Presented is the signature of Eddie Gaedel, the smallest player in the history of Major League Baseball.  The one-at-bat-only Gaedel has signed his name, “Edward Gaedel,” in black pencil on a white, 1 x 2¾-inch cut sheet of paper, mounted on a 3 x 5-inch white index card.  Edward Carl Gaedel came to national attention in the United States after the second game of a St. Louis Browns doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers on August 19, 1951.  Weighing jujst 65 pounds and standing 3-feet 7-inches, Gaedel made a single plate appearance against Tigers pitcher Bob Cain, entering the game in the bottom of the first inning as a pinch-hitter for leadoff batter Frank Saucier.  Cain delivered four consecutive balls, all high (the first two pitches were legitimate attempts at strikes; the last two were half-speed tosses).

Gaedel took his base (stopping twice during his trot to bow to the crowd) and was replaced by pinch-runner Jim Delsing. The 18,369 fans gave Gaedel a standing ovation. St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck once said of Gaedel, "He was, by golly, the best darn midget who ever played big-league ball. He was also the only one."  Gaedel is one of only five Major League players who drew a walk in their only plate appearance and never played the field. The first three all played in the 1910s: Dutch Schirick (Sep 17, 1914 with the Browns), Bill Batsch (Sep 9, 1916 with Pittsburgh) and Joe Cobb (April 25, 1918 with Detroit).  This signed cut has been encapsulated by PSA/DNA (84131941).

Auction Notepad