Winter 2014 Auction Closing Feb 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2014
Joe L. Brown was the highly successful Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager, succeeding Branch Rickey as Pirates GM and built the Pirates teams which won the 1960 and 1971 World Series championships. He was a tremendous executive, always popular with players and fans. This collection of 45 Hall of Fame plaque 8x10 images were owned by the former GM, all of which inscribed and dedicated to the man. All exhibit some form of "To Joe", with many dated from the summer of 1979, where Brown was likely attending the Hall of Fame ceremonies that summer, a season which saw his Pittsburgh Pirates win another World Series title. Included in this tremendous collection are vintage signatures of Koufax, Satchel Paige, DiMaggio, Mantle, Ted Williams, Mize, Musial, Bill Herman, Hubbell, Kaline, Ford, Lloyd Waner, Gomez, Banks, Conlon, Dickey, Judy Johnson, Averill, Kiner, Al Lopez, Buck Leonard (signed twice), Mathews, Hoyt, Lemon, George Kelly, Berra, Covaleski, Roberts, Wynn, Spahn, Chas. Gehringer, Gibson, Cronin, Joe Sewell, Edd Roush, Red Ruffing, Rube Marquard, Snider, Ted Lyons, Burleigh Grimes, Bill Terry, Freddie Lindstrom, Feller, James "Cool Papa" Bell, Irvin, Boudreau, Appling, Greenberg (significant damage), and Mays. As stated, almost all of these photos are personalized to Joe, with many players adding further inscriptions. On DiMaggio's signed photo, DiMaggio added "For the fondness you have for this great game - Best Always Joe DiMaggio." Most signatures are boldly signed in pen, with some sharpie signatures included. While most of the ink signatures are dark and clearly legible on the light glossy surface, a few ink signatures have faded a little over time. Plus, the Hank Greenberg signature has a tear in the paper, essentially ruining his autograph. This is a wonderful collection of HOF signatures and many memories these players had with Joe L. Brown, the long time general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pre-certified by PSA/DNA.