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This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/6/2017

     Offered is a lot of five photographs of significance to the life and death of former Major League Baseball third baseman Eddie Grant, who was one of the few ballplayers killed in World War I. A 6 ½ x 8 ½ inch black and white photograph stamped on the back “Photograph by The International News Service” in purple, shows the third baseman (dressed in dark colors) blocking a slide from New York Giants player.

     An undated 8 x 10 inch black & white photograph with the legend “Charles M. Conlon Evening Telegram New York” stamped in red on the back, shows Grant swinging a bat in an empty stadium. (There is a small tear in the lower right corner of the photo). A 6 ½ x 8 ½ inch black and white photo stamped “Copyrighted by Raystone View Co. Inc. of N.Y.” in blue on the back, shows the ceremony to dedicate a Memorial plaque to Grant at the Polo Grounds in New York has a typewritten caption pasted to the bottom noting that the plaque “has been put there by the Baseball Writer’s Assn. of America; the New York National League Club and other friends of the dead officer.” The central figure in the photo is the first Commissioner of Baseball Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, standing on a platform with the American flag and bunting while Grant’s sisters are shown standing below the platform.

     There is a black and white 8 x 10 inch photo of an unidentified Boston Braves player and an unidentified New York Giants player placing a wreath in front of the Grant Memorial at the Polo Grounds, with the stamped legend “Please credit Fotograms” in blue on the back. The fifth photo, also a black and white 8 x 10, is of the actual memorial plaque, with wire service caption taped to the bottom and the legend “Photograph by Underwood & Underwood, N.Y.” stamped in blue on the back.

     Grant entered the majors with the Cleveland Naps at the end of the 1905 season, played in the minors in 1906, returned to the majors in 1907 with the Philadelphia Phillies, and was their starting third baseman from 1908 through 1910. Grant batted leadoff for the Phillies, but was known more for his fielding and base stealing than his bat. His best year was 1910, when he batted .268, drove in 67 runs, and stole 25 bases. Traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1911, he batted just .223, his last year as a starter. Grant was traded again to the New York Giants in the middle of the 1913 season, where he finished his career as a utility infielder. Grant appeared in two games of the 1913 World Series, once as a pinch runner and once as a pinch hitter. He retired after the 1915 with a .249 lifetime batting average. Grant was one of the first men to enlist when the United States entered World War I in April 1917, and he served as a Captain in the 77th Infantry Division. During the fierce battle of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, all of Grant's superior officers were killed or wounded, and he took command of his troops on a four-day search for the "Lost Battalion." During the search, an exploding shell killed Grant on October 5, 1918. He was the first of eight Major League Baseball players killed in action in World War I. On Memorial Day May 29, 1921, representatives from the armed forces, baseball, and the sisters of Grant unveiled a monument in centerfield of the Polo Grounds to his memory.

Bidding
Current Bidding
Minimum Bid: $100.00
Final prices include buyers premium.: $122.50
Number Bids: 1
Auction closed on Sunday, August 6, 2017.
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