2017 October Legends Closing November 11
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/12/2017
This double sided page removed from a 19th century autograph album features four players for the 1892 Cleveland Spiders - quite a find in and of itself, but made all the more extraordinary in that one of the Spiders is a 25 year-old pitcher with just three seasons behind him - Cy Young. Even at this early stage in his career, Young’s three-year record was an astounding 72 wins - a far cry from his eventual 511 wins, but almost unthinkable in today’s terms. One side of the page has a cut of the great Cy Young, signed “Denton T. Young Cleveland BBC.” in black fountain pen. Sharing the page is a cut signed by Spiders pitcher “George Cuppy Cleveland Ohio”. The owner of the album has added “Pitcher” beside each cut to note each man’s position.
The back of this album page features two additional black fountain pen signatures of pitcher “GW Davies Cleveland Base Ball Club” and 1st baseman Jacob K. Virtue Cleveland B.B.C.” The presence of Davies on the page indicates 1892 as the most likely season these signatures date to as that was his only year with the Cleveland Spiders club. That date makes this Cy Young’s third big league season, an incredibly early example of his autograph. The cuts show toning from age and the glue used to affix them to the album page. The album page shows edge wear and toning but the signatures have been very well preserved within its pages. This is a tremendous archive of four 19th century Cleveland players including the winningest pitcher in the history of the game. This multi-signed cut has been encapsulated by PSA/DNA (84043048).