Headliners

  10 Lots      



Lot 1.  Historic "Set" of 6 Troy Haymakers, circa late 1860's - the first player baseball cards. This landmark set is the earliest known group of cards portraying players from a team, easily pre-dating the 1872 Boston team and are the only- pre National Association player cards known. Almost assuredly one-of-a-kind, the cards represent players from the Unions of Lansingburgh (also known as the Haymakers). The data available on some of the players date the cards as being as late as 1870 but possibly as early as 1867. The players are identified on the back of the CDV's and three are known players and three are not. The known players are the infamous Bill Craven, Mike McAtee and Stephen King. The others are Thomas Abrams, Peter McKeon and Anthony McQuide. Craven is the "star" of the group. He hit .322 for Troy in 1872 and seemed to play for a new team every year. In 1877, while playing for Louisville of the National League, he and some teammates were banned for life for throwing games in the 1877 pennant race. King played for Troy in both 1871 and 1872 and McAtee played with Chicago in 1871 and Troy in 1872. Box scores have been found in the 1867 N.Y. Clipper (see Lot 25 below) which include 5 of the six players. Only McQuide seems to be a mystery. The group of six was discovered in 2001 on ebay and an extensive SCD article was written by Bob Lemke in that year (copy included). The set was auctioned later that year in a small auction and realized $12,000. All the photos are excellent and better with strong contrast. The backs have the players last name hand written at the top and advertising for the Lansingburgh, N.Y. photographer. The Craven card has a light horizontal crease.
Winning Bid $25,941.


Lot 2.  T202 Hassan Triplefolder near set of 130 missing 2. An extremely nice set with 40% of these condition sensitive cards excellent or better and 70% very good or better. The two missing cards are the two Devlin-Mathewson varieties, 29A and 74C. Highlights: 2 A desperate Slide/Cobb/O'Leary (near ex), 7 Birmingham Gets to Third/Johnson/Street (ex), 29B Devlin Gets His Man/Devlin-Bos/Mathewson (vg), 29D Devlin Gets His Man/Meyers/Mathewson (gd), 36B Frank L. Chance/John J. Evers (nr mt, piece of brown tape on rear), 36E Evers Makes A Safe Slide/Tinker/Chance (gd), 37 Fast Work At Third/Cobb/O'Leary (ex+), 39 Good Play At Third/Cobb/Moriarity (ex+), 48B Just Before The Battle/McGraw/Bresnahan (ex), 48G Just Before The Battle/McGraw/Jennings (ex), 49 Knight Catches A Runner/Johnson/Knight (ex+), 63 Speaker Rounding Third/Speaker/Wood (nr mt but for speck of paper loss on rear), 74D Too Late for Devlin/Mathewson/Devlin-Bos (gd), 75A Ty Cobb Steals Third/Cobb/Jennings (gd), 75B Ty Cobb Steals Third/Cobb/Moriarity (ex),75C Ty Cobb Steals Third/Stovall/Austin (gd). Balance: 21 cards ex-mt, 4 cards ex+, 24 cards excellent, 20 cards vg-ex, 19 cards very good, 10 cards gd-vg, 14 cards good, 1 card fair and 1 card poor. A detailed list of the grades of all cards is available on request.
Winning Bid $22,987.


