Scott he was the straw that stirred the drinks.

Ah yes, that is true. Now it finally all makes sense! :)

Not his signature, according to Keating, although there are some similarities to his early autographs, which were quite different from later ones. As always, I will defer to Kevin's expertise, and it doesn't matter to me, anyway.

Piedmont Bat
 

Don't know much about bats, but thought this one was pretty cool.

http://www.t206blog.com/wp-content/u...mont-bat-1.jpg

http://www.t206blog.com/wp-content/u...mont-bat-2.jpg

Got this today.I think it's cool.A questionnaire from baseball historian Karl Wingler to Bill Skowron dated Dec.31 1954

Like the "Baseballically yours":p...Karl Wingler

Two boys in baseball uniforms, with their bicycles. This was a fairly common pose. I bought a similar one years ago that also disappointingly did not show any equipment. Then noticed one day that a glove was strapped to the back of a handlebar. One pic is enhanced to show detail.

Quick shout out to Brett Lowman. Recently I posted about a trip I took to the Philly Show with my daughter, and how inspired she got to start collecting vintage sports (along with her other antique obsessions) and how excited she was to pick up a few small items. Well, I just bought a couple mitts from Brett, and he had read my post and surprised me by including a few items that were just "lieing around" for my daughter to help her collection. A couple B33 college felts, a pin, and a small track medal from 1927. Thanks Brett, you are as good as they get! - these items will be priceless to her.

Attachment 171688

c.1910 Oversized Cornell Football Pennant
 

Very happy with this pick up, and even considered posting it in the "Best of 2014" thread. Oversized, 35" long, pennant with detailed image of a girl with a football. I've never seen this version before, so it may be quite unique. The pictures I tried attaching are too wide, so here are a couple links:

http://www.antiquesportscollector.co...BPennant04.JPG

http://www.antiquesportscollector.co...BPennant03.JPG

http://www.antiquesportscollector.com/CUFBPennant.html

Joe:

What a cool oversized Cornell Pennant! Never seen anything like it... amazing condition for one that old, as well. Great find!

Killer pennant Joe!
Do you think it could possibly be a girls basketball pennant?
I thought the ball has a more early basketball look, but then again the girl is wearing a turtleneck sweater, more fitting with football.

Wow..I had never thought of that. Figured it looked like a melon style football, being more oblong shaped - but could be Keith. Interesting..probably will never know since I've never seen one like this before, but if basketball that would make it even more unique in my eyes.

Picked up a game used Craig Biggio bat...

Pic 2

are we sure that's a girl??? ;)

Interesting bat, that H176. Looks a lot like a U1.

Love the bat!

Rob - admittedly she is not the easiest on the eyes :rolleyes:...looks more like Seth Rogen in drag.

Ouch... that's a little harsh on the poor girl. I was thinking "Pat" from Saturday Night Live. :rolleyes:

Tough Bobbleheads
 

Was very happy to add these two nodders to my collection this weekend. They are both tough variations. Those who collect 60's bobbleheads know how difficult these are, particularly the Type 4 Chiefs.

Picked up this ABC plate off ebay. My 2nd.

Thanks! That's correct, it does look a lot like the U1 or the G105. The H176 became popular due to Molitor in the 80's.

Don't see many knobless bats nowadays.....

Very excited to pick up this unique belt buckle. It's not in great shape but displays well overall and possibly dates to 1860's-1870's as the manufacturer (Jacob Gminder) was in business at that time manfacturing medals and military buttons. I have seen one other example but not with both parts in tact. That was key to identifying the manfacturer as the back of the interlocking piece includes "J. Gminder Balto." A quick google search did the rest. It's not clear to me what is represented in each of the illustrations on the sides.

I think this is made of copper but have no experience in metals. Any recommendations on storage and how to prevent further oxidization would be appreciated. Thanks.

Fantastic Belt Buckle George :eek:

I've never seen another like it.

Here is my recent pickup:

1939 Clyde Shoun St. Louis Cardinals Game Worn Road Jersey

Shoun led the NL in relief appearances and saves in 1939.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps5a97b620.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...psb233cb7f.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...pseaee43c9.jpghttp://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps58ebf6ba.jpghttp://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...psc88e9e52.jpghttp://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps52b09c57.jpg

That is a great looking jersey!!

Beautiful jersey! The condition makes it particularly special.

