Pittsburgh Pirate Experts: What Have I Got Here?
 

I picked up this item in a big antique mall, it was just weird enough to be interesting and priced well enough to be impossible to resist.

What it appears to me to be is a life cast of a pitcher's hand and forearm detailed enough that you can make out scars, callouses, and fingerprints. The pose appears to be a pitching grip, possible a change up grip and the ring finger shows what definitely appears to be a 1971 Pirates World Series ring.

The entire piece is painted brown, leading me to believe that it might have been of an African-American pitcher.

Anyone with any idea or leads on this?

Gnarly, weird & cool!
Dock Ellis?
The hand looks pretty thick to be his though...

I think I've seen that hand before, ah yes it was in The Addams Family.

Cousin It!

The detail is spooky. Any bone inside of it? :eek:

Rob M

71buc?

That's great.

I've come across a similar item on eBay by mistake...

Here's one of Willie Mays ( not my auction )

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Willie-Mays...YAAOSwA2hZxvon


It's kinda neat, but creepy at the same time. It's a fine line.

I am guessing that's a cast of Steve Blass by Denver sculptor Raelee Frazier. She did the Ralph Kiner Bronze at PNC. It would make sense that they would have considered Blass for a similar tribute due to his 71 Series performance. Here is the artist's facebook page https://m.facebook.com/raelee.frazier and her online gallery http://allstarcasts.com/index.html if you want to ask her if it is her work. I saw quite a few of her casts for auction a number of years ago at Lelands. https://lelands.com/lots/lots?image=...tledescription They were in the December 2011 catalog. Heritage sold one as well. You looking to move it? If so I'm your guy.


https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball-c...a/7123-83531.s

Mike, thanks for the lead, I will check it out...I think you might be on to something as I found this in Colorado Springs. Will post back if I find out anything.

Thanks to all for the comments, yes, it's definitely got an Addams vibe but the detail makes it pretty cool nonetheless.

No not Cousin It, its Thing!

Right! ;)

And Cousin Itt is actually spelled with two t's. (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

You’re thinking of Mel Ott. ;)

Mel Itt

Attachment 320858

Now THAT is funny! A classic... :D

So Jerry was kind enough to sell this item to me. It definitely fits my collection. However, I was very wrong about Blass. The ring is in fact a 1971 ring. However the name stamped on the ring is GOTT. The only Gott who pitched for the Pirates was Jim who started his MLB career in 1982. I suspect that this ring rests on the hand of a chubby organizational emoyee not a player.

So, the ring is not part of the orinal casting? It was added? And why would a 1971 ring have the name of a player who played a decade later? I’m confused. :confused:

The ring is part of the cast. I believe the owner of the ring "Gott" was not a player he was likely a member of the front office or an organizational guy.

Edwin h. Gott
 

There was an Edward H. Gott who was on the Board of the Pittsburgh Pirates, probably at that time, and who was once the Chairman and CEO of US. Steel.
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/29/o...-chairman.html

I have to believe that is very likely the source of the cast. Thanks for the assist.

OK. It makes sense to me now. Odd, though, that a Board of Directors guy would have a cast made. Vanity?

Here is a profile and pic of Ed Gott from Lehigh University if you want to know more. States he was CEO of US Steel from 1969 to 1973.

https://www.lehigh.edu/engineering/a...umni/gott.html

Gott also has a lake freighter originally built by U.S. Steel in 1979 named after him, the "MV Edwin H. Gott" that still exists in the Great Lakes.

It looks like his son Edwin Gott Jr. lives in Colorado Springs now, which would tie together the original assertion that it came from Colorado Springs... maybe son didn't want his dad's pitching arm sitting around the house anymore?

I'm intrigued by the whole weirdness of this haha.

My guess, is maybe he was doing it as a particular study (such as casting) or helping out a friend for a project. Then Gott probably kept it as a neat souvenir.

OR...

Commissioning this arm piece could really tie the rug together in his office...lol

That is incredibly weird. Reminds me of a really strange event I attended in Chicago back in the 1990's - it was a hippie-esque evening of no alcohol and weird stories related to music in the 1960's. Long John Baldry was the emcee and the main even was Cynthia Plaster Caster. Glad I went, but glad there was no alcohol and no available plaster :eek:

Great pick-up Mike.

Looks like a Republican to me! ( sorry, no pachyderm emogie available) :D


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Ah, the ole Plaster Caster. Talk about somebody with some unique celebrity stories!

Rob M.

Wow what an odd piece. Found its way to the right collection