Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig’s Official “Plaball” Baseball Game

by

If you got a grand or two, here’s a fun one to add to a baseball card man cave: Lou Gehrig’s Official “Plaball” Baseball Game.

Sotheby’s offered this example in their March 1993 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia catalog. They described the piece as follows:

Lou Gehrig “Playball” Baseball Game, table top game pictures Gehrig in black and white batting pose in centerfield, the only thing missing is the original marble, minor aging, slight water stains at the very edges and a few wooden pegs missing but for this particular game the condition is exceptional, overall at least excellent to mint condition. 18in. by 18in.

Leland’s has sold a pair of them; the first went for $417 in December 2003 and included the following description:

A beautiful all-original rendition of this classic baseball board game made valuable by a patent tying it to Lou Gehrig. Vintage to the 1930’s, the green surface is uncommonly crisp with bold colors and almost no fading or damage. Printed with facsimile signature and inscription from Lou Gehrig, “Yours Truly Lou Gehrig” with a photo of the Yankee legend adding style and prominence. All pegs protruding from the board’s face are original and show the expected signs of tarnishing. 90% of all the pegs are still attached. The game is operated by a small mechanism in the top corner through which a marble was dropped and “rolled” onto the board, encountering the many pegs which altered its path to any one of the 21 “traps” denoting a “strike”, “foul out”, “double play”, etc. or a “1 base hit”, “home run”, etc. The title of the board game, as printed behind home plate is “Lou Gehrig’s Official Plaball – by arrangement with Christy Walsh.” Still attached to the bottom of the board, which is constructed completely of wood is the rules of the game, printed on an 8.5×11” piece of paper and the wooden “leg” which elevates one side of the game 1.5”, allowing for the marbles to roll down.

The second Leland’s sale was more recent when they sold a copy in April 2023 for $1,250. The hobby must have learned a bit more about it since they added a few manufacturing details to the description:

Scarce baseball board game, titled “Lou Gehrig’s Official PLABALL,” produced by the Johnson Store Equipment Company of Elgin, Illinois, in 1932. (PLAGAMES was the name given to the company’s series of board games, “PLABALL” is not a misspelling.)  This is just the second example of this attractive baseball game we have offered in the past twenty years and we have seen few others at auction during that time. The large game board, constructed of wood, features a colorful depiction of a baseball diamond, with an illustration of Gehrig and his facsimile signature pictured in the centerfield area. The game’s title appears in print behind home plate. This was a bagatelle game, with the “game action” determined by a ball that was released onto the game board. The ball would descend onto the “field” (the game board rests on wooden risers that tilt the board) , where it would be continuously deflected by the dozens of metal rods  and wooden dowels until it finally came to rest in one of the compartments that determine the result of the “at bat.” The game board displays moderate use and wear, including several minor stains. Three of the wooden dowels surrounding the “Home Run” compartment have broken off and the original game ball is no longer present. In Very Good condition overall. 18x18x1″.

There’s a copy on eBay (Sept 2024) with an asking price of $1,675.

1928 Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig H&B Louisville Slugger Bats Advertising Display

by

When Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig appear in the same ad, you know it’s a legendary piece of baseball memorabilia.

REA offered this incredible advertisement in their July 2000 catalog. Here’s the lot’s complete description:

This visually appealing fold over H&B advertising piece was furnished to store owners for window display. The front features a large photo of Ruth and Gehrig examining an H&B Louisville Slugger bat. The interior portion pictures numerous baseball stars endorsing H&B bats as well as an order card for dealers. Unfolded front measures 12″ x 18″ Condition details include separations along the fold lines and tears. An extremely attractive advertising broadside which displays beautifully as is, but would benefit greatly from some minor professional restoration which could easily help return this piece to its original glorious state. This is the only example of this extremely rare advertising piece Robert Edward Auctions has seen to date.

Wikipedia has a great article for Hillerich & Bradsby if you’d like more history about the Louisville Slugger brand.

Early Exhibit Card Machine With Autographed Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Exhibits

by

Here’s a nice mid-1920s wooden exhibit card machine with two little signed cards showing a 1928 Blue Series Babe Ruth and Grey Tint Lou Gehrig exhibit. Sotheby’s offered the item in their April 1994 Important Baseball Cards and Sports Memorabilia auction.

