Willie Mays
Rare photo signed by Williams, Musial and Mays highlights Collectible Classics auction
A rare photo autographed by Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Willie Mays and a New York Yankees baseball signed twice by Joe DiMaggio highlight the fall auction by Collectible Classics.
The Williams-Musial-Mays photo is one of more than 100 autograph lots in the 795-lot auction that run through Oct. 28. Collectible Classics specializes in memorabilia selling for less than $200 but also offers a selection of high-end items as well. The latest auction can be found at www.auctionscc.net.
More than 100 lots feature autographs of Hall of Famers in baseball, football, basketball, hockey, boxing and other sports. Among the star athletes with autographed items in the auction are: Mickey Mantle, Rogers Hornsby, Luke Appling, Mickey Cochrane, Rabbit Maranville, Vince Lombardi, Bronko Nagurski, Bear Bryant, Gale Sayers, Bart Starr, George Mikan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Dempsey, Nancy Lieberman, Cheryl Miller, Benny Leonard and multiple Heisman Trophy winners. One lot has 80 photos autographed by Hall of Fame baseball players.
Among the other highlights is a 1942 New York Yankees team baseball signed twice by DiMaggio as well as manager Joe McCarthy, Bill Dickey, Lefty Gomez and many of their teammates.
The vintage photos in the auction represent the work of noted sports photographers Charles Conlon, George Burke and Paul Thompson, who supplied many of the portraits for the 1911 T205 Gold Border set. A 1980s print of a 1940s Negro Leagues game at Forbes Field is signed by Teenie Harris, another baseball photography pioneer who documented African American life in Pittsburgh from 1935-75.
Other photo subjects include Musial, Dizzy Dean, Pie Traynor, Roy Campanella, the 1942 Pittsburgh Pirates team, Sammy Baugh and other stars, many whose photos are seldom offered. An Acme Newspictures photo, for instance, features the Cardinals’ Dizzy Dean and the Cubs’ Lon Warneke on Opening Day in 1935.
The auction also features many trading cards, including more than 100 lots of baseball cards, as well as football, basketball, hockey and non-sports cards. Among the offerings is a rare set of 18 1957 Sohio Gas Cincinnati Reds photo cards accompanied by the album designed to hold them.
There also is a 1933-34 Goudey R309-1 Babe Ruth premium card; a 1951 Bowman set (102 of 108 cards) of “Jets, Rockets and Spacemen”; a rare set of 1972 “Supersisters” cards presenting photos and stories of successful women in sports and other fields; a cardboard version of a 1934 Butterfinger premium; a 1963 Bazooka All-Time Greats near set (40 of 41); and five Hostess baseball partial or near sets.
The auction also features a wide assortment of other collectibles, including a 1973 Roberto Clemente full-color figural chalkware bank by art nouveau art deco artist Ivo Zini.
Other items include autographed display items; signed and unsigned sports and non-sport books; baseball advertising with endorsements by Hall of Fame stars; sports and non-sports programs and magazines (including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues); and replica sports rings, figurines and commemorative plates.
Among the top non-sports collectibles are an original painting used to produce a 1933-34 Sky Birds card and a 4.75x5.75 gouache portrait created by the National Chicle Co. for card No. 85 in its classic set of aviators and aircraft. The card depicts Canadian WWI Pilot Lt. Alan A. McLeod, who was only 18 when he earned the Victoria Cross, the highest British award for gallantry in combat.
For more information, visit Collectible Classics auctions at www.auctionscc.net. Catalogs are available at 724-446-3079 or john@auctionscc.net.
