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Originally Posted by drazz5
can someone explain the story behind the fitzgerald stamp? ive seen it referenced on here several times, but dont know much background info on it. Thanks
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We've had a few threads in the past on it. The only old quote with any type of definitive info (if you want to call it that) is this from JC posted back in 2008:
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Here is the story as it was told to me many years ago. In 1941, the daughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald sold all of his personal belongings at auction in Baltimore. Included in the sale was his boyhood baseball card collection consisting of over a thousand cards. The baseball cards were sold as one lot and the winning bidder was Harold Shigley.
Not only did he win the cards, he was also high bidder on his jewelry, typewriters, some of his furniture and many other items. As a child, Fitzgerald had stamped every card on the back with that black "F".
In the 1960s, Shigley traded away the Fitzgerald cards due to their mostly poor condition. I contacted his grandson a while back and he said the only one he kept was a T206 Jack Knight. Obviously, they have made their way into many different collections since then.
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Personally, until I see more proof of these being from Fitzgerald's collection or proof of the previously mentioned Baltimore auction, I think it's a stretch to connect this particular "F" stamp to the famed writer. Not enough concrete evidence exists to convince me these were once F. Scott's cards.
A few past threads discussing the stamp, including the last link in which a collector found the stamp on an Obak:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/15365...ott+Fitzgerald
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=146726
http://ww.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=169794