New member to Net54 - showing off my first prewar acquisition!

[edhou1]

Hi all, new member to Net54 and first post here so glad to meet everyone.

Have been into modern cards for a while now but have been gravitating more and more to pre-war cards and especially memorabilia which I think are really cool and for the most part relatively unique. Am trying to get items relating to the great NY area teams of the 1st quarter of the 20th century.

I just got a new item delivered in which I just wanted to show off and perhaps get the expertise of the guys here since I know comparatively little about pre-war player contracts (was basically a redemption item from Tristar Quest, I chose this over a Mantle -Whitey-Yogi-Bauer autographed ball because I figure I might never see this type of item again).


1925 Heinie Groh NL player contract!
Not signed by Groh but signed by Charles Stoneham, Giants President. Seems like the elder Stoneham's signature is fairly scarce.











Any experts on player contracts out there that would like to share their knowledge on what I exactly have here? is this a duplicate contract that the Giants org basically holds in their secretarial offices? Can't find any direct comparables out there for this type of stuff and really want to know if I got a real gem here, or if this is perhaps something that since it's unsigned by the player that it is not in demand at all.

Thanks for any info!
Ed

[JoeDfan]

That is an awesome piece!!!!

It is also the first time I have ever actually read the "reserve clause" in a major league contract.
That is a really cool start to your prewar collection!

[Scott Garner]

Hi Edward,
Welcome to net54. Great contract!

[vintagesportscollector]

Welcome Ed, great piece!

[ooo-ribay]

Welcome, Ed!!!!

[David Atkatz]

That's Groh's own copy of the contract, Ed. No need for the player to sign his own copy. Also, the player's copy is not filed through the League office, so it is not signed by the League president, either.
Player's copies are not very sought-after, as they lack the crucial signatures, Not much call for a contract not signed by the player.

[Mark]

Seems extremely cool to me. And not a bad salary, either.

[Nashvol]

Awesome piece!

[edhou1]

Thanks guys for the welcome, info, and kind words.

From doing research and asking around, it seems likely that this contract is either Groh's personal copy for the signed 1925 season or a version of the contract offer that he declined to sign/return.

Either way, even though it is of likely minimal secondary market value, I think its a cool PC item from the 1920s that could appeal to both Reds or Giants fans and I really enjoy it, and isn't that what our hobby is about?

Now I just need to figure out how to store and/or display it....