Lot 3.  1949 Bowman Master set with extensive variations. Offered are an outstanding group of 280 cards as follows: The basic set of 240 cards; Complete subset of 6 different Name on Front variations; Complete subset of 6 different block letter variations; 17 grey backgrounds variations and one very rare grey cap variation; 9 pink backgrounds and one pink trim variations; A total of 40 variations and 280 cards. 27 of the cards including 6 HOF'ers are autographed. Overall the basic set averages excellent + with 70% excellent or better and 40% ex-mt. The high numbers are even better. Details are as follows: The basic set: Low Number Highlights: 1-Bickford (vg), 11-Boudreau (ex+, autographed), 24-Musial (ex, miscut), 27-Feller (ex, miscut), 29-Kiner (vg), 33-Spahn (fr-gd, tape, autographed), 36-Reese (vg-ex), 46-Roberts (ex, cut from sheet), 50-Robinson (ex, o/c), 60-Berra (ex, autographed), 64- Dom DiMaggio (ex-mt), 65-Slaughter (ex-mt), 70-Furillo (ex), 84-Campanella (vg+), 85-Mize (ex), 98-Rizzuto (vg-ex), 100-Hodges (ex), 110-Wynn (ex-mt), 111-Schoendienst (ex, autographed). Balance of Low numbers: 51 cards ex-mt, 36 cards excellent, 27 cards vg, 11 cards good; High Number Highlights: 162-Roe (ex+-mt), 175-Appling (ex-mt, autographed), 214-Ashburn (ex-mt), 224-Paige (near ex), 226-Snider (ex), 229-Lopat (ex-mt), 233-Doby (vg), 238-Lemon (ex, autographed), 240-Young (gd-vg). Balance of High Numbers: 40 cards ex-mt, 27 cards excellent, 17 cards very good, 3 cards good; The 6 name on front variations: #4-Priddy (ex), 78-Zoldak (gd, name written in top and bottom border), 83-Scheffing (ex+), 85-Mize (ex), 88-Salkeld (vg-ex) and 98-Rizzuto (vg); The six names in block letter variations: 109, 124, 126, 127, 132 and 143 range from ex to ex-mt; 17 Grey backgrounds variations: The group consists of 75 (gd-vg), 76 (ex), 78 (ex-mt), 80 (ex-mt), 82 (vg), 84-Campanella (vg-ex), 87 (ex-mt), 88 (ex-mt), 91 (ex-mt), 93 (ex-mt), 94 (ex, autographed), 97 (vg-ex), 98-Rizzuto (ex-mt), 102 (ex), 103 (ex-mt), 106 (ex) and 107 (vg-ex). There are 9 pink background or pink uniform striping variations. These include 74 (vg-ex), 77 (ex), 81 (ex-mt), 83 (ex-mt), 90 (gd), 92 (ex-mt), 94-pink uniform striping 96 (ex), 104 (ex), and 108 (ex-mt). There is also an unusual variation of 77-Ernie Bonham with a grey hat (ex). The 27 autographed cards are 2, 5, 9, 11, 13, 22, 32, 33, 47, 59, 60, 63, 69, 94 (2), 97, 103, 111, 128, 170, 175, 202, 217, 223, 225, 230 and 238.
Winning Bid $6,655.


Lot 4.  R331 National Chicle Football set of 36 with five key cards SGC graded. Extremely nice set with over 60% excellent or better and over 90% very good or better. Highlights: 1-Clark (ex), 7-Strong (ex-mt, o/c), 9-Rockne (SGC 70 EX+ 5.5), 11-Edwards (ex, o/c), 24-Hinkle (ex+), 25-Burnett (SGC 60 EX 5), 31-Niccolai (SGC 50 VG/EX 4), 34-Nagurski (SGC 50 VG/EX 4), 36-Mastersson (SGC 50 VG/EX 4). Balance Low Numbers: 12 cards excellent or better, 6 cards very good-ex, 1 card good (short); Balance High Numbers: 4 cards excellent, 3 cards very good, 1 card good;
Winning Bid $8,860.


