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Negro Leagues Autographs and Memorabilia   12 Lots      

Lot 435.  Supersized 47” Young Bat Co. Bat Signed by Fields, Radcliffe, Wills, 20+ Negro Leaguers. This incredible display bat was presented to Wilmer Fields, star pitcher of the Homestead Grays, by Christopher T. Young in 1997. Besides Fields and Young, it is signed by Double Duty Radcliff, Maury Wills, Pee Wee Jenkins, Warren Peace, Armando Vazquez, Art “Superman” Pennington, Leroy Toots Ferrell, Mahlon Duckett, Clint “Butch” McCord, Tommy Sampson, Bernard Fernandez, Walter Williams, Jose Pilot (Potato), Bert Simmons, Ted Double Duty Radcliffe, Ernest Burke (twice), Cecil Kaiser, Jim Zapp, Stanley Glenn (twice) and R. Vargas. Mrs. Leon Day also signed. The signatures are bold, generally 9s and 10s that show minor bleeding caused by the finish on the bat. From the Wilmer Fields autograph collection and authenticated by Kevin Keating. Outstanding display item with the “Professional Negro League Model” wood bat alone worth our Winning Bid $429.

Lot 436.  Circa 1930s H&B Lathe Bat Signed by Leonard, Radcliffe, 19 More Negro Leaguers. This conversation starter still has the dowels on both ends. It is accompanied by a limited Letter of Authenticity from PSA-DNA that identifies it as a vintage side written bat. Hillerich & Bradsby used side writing from the early 1900s into the early 1940s. The 35” bat is boldly signed in black sharpie by Hall of Fame first baseman Buck Leonard and other stars of the Negro Leagues, including Double Duty Radcliffe, Joe B. Scott, Buck O’Neil, Verdell Mathis, Andy Porter, Frazier Robinson, Lester Lockett, Sherwood Brewer, Cecil Kaiser, Buster Haywood, Mel Duncan, Russell Awkard, Mahlon Duckett, Max Manning, Stanley Glenn, Jim Zapp, Jim Cohen, Wilmer Harris and Leroy Toots Ferrell. Autographs authenticated by Kevin Keating. From the Wilmer Fields autograph collection. Winning Bid $218.

Lot 437.  3 Bats – One 1921-31 Side Written – Featuring 39 Autographs of Negro Leaguers. The side written 35” Hillerich & Bradsby 125 bat has the autographs of Stanley Glenn, “Butch” McCord, R. Vargas, Mahlon Duckett and Tommy Sampson. It comes with a limited Letter of Authenticity from PSA-DNA. The company that produces Louisville Slugger bats used side signing from the early 1900s into the early 1940s. This model likely was returned to the company to be used as a template for the production of additional bats. The signatures are mint 9s and gem mint 10s. The largest number of autographs - 26 – is on an nm-m 34” Adirondack 302 bat engraved with “Negro Leagues Baseball Players Assoc. 1920-1950.” It holds the autographs of Hall of Famer Buck Leonard, who was the Lou Gehrig of the Negro Leagues, Same Jethroe, the top rookie in the N.L. in 1950, and Wilmer Fields, ace of the Homestead Grays and one of the better pitchers not in the Hall of Fame. The bat is signed also by Sammie Harris, Russell Awkard, Cowan “Bubba” Hyde, Josh Gibson Jr., Armando Vazquez, Emilio Navarro, Jose Figueroa, Curly Williams, Mahlon Duckett, Gene Benson, Max Manning, Sherwood Brewer, Elbert Isreal, Jim Cohen, Bill (Ready) Cash, Stanley Glenn, Wilmer Harris, Gordon “Hoppy” Hopkins, Rudy Fernandez, Al Wilmore and Larry Kimbrough. The signatures are almost all 9s and 10s. Eight more autographs are on a 33” Negro League Baseball Players Association bat by the Young Bat Co.: Glenn, Cash, Manning, Harris, Duckett, Harold Gould, Monte Irvin and Fields. These signatures are large, bold 9s or 10s. From the Wilmer Fields autograph collection. Authentication by Kevin Keating. Winning Bid $366.

