Memorabilia

Ted Williams’ Farewell: The Iconic 1960 Red Sox Narragansett Beer Poster That Captures a Changing Era

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Not all sports-themed advertising ephemera is as significant as this piece featuring the 1960 Red Sox; it represented Ted Williams last season and essentially a passing of the torch to Yastrzemski the following year.

This particular Narragansett beer poster was offered in Mastro’s November 1999 Millenium Auction, selling for $1789. Here’s how they described it:

1960 Red Sox Narragansett Beer Poster
A magnificent oversized Narragansett Beer poster that features the 1960 Boston Red Sox and measures 47″ × 70″ Advertising Rhode Island’s finest lager, the heavy corrugated paper poster features a color team photo of the Sox at the end of an era, the Ted Williams era. The year 1960 marked the conclusion of the Kid’s four-decade career. There he is, a legend in his own time, along side teammates half his age. The poster has a few minor edge chips, can be easily matted out, bumps, and a slight tear in the caption. About Excellent condition. Makes for a wicked display!
Minimum Bid $600

The same picture is used across various products; Lelands sold this one for $298 in January 2015.

Here are some more:

Unfortunately, neither the 1960 or 1961 Topps Boston Red Sox team cards feature this image.

Joe Garagiola’s 1973 Topps Business Card: From Bubble Gum Blowouts to Baseball Card Lore

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I only recently learned about this 1973 Topps-style Joe Garagiola card from the April 1986 issue of Baseball Cards Magazine. They wrote that Joe used it as his business card, but there’s a little more to it than that!

The Topps Archives has a series of posts about the card; the first, from February 2009, identifies it as part of “a small but distinct list of baseball issues from Topps that consist of a single card. The most famous of these is Joe Garagiola’s 1976 NBC Business Card that is a dead ringer for a ’73 Topps baseball card.”

Then, in June 2009, The Topps Archives connected the card to Joe Garagiola’s Bazook Big League Bubble Gum Blowing Championship that gave us the classic 1976 Topps card of Kurt Bevacqua!

And from a photo from the event, The Topps Archives pointed out the uncut sheet behind Joe G., writing, “That, ladies and gentlemen is Garagiola’s ersatz 1973 Topps business card. I think it highly likely said pasteboards were created for him to hand out at this event. The card does have a 1976 copyright on it and I have to think the contest was held after the end of the ’75 season based on the Joe G. card copyright date.”

A pair of articles from the Baseball Hall of Fame explain the competition further. You can also watch the event on YouTube, which originally aired on October 14th, 1975, before Game 3 of the 1975 World Series.

The Topps Archives then shared a few photos of Garagiola’s card as reprinted in 1991.

BaseballCardPedia summarizes the entire story of the card as follows:

Sometime in the mid-1970s, Topps produced for former Cardinals catcher and then-current NBC broadcaster Joe Garagiola a business card done in the style of a baseball card. The front of the card has the design of the 1973 Topps set, while the back is set up like a 1976 Topps card. 

It is unknown exactly when this card was produced; however, a framed uncut sheet of the card was seen in the background of a 1975 made-for-TV bubble gum blowing contest hosted by Garagiola for NBC. The contest was sponsored by Topps and was commemorated with a card (#564) of winner Kurt Bevacqua in the 1976 Topps set.

A second run of this card was produced in the early-90s, to coincide with Garagiola’s appointment as co-host of NBC’s Today Show. This card is identical to the 70s card, with the addition of both a Topps and Today Show logo to the front.

However, there’s still one more mystery. You can see up above the back of the variation I shared above has a 1976 copyright and Garagiola’s phone number on the back. There’s another version with a different phone number and 1976 copyright along with the 1991 reprint!

Happy collecting!

Hank Aaron’s 1954 Topps Rookie Year Check: A $10 Deal for the 1955 Set

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I’ve previously shared Hank Aaron’s 1961 Topps signed check and contract, well, here’s his 1954 Topps Gum Company Check that includes his rookie year signature!

Mastro offered the signed check in its August 2002 Sports & Americana Premier Catalog Auction. Unfortunately the pictures in the catalog are rather small; here’s the back:

And here’s the lots complete description from the catalog:

An official “Topps Chewing Gum Inc.” check that is dated 8/5/54 and made out to “Henry Aaron” in the amount of $10.00. The payment made is for use of Aaron’s image during the 1955 season, but the signature is pure “rookie year” in appearance. On the reverse is the “Henry Aaron” signature, as well as the printed agreement between Topps and Aaron for the rights to use his image for the 1955 cards. Although fully readable, the signature is affected by the check’s fold and by several cancellation stampings. LOA from Mike Gutierrez/MastroNet.

PS, another cool Topps check I’ve shared is Bill Russell’s 1957-58 Topps basketball card canceled paycheck.

Happy collecting!

From Grand Prize to Auction Block: The Fall 1992 Topps Magazine Centerfold Signed by Mantle, Mays, and Snider

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The Fall 1992 Issue of Topps Magazine featured a great competition. The grand prize was an autographed copy of the 9th Topps Magazine’s centerfold illustration featuring Mays, Mantle, and Snider.

