I thought I would take a few moments to draft up a summary of my recent interaction with George Spencer, pitcher for the 1951 New York Giants baseball club. Last year I acquired a vintage 1950’s St. Cloud Rox game used flannel jersey. The St. Cloud Rox were a professional minor league baseball team that existed from 1946 to 1971 in the Northern League. The team was located in St. Cloud, Minnesota and was affiliated with the New York Giants from 1946 to 1957, the San Francisco Giants from 1958 to 1959, the Chicago Cubs from 1960 to 1964 and the Minnesota Twins from 1965 to 1971. Hall of Fame players Lou Brock, Orlando Cepeda and Gaylord Perry all played for the Rox.
My interest in this item was obvious, as I collect vintage Minnesota related baseball artifacts. It was very common for the big league club to send their uniforms down to both their Class A team (Minneapolis Millers) and Class C team (St. Cloud Rox). In fact, Monte Irvin’s 1955 road NY Giants uniform was sent down to Minneapolis with him that year. It was apparent that this jersey was made for and worn by George Spencer during the 1951 baseball season. The jersey is tagged 1951 set 2, chained stitched in the neck line “Spencer 30” and everything outside of the name change on the front is all original.
Last summer I decided to take a chance and write George a letter regarding this uniform. I googled his address and sent it off. No more than 10 days later I received a response back in the mail from his wife, Billie (letter attached). Over the next few months George, Billie and I spoke over the phone about memories of his baseball career, stories about the 1951 NL Pennant game, the 1951 World Series and life in general. I even found out that George and Billie lived only a few blocks from where I currently reside now in Minneapolis while George was pitching for the Minneapolis Millers in 1953 & 1954.
A few weeks ago I sent the uniform to George to autograph for me. I received it yesterday and it turned out fantastic! I was a little nervous at first as I’ve only heard nightmares about getting signatures on wool jerseys. Anyhow, my experience throughout this process has been amazing. George & Billie are great people, very friendly and a blast to talk to. The stories they shared were fun to listen to and easily my favorite part of this entire experience. I’m looking forward to a trip soon to Ohio to listen to more baseball memories over a cold one on Spencer family porch.
Cheers!
http://www.examiner.com/article/gian...he-1951-season