This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/23/2020
Offered is a lot of four documents related to Major League Baseball legends, including signatures from pitcher Tommy John and Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox. The first item in this lot is a Nellie Fox signature, in black pen, on a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Operators License. Fox has signed “J. Nelson Fox” at the bottom of the 2½ x 3¼ -inch paper operators’ license card validated November 28, 1967 and expired December 31, 1969. Fox was one of the best second basemen of all time and played in the big leagues from 1947 through 1965. He spent most of his career as a member of the Chicago White Sox, but his career was bookended by multi-year stints for the Philadelphia Athletics and, later, the Houston Astros.
The next item in this lot is a Tommy John signature, in blue pen, on a “Uniform Player’s Contract the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs” with the New York Yankees for the 1989 season. The six-page gatefold 8½ x 11-inch white paper document is signed on the sixth page by John, as well as Yankees general manager Robert E. Quinn, and American League President Robert W. Brown, MD and inscribed “29th March” in blue pen. John pitched for 26 MLB seasons between 1963 and 1989 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, California Angels, and Oakland Athletics. He was a four-time MLB All-Star. His 288 career victories rank as the seventh-highest total among left-handers in major league history. The next item in this lot is four documents related to the release of pitcher Tommy John by the New York Yankees on June 2, 1989. This item includes a 4½ x 6½ -inch white paper sheet with the headline, “Notice to Player of Release or Transfer American League” to John, with the text “You are hereby notified as follows: That you are unconditionally release.” The document is signed by Robert E. Quinn, the Yankees Vice President/General Manager, in blue pen. Also included with this item is a Western Union Mailgram on 8½ x 11-inch white dot-matrix printer paper with blue letterhead, from the New York Yankees to Tommy John, dated June 2, 1989, with the text “This is to officially notify you that your contract was not claimed by another Major League club and you are therefore released by the New York Yankees. Bob Quinn New York Yankees.” Included are two copies on New York Yankees letterhead of a May 30, 1989 letter from Quinn to John, with the first sentence, “You are hereby notified irrevocable waivers for the purpose of unconditional release are being requested today, Tuesday, May 30, 1989 in accordance with Major League Rule 8.” Both copies have Quinn’s signature in blue pen.
The next item in this lot is a pair of New York Yankees player contracts. The first document is a “Uniform Agreement for the Assignment of a Player’s Contract to or by a Major League Club” between the American League Base Ball Club of New York and the Louisville Baseball Company, dated April 26, 1924, for player Henry L. Haines. Also included is a four-page 8½ x 11-inch contract with Edwin Wells dated April 5, 1932. Ruppert's secretarial signature is on the second page of the contract in black pen. Ruppert owned the Yankees from 1915 until his death in 1939. While he was the owner of the Yankees, he purchased the contract of Babe Ruth and built Yankee Stadium, reversing the franchise's fortunes and establishing it as the premier club in the major leagues. Ruppert was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2013. Please note that the Jacob Ruppert signatures have been deemed clubhouse or secretarial versions.
The last item in this lot is a collection of clippings from the May 22, 1989 edition of The Sporting News with a cover feature on Tommy John, “The Oldest Lefty of Them All”. The clippings consist of a cut from the front cover featuring a color photograph of John pitching in a New York Yankees uniform, the full interior page 10 and the “jump” cut sheet with the conclusion of the article. This item also includes an Eddie Wells signature on a 7 x 10-inch yellow sheet with a letter dated April 27, 1976, and an envelope on Sinclair Oil letter head 4 x 7½ -inch white envelope from Wells to Michael Robuck. Wells played professional baseball for 14 seasons from 1923 to 1936, including 11 seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1923–1927), New York Yankees (1929–1932), and St. Louis Browns (1933–1934). Wells was a left-handed pitcher, with a hard fastball and a slow curve. Wells appeared in 291 major league games with a 68–69 record and won a World Series championship with the Yankees in 1932. This entire lot has been pre-certified by Beckett Authentication.