Spalding Trophy Find at Alameda...

[CarltonHendricks]

So last Sunday I hit the Alameda Point Antiques Fair about 6:20AM...Lot of times you go there and it’s just lame...About 15 minutes into the show I said there’s a good vibe here today...little did I know how good...The first pick was a Schwinn bicycle shop coat...The guy certainly wasn’t giving it away and I couldn’t talk him down a cent...but I’m into cycling stuff and it was a very rare unusual find...and nice and clean...so I pulled the trigger...I couldn’t even get him to throw in the manikin...





Afterwards I basically figured that was it for the day and was just going to finish the show and head to church...So I continued working my way up to the front isle by isle...back to front...So I stopped for a breakfast sandwich for a bit then continued on...So I’m walking along and to the right I see a table with a bunch of 70ish looking toys with boxes...and in the back of them I see a figure of baseball plaer sticking up level with the boxes...with two white plastic baseball player toys standing on the metal base next to it ...I immediately recognized the figure as the one on the Spalding Trophy...My first thought was someone had somehow removed the figure with the flat metal platform base he stands on from the rest of the trophy....as that was all I could see...So I ask the seller to see it and he pulls it up and WOW...it was complete wood base and all...So I ask the price and the guy says ------- I said how about ------ guy says no...and starts to pick it up and put it back...I said hold on and put my hand on the trophy to keep him from putting it back...so I paid his price and we made the deal...



So I said to him...how long have you had this...and how long was it on your table...said he’d had it a long time and that it had been out on his table since he first set up about 6:00AM...I bought it about 9:30AM...so it sat out there for about 3 1/2 hours and no one spotted it...that was the Lord!...All the clutter of the toys and the two plastic baseball player toys kind of camouflaged it....



I already have an example of the fielder...but I like this one better because of the Decatur Georgia reference...I may look for someone with the first baseman who wants to trade for a fielder one....In 17 or so years going to this show...besides the c1888 Bailey I go there back in 09'...this was the best piece I ever pulled out of the show