Baseball Signed by Ted Kluszewski - Achieved What Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio Could Not!
Lot 19. Baseball Signed by Ted Kluszewski - Achieved What Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio Could Not! Kluszewski is among the better players without a plaque at Cooperstown. With a career fielding average of .993, he was an excellent fielder. If only he had been able to sustain the hitting he demonstrated during a four-year span…. In that period, he was a four-time All-Star and led the N.L. in home runs and RBI in 1954. He averaged 43 home runs, 116 RBI and a .315 batting average. In each of these four years, he also recorded more home runs than strikeouts. He is the only major leaguer with 35 or more homers in a season to do so four times. Only Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Johnny Mize achieved this feat twice in their career. Unfortunately, in 1956, Kluszewski injured his back, apparently in a clubhouse fight. He wasn’t the same after. He retired as a .298 hitter with 279 home runs and 1,028 RBI in 1,718 games. After his retirement, he was the Reds’ hitting coaching and then their minor league batting instructor. He died in 1988. His autograph, personalized to “Bruce,” is mint 9 to gem mint 10 on a mint ONL Giamatti baseball. Winning Bid $102.
