Casey Stengel was a grizzled veteran of a bygone era of baseball. A 14-year pro during the 1910s and 1920s, Stengel achieved his greatest amount of fame as one of the best managers in the history of the game. Nicknamed “The Old Perfesser”, Stengel’s shrewd baseball mind won him seven World Series titles as the manager of the New York Yankees. Later on in his career, Stengel would become the first manager of the New York Mets, guiding the team for three and a half seasons.

     Presented here are two items from the Hall of Fame manager. The first is an 8 x 10 inch color photograph of Stengel in his Mets road uniform, his left hand brushing his jaw. The wily skipper signed the photograph in blue pen, writing “To Roy Pestka / Good Luck / From / Casey Stengel”.

     The second item is a typed letter on Casey Stengel Enterprises stationary from Stengel to Ken Smith, a sportswriter who covered the New York Giants for the New York Graphic and New York Mirror for over three decades, later serving as the director of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. In this letter, Stengel wrote, “We will sure miss your articles in the Mirror. Your lovely company was always appreciated by me.” He signed his name in blue pen. This letter is dated to October 24th, 1963. These items both come with individual LOAs from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication (A03403 & A03404).

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