A Most Rare and Wonderful Boy's Collection of Vintage Baseball Autographs Seldom Seen In The Memorabilia World

Feb. 11, 2008

KINGSTON, New York—223 rare baseball autographs will be offered by JMW Auctions as part of their March 1 sale. John Thorn, author of Total Baseball, The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball and one of the game's most prominent historians had this to say about "The Kid's Collection." "It is hard to imagine that seventy years from now a schoolboy's collection of baseball autographs from the Steroid Era will hold the appeal - never mind the value - that this one does. None of the 223 autographs nowoffered for sale was acquired by standing on line at a memorabilia show. None wasacquired with resale in mind. But now, thanks to JMW Auction, an intrepid boy'srequests for hastily penned signatures will make some other "old boy" very happyindeed. There are stars aplenty - Ruth and Gehrig, Hubbell and Ott, Hornsby andJohnson and more. But the names that will set a veteran fan's thoughts fluttering back toboyhood are those of the barely lesser lights - Babe Herman, Johnny Murphy, Red Rolfe,Wes Ferrell, Buddy Myer... Simply to call the roll is to be transported to another time." View the fully illustrated auction catalog and place Internet bids at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Before television, free agency and agents, steroids, autograph shows, The MitchellReport, million-dollar contracts and human growth hormones, there was a time whenbaseball possessed an innocence and purity of the sport that - to the extreme detrimentof both the game and to our national pastime - has permanently slipped away.

"The Kid's Collection" represents a one-of-a-kind, historical reminder of what baseballstands for at its very core, a testament to a New York City kid's pure love of the game.It's a personal journey through baseball through the eyes of a school-kid who grew upin the late 1920's and early 1930's on West 14th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood ofManhattan and assembled the collection during that time. The collection consists of217 baseball players' signatures along with six boxing autographs - 223 in all. It's thelegends: Babe Ruth, two signatures, Lou Gehrig, two signatures, Walter Johnson, twosignatures, Pie Traynor, two signatures, Rogers Hornsby, Mel Ott, Bill Terry, The WanerBrothers and Mickey Cochrane, to name a few - 36 Hall of Fame signatures of the menthat shaped the foundation of the game. "The Kid's Collection" is a living, breathingdocument with no known equal. It's a wonderful time-capsule look back on a goldenera the game desperately needs to be reminded of in order to remain real and relevantto its fans today.

The owner of the collection and the consignee is the son of "The Kid." He was given thecollection by his late father over forty years ago when he was close to the same age hisfather was at the time his father assembled it. It has been seen by very few people overthe years until now. The owner wishes the family name to be kept private but will beavailable to answer any questions from serious prospective buyers. The owner is alsoavailable for journalist's questions about the collection.

"The Kid's Collection" is comprised of three composition schoolbooks and a number ofindividual pages and cuts that were never pasted into the books. One of the schoolbooksis an official New York City Elementary School Composition Book. The other twoare traditional composition books. There are a total of 223 autographs (217 baseballautographs and six boxing autographs). Two of the schoolbooks are truly unique and veryexciting to view. They consist of many newspaper clippings of the day organized aroundthe individual autographs, giving life to the signatures through the eyes of a young boy.It is a testament to a kid's love of baseball at a time when collecting autographs was aninnocent labor of love and not a business decision.

The back-story about "The Kid's Collection" is how the autographs were collected.One may wonder how a young boy in The Depression got access to so many ballplayersincluding some famous championship boxers. The colorful explanation involves"The Kid's" father and the father's line of business. As luck would have it for the youngboy, his father was a sports bookmaker at the time when bookmaking was a legitimatebusiness. He took his son not only to New York Yankee and New York Giant baseballgames, but also to championship boxing matches when it was rare to spot a 12 year-oldcheering at a nighttime fight in The Old Madison Square Garden. Because "The Kid"grew up in Chelsea, he leaned just a bit more towards The Old Polo Grounds and rootingfor The New York Giants but he was also a fervent, loyal Yankees fan. It was a magicalera and a special occasion to not only see both storied New York teams play but also tobe able to meet the stars of both teams.

"The Kid's Collection" is also very unique because there are many autographs ofballplayers from the opposing teams that The Yankees and Giants played. There aremany wonderful and rare signatures of players that are legends in their home cities.Of special interest is a loose page with eight autographs on it including Babe Ruth andTom Zachary (the pitcher who threw Ruth his 60th homer in 1927). In the collectionare unusual signatures like The Yank's trainer, Earle "Doc" Painter, The Giant's trainer,William "Doc" Schaeffer, and "The Clown Prince of Baseball," Al Schacht. Also LenKoenecke, up-and-coming NY Giants star who was killed in a bizarre incident when hewas hit over the head with a fire extinguisher in mid-air by the pilot of a chartered flightbecause he threatened the two-man crew while drunk. Sam "Sammy" Byrd, better knownas "Babe Ruth's Legs," who ran for Ruth towards the end of Ruth's career. Afterbaseball, Byrd became a top professional golfer, losing the 1945 PGA Championshipto Byron Nelson in match play. The boxing autographs include Benny Leonard, TheWorld Lightweight Champ, Lou Brouillard, both The World Welterweight and WorldMiddleweight Champ, and New Yorker, Art Lasky who lost to "The Cinderella Man,""Gentleman" Jim Braddock in a Heavyweight bout.

The complete list of thirty-six Hall of Fame signatures includes: Babe Ruth (two),Lou Gehrig (two), Walter Johnson (two), Pie Traynor (two), Rogers Hornsby, Mel Ott,Mickey Cochran, Paul Waner, Lloyd Waner, Fred Lindstrom (two), Chick Hafey (two),Lefty Gomez (two), Al Lopez (three), Travis Jackson (two), Charles "Red" Ruffing(three), Carl Hubbell (two), Joe Sewell, Earle Combs, Waite Hoyt, Bill Terry, FrankFrisch, Leon "Goose" Goslin, and Ernie Lombardi.The managers include: Walter Johnson (Washington and Cleveland), Bill Terry (Giants),Al Lopez (White Sox), Mel Ott (Giants), Rogers Hornsby (St. Louis Browns andCincinnati Reds), Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh), Mickey Cochrane (Detroit), Bob O'Farrell(Cincinnati Reds), Jewel Ens (Pittsburgh), Virgil "Spud" Davis (Pittsburgh), Frank Frisch(St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago Cubs), "Fat Freddie" Fitzsimmons (Philadelphia Phillies),Billy Jurges (Red Sox), Red Rolfe (Detroit ), Ben Chapman (Philadelphia Phillies),Cy Perkins (Detroit), Jimmie "Ace" Wilson (Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs),Tommy Clarke (Coach-NY Giants), Red Kress (Coach-NY Giants, Cleveland, LAAngels, NY Mets).

"The Kid's Collection" is an unprecedented opportunity to own a unique pieceof baseball history as seen through the eyes of its most important, most typical fan,a young boy who loves the game for all it is and all it promises to be.

To preview the online catalog and place Internet bids, please visit www.LiveAuctioneers.com