Very scarce and desirable autograph of the man who owned the Cubs for their only two World Series triumphs of the modern era. After taking ownership of the team in late 1905, Murphy saw his team amass an amazing season in 1906 as they finished the regular season with the NL pennant and a record of 116-36. The Cubs would go on to win back to back World Series titles in 1907 and 1908, and would make another World Series appearance in 1910. Murphy tended to rub people the wrong way, and he became a despised figure among the other owners of the league as well as the people of Chicago and his own players. By the end of the 1913 season, the other league owners "persuaded" a buyer to make Murphy an offer for his team that he could not refuse. Murphy sold the club.
He was the owner of the Cubs during what is without question the most successful run that the team has ever had. In his post-baseball life Murphy built a great theater/amusement palace in his hometown of Wilmington Ohio, The Murphy Theater. He passed away October 16, 1931.
The document that is for sale is very rare indeed. Examples of Murphy's signature coming up for sale are few and far between. The memorandum is also on very hard to find Chicago National League Baseball Club stationery. The stationery makes mention of the championships and pennants of which Murphy was quite proud.
The memorandum is a one page document intended to explain the contract of player transfer between the Fond du Lac Baseball Club and the Chicago Cubs. The player being transferred is Charles "Doc" Watson. Watson had been traded to Fond du Lac the year before in exchange for Hap Felsch. The team that received Felsch would sell him the next year to the White Sox, where he would eventually become embroiled in the Black Sox scandal and get thrown out of baseball.
The Murphy signature is a bold and clean fountain pen example. It is joined on the page by the signature of the Fond du Lac club president Charlie Moll, who was influential in baseball in the Midwest at the time. The piece has light folds where one would expect a contract to have been folded, as well as two very small staple holes at the top of the letterhead near where it says "founded 1878".
Murphy signatures are very scarce, as is the stationery upon which the memorandum is printed. This is a must have for any collector of Cubs history, especially from their greatest of eras.
Asking $525 shipped.
Tom C
