Opening Day Auction 2014
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/26/2014
In the glory days of New York baseball the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants vied for the affection of Gotham’s baseball fans and seemed to be constantly at battle with each other. This collection of printed matter recalls the days when the Giants at least partially ruled the roost. The five –piece lot begins chronologically with a 1951 World Series program which pitted the Giants and Yankees in their third Subway Series matchup and the fifth overall, (counting the Yankees two previous contests with Brooklyn in 1947 and 1949). Prior to the season the Giants and Yankees had swapped spring training sites with the Giants occupying St. Petersburg, Florida while the Yankees spent their one and only spring season in Phoenix, Arizona. The 48-page program is chock full of historic information on both franchises and is signed by entertainer Joe E Brown on the Yankees’ scorecard page which also contains a Chesterfield cigarettes advertisement featuring Yogi Berra and a loose piece of paper explaining who Joe E Brown was. Sal Maglie is featured in the Chesterfield ad on the Giants page. The original owner also used the scorecard to score Game Three of the Series. The Series was eventually won by the Yankees in six games. The second publication is a 1954 New York Giants Spring Training Season Player Roster and Exhibition Schedule folded pamphlet that contains a multitude of information on its eight panels which unfold into a 15.5” x 15.5” team roster sheet. The whole thing is contained in a folded 1954 Giants Press, Radio and Television Guide envelope. The third publication in the set is the program for the 1954 World Series between the Giants and the Cleveland Indians who both became the first teams to officially conduct spring training in Arizona together in 1947. The 64 page program is in excellent condition and contains numerous pages on the Indians history in World Series play and scouting reports in each team’s participants. The fourth publication is the 1955 New York Giants Press, Radio and TV guide a 24-page magazine full of statistical information on the team’s current players as well as a spring training travel itinerary and individual team records page. The last piece is large 10” x 14” magazine page containing an advertisement for coffee of no particular brand featuring Giants players Bob Elliott and Larry Jansen contained in plastic protection sheet. The lot together provides a nostalgic view of New York baseball in the 1950s.