Amazing Autograph Find - Need Help With It Please

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Posted By: Tom Hufford

Just like in card collecting, the autographs of Hall of Famers usually get most of the attention, but aren't always the scarce ones (yea, Wagner and Plank get the attention in T206, but then there's Demmitt, O'Hara, Magie; and Hoblitzell, Lowdermilk, Irving Lewis, Mike Mitchell, Peaches Graham, etc. that are the toughies in other sets.

The "value" in this signed team sheet is obviously in the Bresnahan (the first of the 3 HOFers on the sheet to die). But, while he is expensive, he certainly shouldn't be considered rare. The fact that he was associated with the Toledo team later in life means that he is somewhat readily available (although costly) on signed contracts, player transfers, etc. Mack and Young are easy to obtain, since they were accessible and lived until the mid-1950's.

Frank Gilhooley isn't a common autograph, but they turn up every once in a while. He was active in the Toledo area as the deputy county treasurer for a number of years (died in 1959) and his son worked for the Toledo club for a long time.

Bresnahan is much more common than the Topsy Hartsel, even though they both died in 1944. Face it - more people asked a star player for his autograph than a non-star. Hartsel had a long career, and sometimes turns up on a team sheet or ball.

The rarest signature on this sheet is the player no one else has identified - Peter Robert McShannic (died in 1946). Pete played 3B for the 1888 Pittsburg Alleghenys (a teammate of Jake Beckley, Billy Sunday, and Pud Galvin). The only other signature of his that I have ever seen is the one that I have, that was obtained from his family many years ago. There may be other McShannic autographs out there, but there are at least 50-100x more Bresnahans.

[jtschantz]

I came across this thread when looking for Frank Gilhooley Sr. (his son the Mud Hens broadcaster passed last week) items and have done some reasearch on this event that took place in Toledo in 1943. I have a copy of the Toledo Blade article that I can email (can't figure out how to link it here) to whomever started this thread. The guest at the Boys Club event included, Connie Mack, Cy Young, Roger Breshenhan and Frank Gilhooley Sr.