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The First 10
10 Lots
 Lot 1. James “Cool Papa” Bell Autographed Baseball. Enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1974, Bell starred in the Negro Leagues from 1922-46. Possessing legendary speed, he would have been a star in the major leagues if the door had been open to him. In 54 games from 1928-48 between Negro Leaguers and white barnstorming teams, he batted .378 in 193 at bats with four home runs and 13 stolen bases. “The Sporting News” ranked him 66th on its 1999 list of greatest baseball players. Bell said being inducted into the Hall of Fame was the greatest honor of his life, but his biggest thrill “was when they opened the door in the major leagues for black players.” He died in 1991. His signature, authenticated by Kevin Keating, is ex 5 on an nm-m Wilson Official League ball. The autograph extends for more than four inches, essentially across the sweet spot and east and west panels. It exhibits fading and bleeding without retraces, smudges or other problems. All of the letters are full visible. The signature is so broad that we have provided two photos to show it fully.
Winning Bid $102.
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 Lot 2. Vintage Lathe Bat Nicely Signed by 21 Negro Leaguers – Radcliffe, Jethroe, Fields, Etc. This 33” bat still has the nubs on the ends. More importantly, it displays the nm-m 8 and better autographs of Wilmer Fields, Leroy Toots Ferrell, Stanley Glenn, Cecil Kaiser, Jim Zapp, Max Manning, Jim Wilkes, Curly Williams, Gene Benson, Art “Superman” Pennington, Sam Jethroe, Mahlon Duckett, Emilio Navarro, Double Duty Radcliffe, Wilmer Harris, Bill (Ready) Cash, James Cohen, Willie Pope, Ernest Burke and Pee Wee Jenkins. Jethroe, who died in 2001, was the 1950 N.L. Rookie of the Year. He was the Boston Braves’ first black player. Radcliffe is one of the best Negro Leaguers not in the Hall of Fame. In a playing career that began in 1928 and ended in the early 1950s, he may have recorded as many as 4,000 hits, 400 home run, 500 wins and 4,000 strikeouts. In a 1952 poll of Negro Leagues experts by the “Pittsburgh Courier,” he ranked fifth all-time among catchers in the Negro Leagues, and seventeenth among pitchers. His signature is large as “Double Duty Radclif” (died 2005) because he ran out of space at the end of the bat. Fields (d. 2004) demonstrated major league talent while pitching in the Negro Leagues and the minors. Kevin Keating authenticated the autographs.
Winning Bid $115.
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 Lot 3. Astronaut Ken Mattingly Autographed 8” x 10” Color Photo. The command module pilot for Apollo 16 (April 16-27, 1972), Mattingly is one of only 24 individuals to fly to the Moon. He also flew two Space Shuttle missions. A naval aviator who reached the rank of rear admiral, he retired from NASA in 1985, and from the Navy, a year later. Because he generally does not do signings, his autograph is relatively difficult to obtain. This example is mint 9. Kevin Keating authenticated it.
Winning Bid $113.
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 Lot 4. Chicago Cubs Original 1907 “Pennant Winners” Postcard from V. O. Hammon. With future Hall of Famers Mordecai Brown, Frank Chance, Johnny Evers and Joe Tinker, the 1906 Cubs won the National League pennant by 20 games. In the World Series, they fell to the “hitless wonders,” the Chicago White Sox, in six games. In 1907, they outdistanced their nearest competitors by 17 games and then defeated Detroit for their first world championship. The postcard is unused and free of creases except for couple of small ones in the corners. Nice vg-ex.
Winning Bid $152.
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 Lot 5. Joe DiMaggio Autographed 14” x 19” Photo from a 1939 Negative. The mint modern print, numbered 21 of 250, shows DiMaggio reading a certificate in which “The Sporting News” cites him as the “perfect player” who batted .381 and served as “a big factor in enabling the Yanks to win their fourth consecutive American League pennant.” He also helped them to win their fourth straight world championship. Kevin Keating authenticated the autograph, which is large and mint 9. The photo is matted and framed to 17.25” x 22.25”.
