Open for Bidding - Love of the Game's Summer, 2023 Auction

[Al C.risafulli]

Hi everyone!

Happy to announce that the Love of the Game Summer Premier Auction is live and open for bidding.

I'm really excited about this auction, it's full of unique items and things you don't see every day.

My favorite item in the auction is the "Hellfire Boys" equipment collection, which is a grouping of YMCA, Knights of Columbus, and other bats that were discovered in France. In 1917, Clark Griffith organized a nationwide fundraiser to send athletic equipment to American troops stationed overseas, and that's what this collection represents - nine bats, three chest protectors and three masks, all in a wooden trunk. Among the bats are two Ty Cobb bats and an Eddie Collins. It's a great piece.

We've also got what's probably our most extensive 19th Century selection ever.

Part of the 19th Century selection includes a large run of N172 Hall of Famers, and a number of Old Judge proof cabinets, along with a large selection (!) of Whitehead & Hoag/Cameo Pepsin pins.

There are a number of rare cards, highlighted by a 1923-24 Tomas Gutierrez card of Oscar Charleston, graded VG/EX 4 by SGC.

One of the most interesting is a newly-discovered 1955 Topps Hocus Focus Lou Gehrig. This is one of what we believe to be just two known examples. Crazy to think that the most rare Lou Gehrig card was made by Topps, but here we are.

And probably the most fun and interesting part of the auction, at least to me, is a world class grouping of cabinets, photos, and postcards featuring women in baseball around the turn of the century. I'll admit that prior to the auction I had very little knowledge about this topic, but there's so much to learn! Please check out the section and read some of the descriptions, there is some fascinating history there that we don't get to read about very often.

The auction closes August 19. A link to the full auction is here:

https://bid.loveofthegameauctions.com/Lots/Gallery

Good luck to those bidding and consigning!

-Al

PS - as you scroll today, you may find some missing descriptions. We had an internet outage at the office last night, so we'll be adding those descriptions as the day goes by today.