Memorabilia

1940’s Pee Wee Reese Wheaties Advertising Sign

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Have you had your Wheaties today? I previously wrote about a 1940s Tommy Henrich Wheaties ad; Pee Wee Reese was a spokesman for the brand, too!

Ron Oser Enterprises offered the above-pictured piece in their April 2001 catalog. They described it as follows:

A particularly striking and extremely rare (only example seen!) trolley sign, an 11″ x 21″ heavy paper sign with a large photo of Reese in his Brooklyn Dodgers cap, and opposite, the familiar orange & blue Wheaties “Breakfast of Champions” cereal box. The photo has a crease at the upper left corner, and the other corners (which were “hinged” at one time) have been lightly retouched (virtually undetectable). Excellent condition and one of the best Brooklyn Dodger advertising pieces we have ever offered. Framed & matted to 17 x 27 inches.

While it may have been the only example they had seen then, I managed to find a few more online. In February 2016, All Sports Auctions sold a “Vintage Pee Wee Reese Wheaties Ad Broadside” for $133.

Also, a collector on the Net54 forums sold a copy with the following description around March of 2021:

This is a very nice cardboard advertising display from the 1940s, featuring Wheaties brand cereal and Pee Wee Reese of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Likely to have been displayed in a grocery/corner store at the time. Piece measures approximately 17 in. by 9 in. Made of a thicker stock paper with some creases throughout each of the corners/sides, small chip in upper left, and some slight toning along edges and back of piece. Printed graphics are still bright and fully intact. Overall, very solid piece that would make a great addition to one’s Brooklyn and/or advertising collection!

Joe Jackson Autographed Check

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Shoeless Joe Jackson autographs are super scarce. Sotheby’s offered this one, obtained directly from the Jackson family, in their April 1994 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia auction.

Here’s the item’s description as it was written in the catalog:

Joe Jackson Autographed Check, original 1916 document acting as a promissory payment toward the purchase of “Shoeless” Joe’s new home in Savannah, Georgia. Signed by Jackson shortly after joining the Chicago White Sox, the team he would ultimately be accused of betraying in the 1919 Black Sox scandal only a few years later. Bold, black ink “Joe Jackson” signature graces the lower right portion of this attractively sized document. One of the few authentic autographs known to ever exist of this legendary baseball figure, who over the years has become a part of American folklore. Obtained directly from the Jackson family, the offered legal document is an exceptional example of this extremely rare and very desirable autograph from “Shoeless” Joe’s playing days with the White Sox. 3 3/4 in. by 8 1/2 in. (9.5 cm. by 21.6 сm.)

The expected price was $25,000-30,000.

PSA’s online price guide values Joe Jackson’s signed checks at $85k today.

1927 Babe Ruth Babe Comes Home Lobby Card

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When REA, then a division of MastroNETInc. offered this 1927 Babe Ruth “Babe Comes Home” lobby card for sale in their July 2000 catalog, it was the only example of this particular type known to exist.

Here’s the lot’s description:

The best Babe Ruth lobby card in the world! Full color lobby card (14″ x 11″) from the 1927 First National Pictures release of “Babe Comes Home” features Ruth in uniform at bat. This is the only known example of this lobby card, and one of only several “Babe Comes Home’ lobby cards known to exist in the entire collecting world. This extraordinary rarity is highly prized in both the baseball and movie collectible field. There is some undetectable professional restoration otherwise in Near Mint to Mint condition.

Another example appears to have popped up since the REA sale; Heritage sold the following one in March 2011 for $2390.

Perhaps it’s changed hands a few more times since, but it’s currently listed on eBay (August 2024) with an asking price of $9,500. The seller wrote that it was one of two known in the item’s description. They also said it was one of a set of eight scene cards.

UCLA Legends Limited Edition Signed Lithograph

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I scanned this advertisement for a ‘limited edition signed lithograph honoring the most dominating collegiate basketball force in history’ from Alan Kayes Sports Cards News & Price Guides Number 5 from April 1992.

Just 2,500 of these 26” x 43” lithographs were printed, and all were signed by Coach Wooden and six of the Bruins’ all-time basketball greats: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Gail Marques Johnson, Keith Erickson, and Mike Warren. Historical Properties priced them at $595.

Today, quite a few are available on eBay; ‘Mill Creek Sports’ has ten, each for $599.

‘Magical World of Sports’ is offering a framed copy for $799.99, ‘AutographForSale’ has one for $899.99, and ‘dary.holl’ has another with an asking price of $1k. I haven’t seen any copies sold on eBay, though.

Early 1950’s P-F Canvas Shoes Advertising Sign Featuring Musial, Doerr, Campy, Lemon, and Rizzuto

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Here’s an awesome advertisement, scanned from a June 2005 auction catalog for B.F. Goodrich P-F Canvas Shoes featuing a slew of MLB legends.

A few years later, in 2013, Lelands sold a framed copy of the awesome stadium-designed cardboard ad, mentioning that it measures 19” x 25”. They also highlighted the inclusion of Sam Jethroe as an early African American promotion—that copy sold for $640.

If you look around, you’ll find several variations dating later into the ’50s that include legends like Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Mays. However, if you want them in your collections, they’ll cost you many thousands of dollars. Luckily, they all feature floating heads!

Pete Rose & Bart Giamatti Signed 1983 All-Star Game First Day Cover

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How’s this for rare and historically significant: a Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti signed 1983 All-Star Game First-Day Cover?!

If you weren’t aware:

Giamatti served as Commissioner for only five months before dying suddenly of a heart attack. He is the shortest-tenured baseball commissioner in the sport’s history and the only holder of the office not to preside over a full Major League Baseball season. Giamatti’s most notable act as Commissioner was to negotiate the agreement resolving the Pete Rose betting scandal in which Rose was permitted to voluntarily withdraw from the sport to avoid further punishment.

Wikipedia

This first-day cover was a part of Mastro’s March 2006 Classic Collector Auction.

1939 Babe Ruth Signed Advertising Contract

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Here’s an incredible advertising contract featuring the full-name signature of “George H Babe Ruth.”

The fully executed agreement was signed by a representative of the National Broadcasting Company in March 1939, and states the final terms for what I guess was the severing of the relationship that had provided for Ruth’s endorsement on behalf of Red Rock Bottlers, Inc.

You can see that the EX/MT document came with a PSA/DNA certification. It was auctioned off in December 2004.

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