Who or what is Lew Stick?

[Al C.risafulli]

Thanks for all the feedback thus far.

I'm not sure I'm in agreement with the consensus at this point, for a couple of reasons. The primary one is that Tesreau and Criger never played together, and I can't really see a reason why the two players would have even known each other.

One secondary reason would be that to me, the handwriting doesn't look the same as Tesreau's signature. Another would be that the poster was actually signed in 1930, long after both players' careers were over and while Criger was ill - I'm not sure it would have been the appropriate time for Tesreau to take a shot at Criger's hitting ability.

All that being said, I have not been able to come up with any better working theories on this, so I can still be convinced of anything at this point!

-Al

[frankbmd]

Lew Stick invented fishing poles.


Lew's Custom Speed Stick "Squarebill" SBC 6'9" Medium Heavy Crankbait Rod
is shown below

[Pat R]

Al, not sure what it might mean but is it possible it could read "slick stick new stick? Maybe in reference to the use of pine tar on a new bat.

[Wite3]

I wonder if it was in reference to Criger losing a leg later in life and walking with a "stick".

Joshua

[mybuddyinc]

I agree it is a "rib."

But, could it have been written by "Nuf Ced" the Royal Router, just above Tesreau signature.

"Nuf Ced" would have had interactions with Criger during his career, and by his name and antics, was definitely a "joker." Then Tesreau squeezed his name in.

BTW --------- UNREAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jay Wolt]

Don't know the answer but that is one kick ass piece

[Bruinsfan94]

Originally Posted by mybuddyinc

I agree it is a "rib."

But, could it have been written by "Nuf Ced" the Royal Router, just above Tesreau signature.

"Nuf Ced" would have had interactions with Criger during his career, and by his name and antics, was definitely a "joker." Then Tesreau squeezed his name in.

BTW --------- UNREAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with that idea. I think its 100% an inside joke between players. It looks like Tesreau's autograph was squeezed in after the other item was written.

Did you identify the others listed on your site?

[griffon512]

i think, as others have written, that the phrase is "slick stick, lew stick." lew is possibly a play on words - a replacement for the word "glue" in its intended meaning. if stick is referring to a bat (which most agree on), the context for slick and glue makes sense and reinforces the idea of an inside joke/play on words, with glue having the opposite effect of a slick bat. "lew" and "glue" are a play on words as part of the inside joke, with the misspelling of lew unclear as to whether it was unintended are not. basically the translation of the inside joke is "slick stick, glue stick" possibly making light of criger's inability with the bat as a friendly rib as others have alluded to.

couple other things that might reinforce the idea it's an inside joke. one other comical reference in the piece is "cheer leader." it looks like tesreau might have been the one to write "cheer leader." maybe he was in a comical mood, or was a jokester in general. i couldn't find many autographed pieces from tesreau but here's an example with an loa from psa: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeff-Tesreau...-/371331540269

the composition of the "h" in the link above and in the "cheer leader" reference seems similar and has some uniqueness to it in its form. the composition of the "r" in the "yours" part of "sincerely yours" is more well formed and looks much more like the two "r's" in "cheer leader" than the "r" in "tesreau." might just mean that tesreau had different compositions for a "r" whether he was taking time to write a word out versus scribbling his last name quickly. an autograph expert could probably poke holes at this, but...

finally, i found that the nickname "jeff" is itself a joke. it was given to him by sportswriters in reference to the "half-pint" character "jeff" in the "mutt and jeff" comic strip series. tesreau was a big, imposing spitball (maybe the spitball was part of the inside joke) pitcher at 6'2'' tall. tesreau could apparently take a joke as he took on the nickname of jeff. here's a link to this reference on pp. 104-105: https://books.google.com/books?id=Rt...signed&f=false

alright, i've written enough quotations for many months and admit that there are a lot of suppositions in what i wrote but it's my best guess.

[iwantitiwinit]

I don't think slick is one of the words written. I zoomed in on the image and you can clearly see the transverse crossing the t in all three words. I think what is leading many people to think the first word is possibly slick is that there is spacing between the up and down on the "t" it is looped a bit. That spacing is most prevalent on the first stick however, it is also a bit prevalent on the last stick, but they are both clearly crossed.

If I had to bet I think Al's original guess is right it's Stick, Stick, Lew, Stick. Additionally, I think the handwriting on the signature does match the inscription, look closely at the thickness of the writing and the boldness of the writing in both the signature and the inscription the pressure that was applied seems to be identical. Lastly, I think Tesreau inscribed it because the signature and inscription fit neatly in the space indicating to me he planned what he was going to write, began at the top with his signature then completed the inscription. I don't think someone wrote the inscription first then he wrote his name in above. If the inscription was written first by someone else they would have begun it higher within the space not planning to have someone write a signature above it.

[griffon512]

an alternative and simpler explanation for the "cheer leader" is it was written by fred hoey (in box close to cheer leader), who was a broadcaster for the boston braves in 1930 and might have called the game (i.e., was a cheer leader for these old timers).

i'm still sticking to original premise that "lew" was an unintentional or intentional misspelling for "lou" as part of an inside joke. the inside joke is "slick stick, glue [lew] stick," probably as a play on criger's batting abilities.

fwiw, and continuing the reach , there was a "mutt and jeff" animated short called "slick sleuth" in 1926. as mentioned before, tesreau's nickname of jeff came from this comic strip.