Sweet Cards jersey

Spectacular flannel !!

Very cool buckle! I guess that the square on one side may be bases?

Awesome jersey, Chris and welcome to net54!

FYI, Clyde "Hardrock" Shoun pitched a no-hitter in 1944 while he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds. He also went by the nickname "Duster".

2011 Posada Mother's Day bat.

I'll pile on :o...everything about that Cards jersey is amazing!!

Thank you for the kind words, guys.

Cool December Vandy pickup under the wire...
 

Managed to find one more unusual Vandy pickup before 2014 ended:

Original circa 1939 Johnny Vander Meer endorsed Goldsmith ball.
The condition I believe is pretty remarkable considering age. I love it! :)

If any of the resident ball or Goldsmith experts on net54 can add additional info, I would really appreciate it.
I do know that by 1939 Cincinnati based Goldsmith had forged a solid endorsement deal with Vander Meer. They dedicated much of their 1939 catalogue to him, but no mention of a Vander Meer endorsed ball, FWIW...

Not a December p/u but I had to add to Scott's fine post!

Here's a page from a 1936 General Electric calendar showing the first-ever major league night game at Crosley Field the season before. The woman dressed in white against a sea of men dressed in black reminds me of that scene in "The Natural" where Iris stands up and Roy Hobbs catches a glimpse of her before hitting a home run and breaking out of a slump. This photo doesn't do the piece justice — I should have scanned it before framing it ...

Johnny Vander Meer
 

Hello Scott:
Nice ball and great addition yo your collection. Glad you were able to get it .
Merry Christmas, and all the Best in 2015.
Phil

Thanks Phil & Chris G. and Chris C. for your posts.
The Vandy box and Reds calendar featuring the 1st night game are awesome!
Happy holidays to everyone!

Great pick up, George. Along with the bases, it looks like you have home plate and the pictures plate to the right.

Thanks guys!

Not in the 1940 catalog, though the glove is with a smaller ad. That's the only Goldsmith catalog in that era that I have full scans of to be able to rule out though. May be time to start adding to the catalog library again :o

This isn't rare, I don't even know what it is. Any ideas? I'll sell it once I get an idea, tho it won't be a lot. Back is blank maybe a bit over 2 inches square. OLD, prob some sorta oddball comic set?

Thanks Lance!

George,
It looks like I should proofread my posts. I've never seen a "picture" plate, but I do see a "pitcher's" plate on your buckle. Where's Barry when you need him?

Picked this up last night. I've always liked this pin and my low ball offer was agreeable to the seller YEAH:D

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps1790ee36.jpg

Stuffy McInnes October 1913 pencil drawing
 

Recent pick up from Hunt. A pencil drawing from October of 1913 of Stuffy McInnes. Evidently a local amateur artist in Philly at the time, Margaret McGillin drew about 20 of the A's players over a period of 1911-1914. I picked up two of these at The National in 1999 (Coombs and Oldring) and this is the first I have seen since. I believe that the family of McGillin consigned all of these originally to Hunt's in the late 90's. Glad to pick up my third.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps45331dfd.jpghttp://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...pscbd8ee9c.jpg

Here are my original two bought in 1999:

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...psbf605c6d.jpghttp://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps1c1a7694.jpg

Wow! Those are sweet Jeff! Congrats!

Fantastic pin Mike!

1999 Frank Thomas game used bat.

Pic #2

Tim Raines game used White Sox bat...

Pic #2 of the Raines....

Barry Larkin game used bat...

BL---

Adrian Beltre game used bat...

Ad 2

Jose Lima game used bat, signed twice....

Jl 2

Jl 3----...

Roberto Alomar game used Orioles bat...

Ra 2....

1973 Rich Billings Texas Rangers game worn jersey...

Rb 2.......

Craig Biggio game used bat-- can't remember if I've shared this one or not...

Biggio 2....

Nice jersey Nate!

Great scorecard. I was going through my own Cardinal scorecards earlier this year, doing the research on each game, and discovered I also had the Dizzy Dean debut game. After such a great first effort, I was surprised to see he didn't pitch again in the majors until 1932. Always nice to find a fellow Cardinal scorecard collector. I'm complete back through '26. The older ones before that are just impossible. I'll keep an eye out for a '34. Mine from that year is a 17-3 shellacking of the Cubs. I just picked up a nice companion piece for one of my scorecards from May '58. It was an original wire photo from the recent Yee auction showing Musial in the clubhouse after the game, heading to Chicago with 2,998 hits.

