Tom Lydon (American, B. 1944) "Lou Gehrig" Signed lower right. Original Mixed Media painting on Construction Paper.

Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.

After baseball became popular in the early 1900's, major league officials appointed a commission to investigate the origins of the game. Despite the plentiful information to the contrary, the commissioners reported that Abner Doubleday invented the sport in 1839 in Cooperstown, New York. Actually, historians today doubt Doubleday played a large role, if any, in the creation of baseball. Still, the rules used today are similar to rules used during Doubleday's time, with the exception of a few important changes adopted during the second half of the nineteenth century. For instance, early games were played until one team scored twenty-one points. The present nine-inning rule wasn't adopted until 1857. Then, as now, three strikes made an out -- but initially strikes had to be pitches swung at and missed. When a coach in the early days said, "Wait for the right one," the batter might wait a long, long time -- thrown strikes weren't recognized until 1868. Furthermore, a batter couldn't be walked until 1879, and even then only after nine balls; the present four-ball walk rule was introduced in 1889. These rule changes led the way to modern baseball and legendary players like Lou Gehrig.

Image Size: 10.25 x 17 in.
Overall Size: 15.75 x 20 in.
Unframed.
(B11896)

- By registering to bid for this auction either in-house or online and/or placing a bid in this auction the BIDDER/BUYER agrees to all the terms and conditions of Helmuth Stone Gallery Auctions.

- All silver, gold and/or jewelry lots or invoices containing said lots MUST be paid for via WIRE TRANSFER, no other forms of payment will be accepted.

- All items are sold as-is where-is and no guarantees are made of any kind. All sales are final; no refunds will be given under any circumstances.

- Helmuth Stone Gallery provides condition reports as a courtesy to our clients and assumes no liability for any error or omission. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, mater. The bidder assumes responsibility for ensuring that the condition of the item(s) meets with their satisfaction prior to bidding. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.

- Online images can sometimes be low quality due to the uploading process, original high-resolution images can be requested via email at HelmuthStone@gmail.com

- We recommend looking into shipping quotes prior to bidding, shipping quotes can take up to a week or more post-sale as we host our auctions through multiple online platforms and shipping can become backlogged, if you would like a list of local shippers please email us directly.

- Our auction catalogs are hosted through multiple online platforms along with phone and in-house bidding. Bids placed on other platforms are not shown through this catalog. Because of this, even if it appears you are the only absentee bid or bidder on a lot, you may already be outbid or may have placed a bid equal to another bidder. Therefore, we always recommend bidding live.

- Unless otherwise stated in the description, all items are sold without additional documentation or COAs. If any supporting documentation is available an image will be available online via the catalog listing.