card that shows him throwing (Sweet Caporal back) and a card of Ossee Schreck (Schrecongost), who caught for Waddell with the Philadelphia Athletics. All three cards are glued onto black paper. The Schreck card shows back damage; whether the Waddell cards could be removed without damaging the backs is unclear. The fronts are f-g to g. The collection includes more than 60 images of Waddell, all second or later generations or from magazines or newspapers. A number of 1940s-60s postcards with group images are included; some photos are photocopies. Uncommon images show Waddell with Los Angeles of the California League, the Minneapolis Millers and Eau Claire Academy. Finally, a small quantity of notes is present from the individual who assembled the binder. One typed note quoting an unidentified source says that “Rube carried himself like a stage comedian. He had a long bent-kneed farmers (sic) stride. His arms, because of his round-shouldered posture, seemed even longer than they were. His hands hung down heavily as if they were too heavy for him.” This is an interesting assortment concentrating one of baseball’s best and most interesting players. Given the volume of material, it could very well contain some “sleepers.”
Winning Bid $264.
Lot 190. 1867 Bowdoin College “Bugle” Featuring Joshua Chamberlain and Championship Baseball. Chamberlain was one of the lesser-known important heroes of the Civil War until the 1993 movie “Gettysburg.” A college professor with no military background, he rose to the rank of brigadier general. For his bravery and leadership at Gettysburg, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Later, he was given the honor of commanding the Union troops at the surrender ceremony for Robert E. Lee’s infantry at Appomattox. After the war, he served four one-year terms as Maine’s governor. In 1871, he was appointed president of Bowdoin, his alma mater, a position until he held until 1883. Ill health connected with his war wounds forced his resignation. Chamberlain is mentioned in two places in the 1867 publication, which measures approximately 5.5” x 9” and contains 32 pages. He is listed as president of the alumni association and as president of the graduate officers of Phi Beta Kappa. “The Bugle” also contains two pages on baseball. One lists the members of three Bowdoin baseball teams, and another reports that Bowdoin “Won the Silver Ball” on Oct. 7 and lost it on Oct. 19. In the Oct. 7 game, Bowdoin defeated the Eon Club of Portland ME, 39-36, to capture the state baseball championship and the Silver Ball Trophy. Apparently the trophy was a solid-silver regulation-sized ball offered as a prize by the Maine State Baseball Association. It was the second time the Bowdoins had won the championship. Soon after the victory, the Pennesseewassees of Norway, ME, challenged Bowdoin for the trophy and the title. Named after a Norway Lake, which was named after an Indian tribe, the Pennesseewassees were also known as the Norway Bears. The two teams met on the Bowdoin baseball field on either Oct. 19 or Oct. 22; the date varies from source to source. What is certain is that the challengers defeated the favored collegians, either 29-8 or 23-9. The team from Norway took the silver trophy home, much to the dismay of Bowdoin supporters. In an 1872 Bowdoin publication, a writer cited “dissension existing at the time in the club” as the reason for the loss. “Men that were recognized as our surest players seemed to be possessed of an evil enchantment…. Not only do we deplore this defeat, as the loss of the championship, but the termination of Bowdoin’s glory in the art of Base Ball. Never since has our name attained to any eminence in the National game.” This issue of “The Bugle” has been attributed to Chamberlain. It is vg to vg-ex with three cover splits of about 1.5” each along the spine. An excellent baseball and Civil War collectible!
Winning Bid $75.
Lot 191. Spalding 1914 Spring & Summer Catalog. Wonderful 148-page catalog loaded with color plates of player model bats and baseballs, gloves and catcher’s equipment. Four color pages of tennis equipment are also presented. The catalog is best used as a reference. The front cover has a scuff in the lower left. In addition, a small portion page in the second half of the catalog show minor evidence of an encounter with some animal. The interior color pages are not affected.
Winning Bid $97.
Lot 192. 1919 “Nashville Banner” Page Picturing the Chicago White Sox, World Series Losers. The melodramatic headline – “Beaten Out at the Wire, But They Died a Fighting Death” – and the caption that follows make this appearance of the Chicago team ironic and somewhat humorous. The photo is in the Oct. 12 issue, well before the sports world became fully aware that some White Sox players were paid to lose the World Series. The caption tells readers that although the Sox lost, they “were never equaled by a ball club when it came to putting up an uphill fight.” The page has chips along one edge and some very small stress tears. Besides the Black Sox photo, the page contains horse racing and football results.
Winning Bid $125.
