Lot 81053
1962 George Hildebrand Handwritten Signed Letter
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Description
1962 George Hildebrand Handwritten Signed Letter re: The Spitball. While historians dispute the true origin of the game's soggiest pitch, the most commonly held belief is that it was invented by the 1904 Chicago White Sox battery of Elmer Stricklett and George Hildebrand, and here the catcher supplies his recollection in this intriguing two-page correspondence. "There is something that I wanted to talk about--the much discussed spit ball...When my wife and I visited the Strickletts at Santa Cruz, Calif last June, one of the things or discussions we talked about was the action the ball took (spitter) when it reached the plate. Elmer said it was like the cue ball (in billiards) having reverse inglish (sic). Then I gave Elmer my view--there were times when just for a second I could see the print of the stitches in my mit (sic), indicating that the ball did not revolve at all, otherwise a spinning ball would obliterate the stitches print." Tape stains appear at the edges of the pages, only rarely (and minimally) affecting the writing. Original mailing folds. Pages are stapled together at upper left corners. All ink and closing signature 9+/10. Pre-certified by PSA/DNA. Auction LOA from James Spence Authentication.