Lot 438.  8 Negro League Baseball Players Association Limited Edition Posters Signed by 40+. Autographed in multiple colors, these 11” x 17” posters from 1990 serve as an attention-grabbing display items. Each is unique because the players signed in various places and in various colors. All eight are signed by Hall of Fame members Buck Leonard, Leon Day and Monte Irvin. There is minor variation among the other signers. In generally, the posters are signed also by Verdell Mathis, Josh Johnson, Marlin Carter, Jim Cohen, Harry Barnes, Garnett E. Blair, Frank Evans, Pat Patterson, Armando Vazquez, John “Mule” Miles, Jake Sanders, Joe Moses, Al Spearman, Double Duty Radcliffe, Willie Pope, Wilmer Fields, Bob Thurman, Jimmie Crutchfield, Bob Harvey, Lester Lockett, Bubba Hyde, Bill Wright, Thomas Sampson, Geo. Giles, Bill Byrd, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley Glenn, Max Manning, “Piper” Davis, Quincy T. Trouppe, Gene Benson, Nap Gulley, Jehosie Heard, Larry Kimbrough, Lyman Bostock Sr., Freddie Shepard, Rodolfo Fernandez and a few others. The signatures are almost all 9s and 10s. From the Wilmer Fields autograph collection. These posters routinely sell for more than $100. Authenticated by Kevin Keating. Winning Bid $330.

Lot 439.  10 Sets of 4 Gateway Envelopes Signed by 32 Negro Leaguers – Leonard, Day, Etc. Gateway Stamp Co. of St. Louis issued a set of four cachet envelopes on Oct. 14, 1990, to commemorate the first meeting of the Negro League Baseball Players Association. The group met to establish a retirement assistance program for former Negro Leagues players. Last year, Gateway recently offered a single set for $395. Our collection comprises TEN of these “Assistance Reunion” sets, each signed by: 1. Monte Irvin, Leon Day, Col Jimmie Crutchfield, Clyde McNeal, Quincy T. Trouppe, Bill Wright and Max Manning. 2. Wilmer Fields, Verdell Mathis, Geo. Giles, Josh Gibson Jr., Bubba Hyde, John Miles, Willie Pope and Bob Thurman. 3. Garnett E. Blair, Mahlon Duckett, Stanley Glenn, Gene Benson, Larry Kimbrough, Nap Gulley and Double Duty Radcliffe. 4. Jehosie Heard, Jake Sanders, Frank Evans, Marlin Carter, Lester Lockett, Thomas Sampson, Elmer Knox, Pat Patterson and Buck Leonard. From the Wilmer Fields autograph collection. Authenticated by Kevin Keating. Winning Bid $500.

Lot 440.  22 Photos Signed by Stars of the Negro Leagues – Leonard, Irvin, Lockett, Etc. The autographs are strong, all mints 9s or gem mint 10s on black & white 8” x 10” photos. The stars who signed are Gene Benson, Joe Black, Lyman Bostock Sr., Sherwood Brewer, Bill (Ready) Cash, Jim Cohen, Wilmer Fields, Buster Haywood, Cowan Hyde, Monte Irvin (with Newark Eagles), James Pee Wee Jenkins, Buck Leonard (sepia photo), Lester Lockett, Max Manning, Red Moore, Buck O’Neil (color photo), Merle M. Porter, Double Duty Radcliffe, Frazier Robinson, Armando Vazquez and Jim Zapp. Authenticated by Kevin Keating. From the Wilmer Fields autograph collection. Winning Bid $163.

Lot 441.  100 Photos Signed by Buck Leonard (HoF), Wilmer Fields and Other Negro Leagues Stars. The autographs are overwhelmingly mint 9s or gem mint 10s on 8” x 10” or 8 ½” x 11” sepia or black & white photos. The signers are Russell Awkard, Gene Benson (5, 2 different poses), Sherwood Brewer, Bill (Ready) Cash, Fireball Cohen, Mahlon Duckett (6, 3 different), Rodolfo Rudy Fernandez (5), Jose Figueroa, Wilmer Fields (4), Stanley Glenn (7, 2 different), Rev. Bill Greason (6), Wilmer Harris (2), Gordon “Hoppy” Hopkins (2), Cowan “Bubba” Hyde, Buck Leonard (23, 2 different), Verdell Lefty Mathis (3), Red Moore (5), Andy Porter (10), Frazier Robinson (7), Armando Vazquez (8, 2 different, played for NY Cubans) and Al Wilmore. Enshrined at Cooperstown in 1972, Leonard was the Negro Leagues’ equivalent of Lou Gehrig. The best first baseman in the Negro Leagues from the mid-1930s through much of the 1940s, he batted .328 lifetime and, in the prime of his career, averaged 34 homeruns per season. Mathis was the best left-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues in the 1940s. With signed photos of Leonard typically listing for $40 each, this collection, with 23 signed Leonard photos, has significant break-up potential (more than $900 in “book” value for Leonard photos alone!)! From the Wilmer Fields autograph collection. Authenticated by Kevin Keating. Winning Bid $324.