Here’s the lot’s full description:

Early Exhibit Card Machine with Autographed Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig Exhibits, mid 1920s wooden exhibit card machine made by Metropolitan Coin Machine Inc. of Brooklyn, N.Y., holds two autographed exhibits of Ruth and Gehrig, the Ruth exhibit is a 1928 blue tint series with the Babe in quotes, a strong bold black ink signature, the Gehrig is a 1926 grey tint exhibit with the signature in the back-ground, “Lou” is a bit light but the “Gehrig” is bold and clear, overall condition of both cards is excellent to mint, with minor corner wear, the machine itself has a glass front and has been refinished, lock and key back, blue lettering “Novelty Card Vendor,” height 13 inches, width 7 1/2 inches, and depth 7 inches, at least near mint condition, wooden exhibit card machines are very rare, very few have survived and the autographed exhibits displayed of Ruth and Gehrig just add to make it a top shelf collectible.

It’s not the exact same card (auto location), but REA sold a signed 1928 Babe Ruth Exhibit card for $5,875 in 2008; it would be just a touch (ok, A LOT) pricier at auction today.

Also, FWIW, I think the Gehrig exhibit might have been a 1928 release as well, but I’m no expert on pre-war exhibit cards.

1934 Goudey Lou Gehrig Goudey Advertising Poster

by

Are you looking to decorate a man cave? I recommend a 1934 Lou Gehrig Goudey Advertising Poster.

This particular matted and framed copy was available in July 2000 when Robert Edward Auctions (then a division of MastroNet Inc.) and eBay presented ‘The Wagner Card’ as the featured item in their internet/telephone auction of baseball cards and memorabilia.

Here’s the 1934 Goudey Poster and full item description as presented in the catalog:

Interestingly, the poster was unknown to the collecting world until 1995. They highlighted that Gehrig’s portrait on the poster is the same as on his card #61, that’s a mistake; card #61 has him with a bat, but #37 shares the image.

Also, how about that wrapper redemption? Just 20 Big League Gum Wrappers and a 3-cent stamp for some “swell” prizes.

The Original Image Used for Lou Gehrig’s 1933 Goudey Cards

by

When Mastro Auctions sold the following Lou Gehrig new-service photograph in May 2008, they described it as being from the 1930s.

They described it as a 6-1/2″ x 9-1/8″ photo of the Yankee great in pinstripes with a look of “fierce determination” and described the card as the model for cards #’s 92 and 160 in the vaunted 1933 Goudey set; here are a pair of examples from Robert Edward Auctions.

Mastro Auctions wrote that the image was in EX condition with good image clarity and contrast. They mentioned, but didn’t show, that the reverse had handwritten editorial notations accompanying a copyright stamp for the esteemed Underwood & Underwood photography studio.

I found some more information from Heritage Auctions’ sale of the following Gehrig Original Photo.

They titled the lot a “1927 Lou Gehrig Original Photograph by Charles Conlon” and wrote that it’s a “Splendid and important image from Gehrig’s 1927 MVP and championship season was used for the Iron Horse’s 1933 Goudey cards #92 and #160. Taken by legendary baseball photographer Charles Conlon for Underwood & Underwood. Measures 7×9.” It sold for $60k in May 2017.

The image dating to 1927 doesn’t mean the Mastro copy isn’t from the 1930s; I believe Underwood & Underwood operated through the 1940s and likely reproduced many of their images. But please let me know if this is an incorrect assumption.

During the auction, Heritage provided this update: “Please note that this is a photo that came directly from the Underwood & Underwood archives and therefore has the original embossed “Do Not Remove, File Copy” raised blindstamp, which can be seen on the front of the photo in two locations.”

Chuck Klein Signed 1934 Goudey Endorsement Contract

by

This is an incredibly cool piece related to the 1934 Goudey baseball set, sometimes called the “Lou Gehrig Says…” series; Chuck Klein’s signed endorsement contract to use his picture and name on cards in the set.

You see, Gehrig’s name and picture (blue background) are used on the bottom of most cards in the set.

But 12 (cards 80-91) feature Klein’s (red background) who had just come off a Triple Crown season.

The 7” x 8-1/2” document, dated July 18, 1934, defines the business agreement. A sample 1934 Goudey card featuring the “Chuck Klein Says…” ad is attached to the top of the document.