Holiday Auction Closing December 7 ,2019
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/7/2019
Presented is a lot of two “500 Home Run Club” signed posters. On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club. Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs, a record which stood from 1935 until Hank Aaron surpassed it in 1974. Aaron's ultimate career total, 755, remained the record until Barry Bonds set the current mark of 762 during the 2007 season. Currently, there are 27 members of the 500-home run club.
The first item in this lot is a 16 x 20-inch limited edition, unframed color photograph print of 11 members of Major League Baseball’s vaunted 500 Home Run Club, posed in two rows in suits and sports coats. The 11 players have signed their names either above their image (in the back row) or below their image (in the front row), and include, from left to right, Harmon Killebrew, Willie McCovey, Reggie Jackson, Eddie Matthews, Mike Schmidt and Ernie Banks (back row), and Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Ted Williams (front row). Killebrew, Jackson, Schmidt, Mantle, Robinson and Williams have signed their names in blue marker, while McCovey, Matthews, Banks and Mays have signed in black marker. The is a limited edition “294/500” as indicated in black marker in the lower right corner of the photo, which is copyright 1989 by photographer William Hongach. This item comes with a LOA from Steve Grad Beckett Authentication (F06705).
The second item in this lot is the signatures of 11 members of the 500 Home Run Club on a 21 x 38-inch poster reproduction of a 1988 painting by artist Ron Lewis. The painting depicts (from left to right) Ted Williams, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt, Ernie Banks, Eddie Matthews, and Willie McCovey posed, in uniform with bats at their sides, across the infield of Yankee Stadium in the background. Williams has signed his name in black marker at his knees; Robinson has signed his name in blue marker along his right leg; Killebrew has signed his name in blue marker below his image; Jackson has signed across his left leg in black marker; Mantle has signed his name in blue marker below his image, and inscribed “536” below his signature; Mays has signed his name in black marker along his right leg; Aaron has signed his name in black marker on his right leg; Schmidt has signed his name in black marker below his image; Banks has signed his name in blue marker below his image, as has Matthews; and McCovey has signed his name in black marker below his image. The artist, Ron Lewis, has signed his name in black marker along the bottom right edge. The poster is captioned “500 Home Run Hitters” in black type across the top, and “Courtesy of Pete Rose Hit King Marketing Inc./Capital Cards” in black type across the bottom in the white border. The poster is displayed in a 21 x 38-inch black metal frame and glass. This item comes with a LOA from Beckett Authentication.