Though the 1920s Yankees are most associated with the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, the team was loaded with top-tier talent at nearly every position. Joining future Hall of Famers Tony Lazzeri and Lou Gehrig in the infield was third baseman “Jumping Joe” Dugan. The peppery infielder joined the team in 1922 and could be depended upon to hit around the .300 mark every summer. In 1923, his first full season in the pinstripes, Dugan recorded his finest offensive season by hitting .283 and scoring 111 runs as the Yankees won their first World Championship. Dugan would man the Yankees hot corner for the next six years, helping the Yankees win two more World Championships as the team established themselves as the greatest sports franchise in history.

As a key member of the initial Yankees World Championship team, Dugan was presented with this engraved gold pocket watch. As this was the era before championship rings became the norm, players of the early 1920s were more likely to be awarded gold pocket watches to commemorate a World Series victory or as a show of appreciation. Indeed, the Yankees were awarded gold watches after their 1923 World Championship, although the style was different that this one of Dugan’s. Where it originated from or who presented it to Dugan has been lost to time, but a June 1923 visit by the Yankees to New Haven, Connecticut to play and exhibition game was punctuated with Joe Dugan, a New Haven native, being presented with a gold pocket watch. The 14K Elgin championship style watch has an ornately engraved case with a gold ring for the attachment of a watch chain. The case style, dial design and blue colored hands dates the watch to the 1922-1925 period. The minute and hour hands are present as is the seconds hand on the additional 60-second dial. The back has been engraved with “JOE A. DUGAN  3rd BASE  NEW YORK YANKIES (SP)  WORLD CHAMPIONS  1923.” The watch case shows surface wear from age with some tarnishing to the gold. The engraving has worn slightly in places and has been re-engraved approximately 25-30 years ago to ensure the inscription remained clear and legible. Of note is the misspelling of Dugan’s team as the “YANKIES,” a unique quirk which was left uncorrected when the inscription was re-engraved later. A unique championship watch presented to one of the mainstays of the legendary 1920s New York Yankees. The watch comes with a Letter of Authenticity from PSA/DNA (AH03564).

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