Lot 442.  Autographs of 88 Negro Leaguers on 12 Baseballs – Day, Irvin, Multiples of Radcliffe, Etc. . Desirable group with significant break-up potential from the Wilmer Fields autograph collection. Kevin Keating authenticated the autographs. Overwhelmingly, the autographs are mint 9 or gem mints 10, with some grading lower. Except as noted, they are on ONL Coleman baseballs that are nm-m or better. More than 25 players are represented. 1. Stanley Glenn and Joe B. Scott (SS), Harold Gould, Mahlon Duckett, Josh Gibson Jr., Andy Porter, Lester Lockett, R Vargas, Jose Peieira and Butch McCord. 2. Double Duty Radcliffe, large nm 7 to nm-m 8 signature across the sweet spot, with Ernest Burke and Cecil Kaiser on the east panel and Glenn, Jim Zapp and Warren Peace on other panels (Coleman). 3. Radcliffe, Burke and Kaiser on the sweet spot, Zapp, Peace and Glenn. 4. Wilmer Fields, Glenn and Pee Wee Jenkins on the west panel, Wilmer Harris, Gene Benson, Max Manning and Jim Wilkes on the east, Burke, Duckett, Bill (Ready) Cash, Willie Pope and Double Duty (Radcliffe) on others. (Budig). 5. Leon Day, Jim Cohen and Easy Isreal on the north panel and Russell Awkard on the west (Official American Legion ball). 6. Glenn (SS), Harold Gould, Lockett, Gibson Jr., Scott and Porter. 7. Bert Simmons and Gene Smith (SS), Charley Williams, Fields and Glenn. 8. Glenn (SS), Gibson Jr., Lockett, Gould and Scott. 9. Glenn (SS), Monte Irvin, Duckett, Cash, Gould, Fields, Manning and Harris (Negro League Baseball Player Association ball). 10. Fields, Benson, Glenn and Wilkes on the west panel, Radcliff and Duckett on the east, Harris, Cash, Burke, Jenkins, Manning and Pope. (Coleman, some discoloration). 11. Glenn (SS), Scott, Porter, Gibson Jr., Gould and Lockett. 12. Mrs. Leon Day and A Vazquez (SS), Leroy Toots Ferrell, Burke, Zapp, Peace, McCord, Glenn and Duckett. Winning Bid $403.

Lot 443.  Ron Lewis Hall of Fame members Buck Leonard and Monte Irvin, along with Buck O’Neil, Joe Black and Sam Jethroe, are among the signers of this magnificent limited edition print signed by the artist. Lewis produced the artwork to honor Day, who died in 1995 a short time after he was notified that he had been elected to the Hall of Fame. The print shows Day and Satchel Paige set against clouds and a rainbow in the sky with their fellow Negro Leagues players seated in a ballpark below. Each of the 20 seated player has signed on his image: Stanley Glenn, Gene Benson, Mahlon Duckett, Al Wilmore, Nap Gulley, Buck O’Neil, Edsall Walker, Wilmer Harris, Warren Peace, Russell Awkard, Sam Jethroe, Verdell Mathis, Max Manning, Wilmer Fields, Buck Leonard, Bill (Ready) Cash, Armando Vazquez, Josh Johnson and Joe Black. The autographs are bold 10s, and the rolled 24” x 30” print is nm. From the Wilmer Fields autograph collection. Authenticated by Kevin Keating. Winning Bid $218.

Lot 444.  11 Lithographs Signed by Stars of the Negro Leagues. Four copies of a 20” x 24” print titled “League Park 1891-1946” feature signed images of Buck O’Neil, Dave Pope, Wilmer Fields, Same Jethroe and Joe B. Scott. League Park was home to the Cleveland Buckeyes of the Negro American League. Jethroe was the National League’s 1950 Rookie of the Year. O’Neil, who played for and managed the Kansas City Monarchs, was the major leagues’ first black scout. The rolled prints have edge creases. The autographs are mint 9s and gem mint 10s. Six 13” x 21” b&w prints from the Negro League Baseball Players Association each have autographs of Max Manning, Bill (Ready) Cash, Jim Fireball Cohen and Larry Kimbrough. The prints, which have some edge creases, show also Wilmer Fields. The autographs are bold 10s. There also is a single copy of a Negro Leagues 20” x 24” poster signed by Monte Irvin, Sam Jethroe, Mamie (Peanut) Johnson, Jim Robinson, Robert Scott and A Vazquez. The print is attractive with multiple creases and a tear at the bottom. The autographs are 9s and 10s. Authentication by Kevin Keating of autographs from the Wilmer Fields collection. Winning Bid $83.