Lot 193. Rare Circa 1930s Mickey Mouse Celluloid Figure with a Baseball Bat. This seldom-encountered 2 7/8” figure has “Japan” impressed on the back. It appears to be hand-painted, re-painted or both, and some of the red paint from Mickey’s bat is also on the right side of his face. There is a slight indentation on Mickey’s nose and a deeper indentation on the back of his right show.
Minimum Bid $100.
Lot 194. 1938 Baseball All-Star Game Program. The National League won this game, which was played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, 4-1. The A.L. contributed four errors to the N.L. cause as Johnny Vander Meer earned the victory. Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Bill Dickey and Joe Cronin were in the starting lineup for the A.L., and Lou Gehrig singled as a backup. This 24-page program is difficult to find. Showing chips along the edges of the interior pages, the program has been neatly scored in pencil. The chips on the front cover have been repaired. The program has small individual photos of the All-Stars.
Winning Bid $180.
Lot 195. Cincinnati Reds Rare 1939 National League Champions Small Pennant. The 1939 Reds captured the N.L. title and then lost to the Yankees in the World Series. This 8.75” pennant plus tassels features the same artwork as the full-sized example. Ex.
Winning Bid $75.
Lot 196. Lou Gehrig New York Yankees Replica 1939 Jersey by Mitchell & Ness Home Jersey. The mint size large Cooperstown Collection Authentic jersey has the Baseball Centennial patch on the right sleeve. Of course, the disease subsequently given his name forced an end to Gehrig’s Hall of Fame career in 1939. The jersey retains its Mitchell & Ness tags and displays magnificently.
Winning Bid $102.
Lot 197. Joe DiMaggio Rare 1940s-50s Charm. This 7/8” charm features a 5/8”-diameter red and white photo of DiMaggio inside a copper-colored border decorated with baseballs, footballs, basketballs and possible crossed bats.
Winning Bid $50.
Lot 198. 1970 and 1971 Baltimore Orioles World Series Press Pins. The Orioles captured the World Championship in 1970 by defeating Cincinnati in four games and then lost to Pittsburgh in 1971. The 1970 pin by Jenkins has a needle post and a tie tack back. Balfour produced the 1971 pin, which has a spring-loaded clasp back. Both pins are nm-m.
Winning Bid $83.
Lot 199. Nearly Complete Set of Lew Lipset’s “The Old Judge” Newsletter – 46 of 50 Issues. From 1985-94, Lew’s newsletter was the premier source of information on vintage baseball cards. These 45 issues contain an abundance of information, including significant articles on the discovery of sets. These articles and Lew’s opinion pieces make for great reading. Missing from this collection are the issues numbered 18, 20, 25 and 27. The issues average ex to ex-m.
Winning Bid $204.
Lot 200. 12 Spinneybeck Cooperstown Collection “Dates in History” Commemorative Baseballs. Spinneybeck is the world’s largest supplier of fine leathers to the furniture industry. The company produced each ball using a process designed to ensure that the colors penetrate deep into the leather. One baseball honors the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings as the first all-professional baseball team. Two others mark the success of league champions: the 1944 St. Louis Browns as A.L. Champions and the 1948 Boston Braves as N.L. Champions. The nine other baseballs commemorate World Championships: 1907-08 Chicago Cubs, 1917 Chicago White Sox, 1927 New York Yankees, 1929 Philadelphia Athletics, 1946 St. Louis Cardinals, 1948 Cleveland Indians, 1954 New York Giants, 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and 1969 New York Mets. Each ball has the year of the event on the sweet spot, the team logo and mascot on the panels above or below, and the team name and event on the side panels. Each ball is mint in the original box and ready to become part of an outstanding display.
Winning Bid $95.
Lot 244. Pittsburgh Pirates 1909 “Pittsburg Press” Supplement with Carl Horner Photographs. To honor the Pirates as 1909 National League champs, the Pittsburgh newspaper distributed this supplement, which is approximately 12.5” x 20”. Noted photographer Carl J. Horner provided the photography and copyrighted the piece. These Pirates, including Honus Wagner, Tommy Leach, Babe Adams and manager Fred Clarke, went on to defeat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. Twenty-five Pirates are pictured in the supplement. Among them is 2008 Hall of Fame inductee Barney Dreyfuss, the team president. The good news about this supplement is that the colors remain strong. The bad news is that it shows water stains, and the borders – outside the image area – are trimmed. More good news is that the supplement is framed to 18.5” x 26” and ready for display, and it’s offered at only -
Winning Bid $357.
