The early Chicago Cubs dynasty of 1906 to 1910 which gave us the immortal double play trio of Tinkers to Evers to Chance and ace pitcher Three Finger Brown has gone down in baseball lore as one of the game’s best teams. For some reason, the 1932 to 1938 Cubs dynasty has not fared as well in baseball memory but is wasn’t for lack of talent. During that period the Cubs won a pennant every three years – 1932, 1935 and 1938 – and featured Hall of Famers Gabby Hartnett and Billy Herman plus one of the best pitching staffs of the 1930s.

We do not know the exact circumstances under which this ball was obtained, but it must have been some kind of early “Old-Timer’s Day” circa 1937, for this ball collects not just the stars of the mid-1930s Cubs but also several key members of that earlier Chicago dynasty. The Spalding Official National League Ford C. Frick baseball has the signatures of 19 of this 1930s Cubs dynasty and all-time stars including Hall of Famers Johnny Evers, Mordecai Brown, Joe Tinker, Gabby Hartnett, Billy Herman, plus Charlie Grimm, Jimmy Archer, Billy Jurges, Jack McCarthy, Clyde Shoun, Red Corriden, Roy Johnson, Tex Carlton, Augie Galan, Ward Miller, Frank Demaree, Stan Hack, and John Bottarini. The black fountain pen signatures are strong against the lightly toned ball, which has only very light staining, none of which detracts from this eclectic collection of 1900s to 1938 Cubs stars. This comes with a LOA from JSA.

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