Lot 445.  Wilmer Fields Collection of Signed and Unsigned Memorabilia. Fields was the ace of the Homestead Grays pitching staff in the 1940s. He was good enough to play in the major leagues, but after the Homestead Grays folded, he concluded that he could better support his family by playing in Canada and in the winter leagues. He not only pitched in Canada, but played the infield as well. From 1950-58, he won eight MVP awards as a winning pitcher and infielder who typically batted well above .300. This collection consists of: 1-5. Five signed copies Fields’ autobiography, “My Life in the Negro Leagues,” mint first edition 1992 hardback signed on the flyleaf. All five autographs are 10s. 6-7. Two single-signed baseballs. His signature is mint 9 on a side panel of a Rawlings Official League ball and nm-m 8 on the west panel and sweet spot of a Negro League Baseball Players Association ball. Fields served as president of the organization. 8-12. Five signed 11” x 17” photos, all with gem mint signatures. 13-14. Two autographed 8” x 10” photos, both 10s. 15-17. Three signed 2001 Fleer “Greats of the Game” cards #131 with autographs grading nm 7 nm-m 8. 18. Fields’ gem mint 10 signature on an 11” x 16 ½” poster honoring Leon Day. 19. A 21” x 13” b&w Negro League Baseball Players Association print unsigned by Fields but autographed by Max Manning, Bill (Ready) Cash, Jim Fireball Cohen and Larry Kimbrough. 20. An EBBETS FIELD FLANNEL HOMESTEAD GRAYS REPLICA JERSEY, large and mint. 21-23. Three 34” Young Bat Co. bats: A Professional Wilmer Fields Model with an engraved image of Fields, a Professional Negro League Model and a Wilmer Fields Autograph Model with “Homestead Grays 1939-1950” engraved. Nm-m. 24. A Fotoball that sits in a mini-baseball-glove and commemorates the Gray’s championships in 1929, 1932-33 and 1935-48. Nm-m. This collection has significant break-up potential, and our starting bid covers the going price for the Grays replica jersey. Winning Bid $291.

Lot 446.  Wilmer Fields’ Celebrity Bag Give-Aways for 6 All-Star Games, 1993-2002. Fields, who passed away in 2004, starred in the Negro Leagues in the 1940s and in the minors in the 1950s. The ace of the Homestead Grays’ pitching staff, he was good enough to play in the majors when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Nevertheless, after the Grays folded, he concluded that he could better support his family by playing in Canada and in the winter leagues. In Canada, he pitched, played the infield and generally batted well above .300. From 1950-58, he won eight MVP awards. This collection consists of six travel bags and miscellaneous memorabilia that Fields received as a celebrity attendee at the 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 All-Star Games. It also includes an 11” x 17” b&w photo autographed by Fields. Except for 2001, a back pack, duffel bag or other travel bag is the centerpiece of the collection. Each has the All-Star Game logo. The 2001 game, hosted by Seattle, is represented by two mint official Selig game baseballs. Here are the offerings for the other years: 1993, Baltimore, small duffle bag by Starter, two tickets. 1995, Texas, Starter medium duffle bag with a VHS titled “Baseball’s Greatest Pennant Races,” a Fotoball with a Nicole Miller design, a New York Mets MLB Genuine Merchandise cap and several copies of a poster, “Steve’s (Carlton’s) March To 329 Career Wins.” 1997, Cleveland, Starter back pack, 1996 World Series VHS, unopened hooded poncho, two baseballs, one with an Indians’ and one with All-Star Game logo, unopened Florida Marlins fan radio, pass to FanFest featuring a Larry Doby Pinnacle card. 1999, Boston, bag, All-Star Game program, XL T-shirt and cap, Fenway Franks watch, FanFest ball and cap, CyberAction digital trading cards, VHS “Major League Baseball Generations of Heroes,” Pacific and Topps 1999 unopened packs and four baggage tags. 2000, Atlanta, roller bag. 2002, Milwaukee, carry-on bag with rollers. The bags are nm or better. The condition of the contents varies, and the bags contain a number of unlisted items. Winning Bid $366.

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