This copy was sold by Collect Auctions for just $264 in July 2021.

I presume this was the Grand Prize for the “In The Ball Park” Game Time competition pictured below.

I guess a collector could have removed the centerfold from the magazine and had the players sign it, but the Beckett LOA and the auction description don’t specify whether this was the case.

This Topps Magazine centerfold features Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider and Willie Mays, with signatures from each. Each signed in fiber-tip marker over their images, with each signature authenticated by BAS with a full LOA.

Collect Auctions Description

Happy Collecting!

The Original Ted Williams Hall of Fame Plaque: A Piece of Baseball History at Auction

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In July 1993, Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. offered a spectacular item in their auction: the original Ted Williams Hall of Fame plaque!

They offered it without a reserve and described it as follows:

This sensational piece of baseball history features one of the greatest players ever to play the game, and the last player ever to have a .400 season. The highest honor any ballplayer can achieve is to be memorialized in bronze at Cooperstown. This is the original plaque presented to Ted Williams on the day he was enshrined at Cooperstown, July 25, 1966.A news photo of Williams accepting this plaque, as well as letters pertaining to its history and authenticity accompany the lot. The heavy bronze plaque measures approx 11 1/2 by 16 inches. A truly once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the most important pieces of sports memorabilia extant.

The estimated sales price was $75k-125k.

SABR included a bit more detail about why this was the “original” plaque in a piece they published called Hall of Fame Plaque Variations in January 2020.

It appears that Teddy Ballgame’s plaque has been changed at least twice. The original plaque that was displayed at his 1966 induction ceremony was subsequently replaced by a plaque bearing a slightly different likeness (on the left in the photo below). That replacement plaque was itself later replaced by a new plaque (on the right) with a drastically different likeness. As to why the changes were made, I note the following from Thomas Boswell in The Washington Post on August 9, 1977: ‘Ted Williams was so incensed by his nonlikeness that he demanded a new plaque.’

A picture of Williams posing (at his 1966 induction ceremony) with his original plaque can be seen accompanyingan article on the Hall’s website.

Author’s question: Was a Hall of Fame postcard produced depicting the original 1966 Ted Williams plaque?

The differences between the original and the plaques depicted on the two postcards are pretty clear.

Happy collecting!

An Incredible Wilson Football Cradle Counter Sign Featuring Charley Trippi and Paul Christman

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I ran across this awesome point-of-sale sign featuring halfback Charley Trippi and QB Paul Christman of the Chicago Cardinals in Mastro’s December 2005 catalog; since Christman only played for Chicago until ’49, It must be from the ’40s despite being titled as a ’50s piece.

Here’s Mastro’s complete item description:

Check out this awesome display for “Wilson Sports Equipment!” Wilson has been a worldwide leader in the sports industry for decades due to the quality of their products and the effective promotion of their equipment. Years of using athletes and teams to endorse new product lines elevated Wilson USA into its unique, elite position in the sporting goods industry. Offered here is a football “cradle,” counter sign utilizing images of halfback Charley Trippi and quarterback Paul Christman of the Chicago Cardinals. Entitled “It’s a Wilson,” the 16″ x 14″ x 6-1/2″ display has a working stand-up back showing off the fantastic NM condition of the artifact. This 1940’s-1950’s point-of-sale advertisement possesses beautiful, bold colors and shows only the slightest signs of aging and use. What a spectacular piece!

I’ve been looking for other examples of this piece online or across The Hobby Library but haven’t seen another, so I thought it would be cool to look at the cards of the two “famous stars of the National Football League” instead.

Trippi, a Pro and College Football Hall of Famer, has the slightly more coveted cards and a deeper run of them since he played until 1955. He has two rookie cards from 1948, a Bowman and Leaf.

However, my favorite among his cards is the 1952 Bowman. However, his exhibit is fascinating in the context of the cardboard ad sign since the image is similar.

Christman, a College Football Hall of Famer, also has 1948 Bowman and Leaf rookie cards.

Happy collecting!

World Series Programs – Buy the Book

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Scott Kelnhofer wrote an excellent article about World Series programs in the February 1997 issue of Sports Cards Magazine. The article referenced a “Market Report” later in the magazine, which included the following Top Ten list: cool, huh?

Here’s the article and the complete Market Report page. I’ve never been a program collector, so it’s interesting to me that pre and post-1974 issues separate the niche:

Now, let’s see what these programs cost today:

  • 1927 Yankees vs. Pirates: ~$2k
  • 1956 Yankees vs. Dodgers: ~$225
  • 1969 Mets vs. Orioles: ~$200
  • 1955 Dodgers vs. Yankees: ~$200
  • 1973 Athletics vs. Mets: ~$25
  • 1919 Reds vs. White Sox: ~$3k
  • 1978 Yankees vs. Dodgers: ~$20
  • 1975 Reds vs. Red Sox: ~$20
  • 1959 Dodgers vs. White Sox: ~$50
  • 1960 Pirates vs. Yankees: ~$30

My favorite is the 1965 ‘Out of this World’ Series program.