Winning Bid $113.
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 Lot 6. Robin Roberts (HoF) Signed, Hand-Titled “We Won the Pennant" Print – 1 of Only 36. Before his passing in 2010, Roberts autographed, hand-titled and hand-numbered only 36 (at most) of these dramatic Bill Purdom lithographs. This example is #24/36, one of 36 prints pulled from an edition of 1,500 produced for sale unsigned by the Baseball Hall of Fame. The artwork is similar to another Purdom print produced in an edition of 336 and with the title printed on, “We Won the Pennant October 1, 1950.” Roberts autographed about 200 copies of the second print. The prints are similar, but show significant differences. The print offered here provides a closer view and larger image of Roberts than the other, and an outfielder has been added in front of the Schaefer scoreboard. It shows Roberts looking to his catcher for a sign in the bottom of the ninth inning at Ebbets Field in the final game of the 1950 season. Leading 4-1, Roberts closed down the Dodgers. The victory was his 20th and the Phillies’ 91st, which clinched the N.L. championship. Roberts’ autograph in gold is gem mint 10, and he added “‘We Won the Pennant’ 10/1/50.” Famed sports artist Bill Purdom also signed the 11” 16” print, which has a 9” x 14” image area and is double-matted 16” x 20”. PSA/DNA authenticated the autograph and has provided a certificate. Authentication also by Kevin Keating. Be one of only 36 or fewer who will ever own one of these superb signed lithographs!
Winning Bid $110.
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 Lot 7. Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier Signed “Life” with Mailer’s “Fight of the Century” Coverage. Pulitzer Prize winning author Norman Mailer, one of the originators of new journalism, met the challenge of writing to a tight deadline for “Life” with a superb article for the March 19, 1971 issue. Including photos, it spreads across 13 magazine pages. Frazier defeated Ali to retain the world heavyweight championship. The boxers’ autographs on the cover are large and bold; they display as nm-m 8 against somewhat dark backgrounds. Authentication by Kevin Keating and James Spence Authentication. The JSA LoA can be exchanged for a discount price for a full JSA LoA.
Winning Bid $291.
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 Lot 8. Autographed First Edition of “Loser and Still Champion” by Budd Schulberg. Mint 9 title page Muhammad Ali autograph authenticated by Kevin Keating and JSA Authentication. The hardcover book is vg+ to ex, and the dust jacket, vg. Schulberg wrote the screenplay for “On the Waterfront.” He is in the International Boxing Hall of Fame as an “observer.” The JSA LoA can be exchanged for a discount price for a full JSA LoA.
Winning Bid $113.
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 Lot 9. Robert Cenedella Limited Edition Boxing Lithograph – “Unpopular Decision.” Cenedella’s mastery of fantasy and satire are evident in this detailed artwork from Bert Sugar’s collection. Signed in pencil by Cenedella, it is No. 54 from an edition of 300. The image is 23.25” x 25.75” on 25.5” x 28.75” paper matted and framed to 31.75” x 34”. The matt shows foxing especially at the top, and a couple of tiny spots are in the border of the print. We see no evidence of foxing in the lithograph itself. Nm-m attention-grabber!
Winning Bid $90.
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 Lot 10. 1889 "Athletic Sports in America, England and Australia" Including Baseball. Focusing on Al Spalding’s 1889 baseball goodwill tour of four continents, this 711-page book contains more than 500 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 reading, but also valuable for its hundreds of illustrations, it contains a dozen full-page b&w photos of Baltimore, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis and Washington Ball Clubs. Four show-stopping “illuminated” (color) plates also are present. Hubbard Brothers published the book in 1889. The covers of this copy are soiled, and they have been reinforced with tape on the inside. The color image of a baseball game in London at the front of the book has been glued to a page, and it shows significant stains. Otherwise, the book is complete, and the interior has a vg+ to ex appearance.
Winning Bid $92.
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