This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/27/2017
This book cover has been signed by a score of the greatest baseball players of the 20th century, including its two premier sluggers, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Ruth and Gehrig formed the core of the Yankees “Murderer’s Row” team of the late 1920s, setting new standards for baseball excellence with each swing of their mighty lumber. The 1927 Yankees remain one of the most vaunted squads of all-time, winning 110 games and the World Series behind the surreal performance of their twin supernovas. Ruth broke his own MLB record by hitting 60 home runs, complementing his mammoth tally with a .356 batting average and 165 RBI. Not to be outdone, “The Iron Horse” cracked 47 round-trippers, with 173 RBI and a .373 batting average. For good measure, he tacked on 52 doubles and 18 triples in his third full season. Each man signed this book cover in black fountain pen, with Ruth’s signature presenting exceptionally well.
Directly below Ruth’s signature, sits the John Hancock of one of the game’s best pitchers, the fireballing Walter Johnson. Second on the all-time wins list with 417, Johnson was a two-time American League MVP and a strikeout specialist. “The Big Train” turned in his finest season in 1913, when he won his first MVP award. He won 36 games for the Washington Senators, his only team, and tossed 11 shutouts while holding down an ERA of 1.14. The admiration for Johnson around the league was all-encompassing, as even the normally truculent Ty Cobb was quick to heap praise on the big twirler from Kansas. A member of the inaugural class of the National Baseball Hall of Fame alongside Ruth, Johnson remains one a baseball icon 90 years after his retirement.
A fourth Hall of Famer to grace this estimable book cover is Jimmie Foxx, the burly slugger best known for his time with the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox. Foxx was the second man to join the 500 Home Run Club, crushing his 500th bomb on September 24th, 1940, as a member of the Red Sox. He finished his career with 534, including a career-high 58 in 1932. A three-time American League MVP, Foxx’s skill was so great that he received votes on 9.3% of the Hall of Fame ballots in 1936 – nine seasons before he retired. It took until 1951 for the nine-time All-Star and lifetime .325 hitter to achieve his overdue induction into Cooperstown, entering the Hall alongside Mel Ott, the third member of the 500 Home Run Club. Foxx’s signature is written in bold, black fountain pen. It projects clearly, and is a sterling example of one of the most sought after signatures in the hobby.
Another exemplary signature on this book cover belongs to Mickey Cochrane, a two-time American League MVP and the namesake of Mickey Charles Mantle. He split time between the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers, forced to retire after an errant pitch nearly split his skull in 1937. Cochrane, who had been a player-manager for the Tigers since 1934, led the Detroit ballclub to their first ever World Series title in 1935. Cochrane, who maintained a career batting average of .320, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. His signature is written in black fountain pen.
Other Hall of Famers who signed this book cover includes Red Ruffing, Heinie Manush, and Bill Dickey. Ruffing signed his name as “Chas. Ruffing”, a nod to his birth name of Charles Herbert. These signatures have been written in bold, black fountain pen. Other signatures on this book cover include Eddie Rommel, Mel Harder, and a signature that appears to belong to “Jimmy Mars”. These signatures have been written in black fountain pen. The signatures of Dudley Lee, Al Wright, Buck Marrow, Tiny Chaplin, Wally Tauscher, Andy Cohen, and two unidentifiable players have been written in gray pencil. Of the pencil signatures, Tauscher, Lee, Wright, and Cohen’s marks project exceptionally well. This book cover is accompanied by a letter signed by R.J. Resch of the Goudey Gum Company, who promises to send this book cover to Lou Gehrig in a (successful) attempt at acquiring his signature. This book cover comes with a LOA from JSA (Y42619).