Hi, I had the exact same thoughts (confusion) on why Dean didn't pitch in the majors in '31. I can only assume they felt he needed more seasoning, even though he went 26-10 with a 1.57 ERA in the minors that year.

And yes, any Cards scorecards before 1928 or tough. I was stunned when I I found (and won) a 1916 - so old it was still at Robison Field. I also got lucky on a 1921 that was bundled with other teams in an auction and barely mentioned. If you'd care to see my collection, see my link in my signature and go to the scorecards page.

Finally, appreciate any help on the '34! I'll keep you in mind if I encounter any I think you may be interested in.

As good as Dean was, the Cardinals fielded a pretty terrific starting pitching staff in 1931. Look at their stats, as this was a tough pitching rotation to crack. Look at the ERA's and W-L records, FWIW... Jesse Haines had an off year in terms of wins and losses, but hell, he was a HOFer in the making

Player G GS CG SHO GF SV IP H BFP HR R ER BB IB SO SH WP HBP BK 2B 3B GDP ROE W L ERA
Paul Derringer 35 23 15 4 10 2 211.2 225 901 9 88 79 65 1i 134 11 6 4 0 27i 6i 12i 8i 18 8 3.36
Burleigh Grimes 29 28 17 3 1 0 212.1 240 914 11 97 86 59 4i 67 6 2 10 1 30i 7i 19i 10i 17 9 3.65
Jesse Haines 19 17 8 2 1 0 122.1 134 513 2 48 41 28 1i 27 3 4 0 0 15i 3i 9i 9i 12 3 3.02
Bill Hallahan 37 30 16 3 6 3 248.2 242 1061 10 102 91 112 3i 159 14 11 1 0 33i 8i 24i 13i 19 9 3.29
Syl Johnson 32 24 12 2 6 2 186 186 766 9 73 62 29 3i 82 7 3 2 0 39i 6i 12i 11i 11 9 3.00

Only the second time I've seen this issue of Tip Top Weekly featuring The Nebraska Indians.

Late Dec. pickup- Bob Feller 300th K 1946 scored program/scorebook
 

HOF Rapid Robert Feller had an amazing 18 year career that was interrupted for 3 years because of WWII.
Whether it was cracking the Indians pitching rotation as a high school teenager, 3 no-hitters, 12 1-hitters, multiple years leading the AL in wins, strikeouts, etc., there seemingly wasn't anything that Bob Feller couldn't do on a baseball diamond.

IMHO, 1946 was Feller's most dominant year in baseball. 26 wins (led league), 348 K's (led the ML and in 1946 was the most K's since HOF Rube Waddell's 349 K's in 1904, a no-hitter vs. the dominant Joe D. led Yankees and a stellar 3.07 ERA. I always have found that Feller having his most dominant season following a 3-year ML layoff due to serving in the Navy during WWII was especially impressive.

Ironically, 1946 would be the only year that Feller would ever crack the 300 strikeout mark in his great career. On September 8th, in the 2nd game of a double header, Feller got his 300th K. The milestone strikeout victim was none other than baseball and later soap opera star Johnny Berardino of the St. Louis Browns.

Several years ago I finally managed to find a ticket to Feller's 300th K game.
A few years before Mr. Feller passed away I had him sign the back of this ticket and add the inscription "300th K, 1946".

I recently found a neatly scored program/scorebook to Feller's 300th K game, which also was his 23rd victory in his 1946 campaign. This scorebook is especially cool because no play-by-play detail exists to this game (as per retrosheet.org).

Anyway, here you go:

Great scorecard Scott.

Cool Feller pieces Scott!

I agree. Very cool.

Agree, a great combination. Well done...

Great group of items Scott!

Thanks for all the kind words guys! I'm glad you like it.

It was a very slow year for me in terms of vintage pickups, but these snapshots helped me end on a high note. Sorry for the crude cell phone images, but apparently I should have asked Santa for a new scanner for Christmas.

[IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...an23/ruth1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...an23/ruth2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...an23/ruth3.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...an23/ruth4.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...an23/ruth5.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...an23/ruth6.jpg[/IMG]

Henry - I just received the Johnson lot with the uniform samples and broadsides. So did this small (5x7) one come out of one of Walter's scrapbooks? Thanks.

Yes.