2017 October Legends Closing November 11
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/12/2017
Besides selling high-end uniforms and equipment for every sport imaginable, during the 1920s, Spalding began offering a line of figural baseball trophies. This popular line included five baseball versions, each showing a different pose. Like their equipment, these pieces were of the highest-quality, and as such, were very expensive for the time. Because of this, not many have survived to this day, and when they do surface, they usually have the name of a semi-pro or factory team inscribed on the front.
This offered one has not been marred with any such inscription, making it all the more desirable to a trophy or culture collector. The 18-inch tall trophy features a silver plated metal catcher perched upon a Spalding-branded baseball and mounted on a 7-inch in diameter black-painted wood base. Sculpted by Dirges & Clust, makers of most of the World Series press pins and MLB awards, the detailing of the catcher is absolutely exquisite, from the stitching on his mitt down to the determined look on the face behind the mask. The original Dirges & Clust metal tag is screwed into the lower rear of the base. The trophy is free of any personalization engraving and is in very good condition. There are some edge wear to the base and some light scuffing, and a slight scrape runs along the left side of the wood base. However, none of these blemishes detract from the majestic display quality of this trophy.