Lot 5.  Extraordinary collection of baseball sheet music spanning the years 1850 to 1992. This grouping of 215 sheets represents one of the most comprehensive collections of baseball sheet music ever assembled, let alone offered as a single collection. The collection is housed in four albums. Included are dozens of significant rarities. Fifteen sheet musics are from the nineteenth century, and 177 were published before 1950. Only 38 titles are post-1950. Every sheet music in the collection pertains to baseball in some way, either by picturing a baseball scene on the cover or mentioning baseball in the title, or in some cases subtly (a song written by a player or a player's name mentioned in the lyrics). Twenty of the sheets represent publishing variations for thirteen different titles, thus there are 195 different song titles in total. Also included is a handwritten sheet composed by Henry Chadwick (accompanied by an LOA from his grandson) as well as two other interesting handwritten baseball song lyrics. Many specific ballplayers and teams are pictured or referenced in the collection, from the 1869 Cincinnati Reds to Ty Cobb to Mickey Mantle. Included are many other highlights, such as sheet musics picturing Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, various teams, and, of course, many extraordinary generic titles with striking artwork and amusing titles. A selection of the many titles included follows: 1850 Victoria Polka , written by Henry Chadwick; 1863 Capitoline Polka (the Capitoline Grounds was home to the Brooklyn Atlantics); 1867 Base Ball Waltz (dedicated to the Kent Base Ball Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan); 1867 Home Run Galop (cover only); 1867 Monthly Amusements (one of the twelve vignettes on the cover pictures a baseball game); 1869 Red Stockings (cover only) dating from the Cincinnati Reds Stockings' inaugural season and featuring engraved portrait images of each team member including Harry Wright, George Wright, Asa Brainard and Charlie Gould (with professional restoration to an approximate 3.5 x 1 inch area of paper loss in upper right border, not affecting portraits or type, otherwise in Very Good to Excellent condition, framed to total dimensions of 16.5 x 20 inches); 1886 Base Ball - American Association Vs. League Comic Song ; 1890 The Pennant Yorke (dedicated to the New-York and Brooklyn B.B. Teams); 1895 Games We Used To Play (shows images used for Dukes Terrors in America set on cover) ; the very rare 1896 Win. Mercer Two-Step (dedicated to Mr. Win. Mercer and the Washington Base Ball Club); 1904 Husky Hans (Honus Wagner on cover, poor condition); 1907 Cubs On Parade (dedicated to Mr. Frank Chance); 1907 The White Sox March (dedicated to Charles A. Comiskey and featuring portrait photos of all team members); 1908 Between You And Me (written by Johnny Evers and Joe Tinker, and featuring photos of each player in uniform); 1908 Take Me Out To The Ball Game (2 variations); 1909 Hurray For Our Base Ball Team (pictures each Major League manager and League presidents Ban Johnson and Harry Pulliam); 1910 Little Puff Of Smoke Good Night (words by Ring Lardner, lyrics by White Sox pitcher Doc White, Doc White on cover, two variations); 1912 King of Clubs (Cobb at bat on cover, minor edge wear, overall Excellent appearance, matted and framed to total dimensions of 15.25 x 18.75 inches); 1912 The Marquard Glide (Rube Marquard on cover); 1912 Remember Me To My Old Gal (two variations, one pictures Doc White and George Moriarity on cover, the other Chief Bender, Jack Coombs and Cy Morgan); 1912 Those Ragtime Melodies (two variations, each with Rube Marquard on cover); 1912 Three Cheers Base-Ball Is A Grand Old Game (Bender, Coombs and Morgan on cover); 1912 Baseball's The Game For Me (Rube Marquard on cover); 1920 Oh! You Babe Ruth (Ruth on cover); 1923 Babe Ruth He Is A Home Run Guy ; 1925 Bucky Boy (Bucky Harris on cover); 1928 Babe Ruth! Babe Ruth! - We Know What He Can Do ; 1928 Where The Shy Little Violets Grow (Waite Hoyt on cover); 1929 The Galloping A's ; 1929 Here Comes My Ball And Chain (Waite Hoyt on cover); 1933 Come On, Let's Root For The Red Birds (Columbus Red Birds team on cover including Paul Dean); 1934 The Tiger Team Song (Tigers team on cover); 1938 When A Cowboy Goes To Town (from the movie Rawhide , Lou Gehrig on cover); 1941 Joltin' Joe DiMaggio (DiMaggio on cover); 1947 Babe (Ruth on cover); 1948 Our Bambino (Ruth on cover); 1948 Safe At Home (Ruth on cover); 1950 Grand Old Man Of Baseball (Connie Mack on cover); 1956 I Love Mickey (Mickey Mantle on cover); 1973 Move Over, Babe - Here Comes Henry (Aaron on cover). The approximate condition breakdown is as follows: 34% Excellent or better condition, 50% Very Good condition, 15% Good Condition, 1% lesser. Approximately 10% of the sheets have pencil or ink notations written on the cover (mostly the names of former owners). Most measure approximately 10 x 14 inches. Total 215 sheets plus three miscellaneous handwritten song lyrics for a total of 218 items. The Minimum Bid comes to less than $25 per piece and we would estimate Retail to be at least $15,000-$20,000. A more detailed list of the highlights is available on request.
Winning Bid $8,054.


Lot 6.  22" x 14" Broadside of Cassius Clay Fight Poster from Miami Beach Dec 27th 1960. Magnificent condition for this with only pinholes in the four corners where it hung on a wall. In red and black, it represents Clay's second Professional fight after his fabulous victories in the 1960 Olympics. Clay fought Herb Siler in an 8 round preliminary on a fight card that featured Willie Pastrano and Jesse Bowdrey in the main event. He defeated Siler on a knockout in the 4th round. Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali after the fight. Clay had won his first professional fight two months earlier against Tunney Hunsicker. A similar poster, from 1962 in much lesser condition, went in the Oct. 2005 Mastronet auction (Lot 967) for over $9,000.
Winning Bid $9,435.


Lot 7.  1961-2 Fleers Basketball complete set of 66 graded by SGC. Gorgeous set with 35 cards graded 84 NM 7 or better including 4 96 SGC 9's, 5 SGC 8.5's, 5 SGC 8's and 6 SGC 7.5's. The cards all appear to be mint, however grading varies due to the centering problems that are always present in this set. Highlights: 3-Baylor (5), 8-Chamberlain (6), 10-Cousy (7), 36-Robertson (6), 38-Russell (5.5), 43-West (7.5), 47-Chamberlain IA (6), 62-Russell IA (5), 66-West IA (3). Balance: 4 cards graded 9, 5 card graded 8.5, 5 cards graded 8, 6 Cards graded 7.5, 13 Cards graded 7, 8 cards graded 6, 1 card graded 5.5, 9 cards graded 5, 3 cards graded 4, 2 cards graded 3, 1 card graded 2.
Winning Bid $3,993.


Lot 8.  The 1888 Pictorial Baseball Album. 5" x 6 5/8" soft cover book is the finest yearbook style publication of the 19th Century. The offered copy is one of 3 I know to exist. Published by Mussey & Harper in 1888, the 62 page book is filled with woodcuts of baseball notables and players. There are full page portraits, most with biographies, of Henry Chadwick, Albert Spalding, George Wright, Cap Anson, Harry Wright, Fred Pfeffer, John Ward, James O'Rourke, Roger O'Conner, Arthur Irwin, Fred Dunlap, Al Reach, Chris Von Der Ahe, Mike Kelly, John Clarkson, Charles Comiskey, Top O'Neil, Bob Caruthers, Dan Brouthers, Deacon White and many other stars arranged four to a page. There are team woodcuts of the 1869 Reds and the 1887 Detroit Wolverines, There is a complete review of the 1887 World Series with box scores, schedules for 1888, a story of "Old Baseball" and much more. I have seen only two offered at auction in the last 15 years, one of which was sold in the Copeland Collection in 1990 for over $6,000. That same copy sold in our November 2005 auction for $6490. The cover shows some fading but otherwise the yearbook is in remarkable condition.
Winning Bid $3,025.


Lot 9.  Very rare beautifully framed 1895 Cleveland Indians Print with Cy Young. Shows 16 players. In addition to Young, notables are Jesse Burkett, Roddy Wallace, Clarence Childs, Ed McKean. Chief Zimmer (Zimmer Game) and the Tebeau brothers. Other players are Griffith, Cuppy, Greminger, Blake, McGarr, McAleer, O'Connor, Sullivan. Many of the Photos are those used for the Just So Tobacco card set. The print, which has a brown-violet color has some creasing and what appears to be two tears around the perimeter but presents very nicely. The print opening is 12" square and the frame measures 18" x 17 1/2".
Winning Bid $2,420.


Lot 10.  1889 Darktown Battery Cast Iron Mechanical Bank. This is an exceptional all original cast iron mechanical bank by J. & E. Stevens, that is called and marked in the cast iron base, 'Dark Town Battery'. The bank works by placing one's coin in the pitcher's hand and bringing the arm back to a swinging position. Then when you depress the cast iron push down lever located behind the catcher, the pitcher throws the ball (the coin) towards the catcher and the coin drops down into the bottom compartment as the catcher's breast plate opens to allow the coin to fall. This bank is in excellent working condition. Original paint. Marked on the bottom of the bank the information, 'Patd Feb. 2 1875'. The base of this bank measures 10" x 2 3/4". The height is approximately 7 1/4" high. We are able to offer this historical piece of Americana for the first time, it is guaranteed to be a highlight in any fine mechanical toy bank collection. The Darktown Battery Mechanical bank is featured in 'O'Brien's Collecting Toys - 10th Edition' book, on page 166, under Mechanical Banks. A great cross collectible, interesting collectors from baseball, black Americana and mechanical banks.
Minimum Bid $2,000.
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