Best...Find....Ever

[Lordstan]

Ok. I am really excited to have been able to acquire this grouping of items.

It all started with this photo. I purchased it last year from a fellow collector. I cam to find out through him that this was from 1934. I depicted the winners of the Quaker Oats Prize contest with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Little did I know what would happen.
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I am so psyched to have acquired the collection and mementos from one of the young boys that was there that day.

Robert Coleman, 9, from Des Moines Iowa, was one of the First Prize winners who was brought to NY to go to 2 games and meet Ruth. All the items that follow are from the collection. There a lot of photos, so I will probably need more than one post to put them all up. Please wait until I get them all up to comment.

First up is the contest coupon booklet. Apparently there were weekly entries. Each coupon would be sent in with 2 box tops. The bottom photo shows how it looks totally unfolded. I photoshopped the pieces together to give you the effect. It appears, young Robert submitted weeks 4, 5, and 11.








Next up is the telegram he received informing him of his prize and some of the things to come. One thing that strikes me is that he got word he won and only has a week to get ready. No months of planning. Simple.




They followed that up with a letter detailing his travel plans and itinerary. There was a money order, but I am sure that was spent.






Next up are some snapshots the family took along the way with details written on the back. I didn't look at the one with the players up close to see if anyone could be identified, but I will.




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Cool stuff right. Wait. it gets better.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Mark, that photo is a beauty.

[JoeyFarino]

Mark thats pretty damn cool. To be able to hear first hand from someone who was actually there is amazing. Congrats buddy

[Lordstan]

So. Up next are the programs from both games Robert attended with his father. No tickets as they probably weren't issued them as VIPs. Inside the scorecards are the newspaper articles about each of the games and the second one has an article from his hometown newspaper, I think, about his experience.







And now the BEST of it all...These are scrapbook pages from his album with multiple full 8x10s original photos depicting his experience.

First up is a radio party in his hometown announcing his contest win.


Next up is a photo of Ruth and Robert probably from the dinner with Ruth at the Waldorf on Aug 3.


Robert with Ruth and Gehrig with Babe giving him some batting pointers. It was used for the newspaper article.


Next is him on rooftop of Penn hotel in Manhattan.


Article and write of event.


Another original copy of the group photo that I showed at the top.


All the kids and their families on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.


I am soooo psyched to get this all together. A time capsule flashback to a more simple and innocent time. Really cool.

[ooo-ribay]

Amazing karma! Congrats on your fantastic find!

[Scott Garner]

So cool!! Congrats Mark!

[Lordstan]

Thanks guys

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[granite75]

Amazing. I am sure you were only slightly less excited than a kid winning a trip to New York to meet Babe Ruth.

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[Topnotchsy]

Amazing when the pieces come together like that! Thanks for sharing.

[vintagesportscollector]

Awesome, Mark! Congrats.

[sporteq]

Hey Mark- that came out of Legendary Auctions. It's a great group!

[thetruthisoutthere]

Outstanding!!!

[71buc]

Wonderful collection congratulations!

[icollectDCsports]

Mindblowing. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

In the photo showing Coleman with Ruth and Gehrig on the dugout steps, looks like Larrupin Lou is holding a pen -- getting ready to autograph the ball in his other hand for the kid.

[39special]

Great stuff Mark!

[Lordstan]

Thanks everyone. I really love it. I also noticed that the 2 photos of Ruth Gehrig with the kids as actually slightly different. Same angle and probably same photographer, but a second or two later.

Yes. I did notice Gehrig with the pen and ball. I am so amazed to have found this by accident.

[Shoeless Moe]

Awesome!!!!

[parker1b2]

Unbelievable find. Congrats!!!

[Lordstan]

I found the original Legendary auction from Nov 2103 auction.

I only paid a little more than this, but am not sure why it didn't end way higher than that.

http://legendaryauctions.com/LotDeta...ntoryid=161698

[billyb]

Mark,
That is a great collection. That bit of history could not have found a better home.
Now for the big question? What has to come down off the wall to display that collection?

[sporteq]

Originally Posted by Lordstan

I found the original Legendary auction from Nov 2103 auction.

I only paid a little more than this, but am not sure why it didn't way higher than that.

http://legendaryauctions.com/LotDeta...ntoryid=161698

Mark- I believe you paid a small fraction for this amazing collection. How are you going to display these relics?

Albert

[Mark70Z]

That is an awesome grouping. Thanks so much for sharing.

Please, if you display, please post a picture. That would make for such a great display.

[Leon]

Congrats Mark. This is so neat I copied it to the front page.. Hope that was ok?....

[GoCubsGo32]

Whoa! Congrats Mark! Killer find! It's special to see it all group together. Is that Ruth photo signed?

[RichardSimon]

I get a little jaded about finds after so many years in this hobby but this just deserves a WOW!

[kdixon]

Enjoyed this thread a lot. Congrats.

[Lordstan]

Thanks everyone. I have yet to figure out how best to display it all, but once I do, I will certainly post it

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[hcv123]

Really appreciate the incredible combination of items - telling a great story from days gone by - "be sure to write immediately if anything isn't clear" -

[VintageBucs]

Incredible! Congratulations and thanks for sharing

[Scott Garner]

Mark,
I just looked at this thread again.
I've got to tell you that this is definitely your best thread and probably my favorite that I ever read on net54!

BTW, your boy Lou Gehrig hit two HR's in the Yankees game on August 3rd, 1934 and the Big Bam went yard in the 2nd game that the contest winners attended while in NY on August 4th! Not too bad...

Too cool!!!!

[CarltonHendricks]

Congrats on a really great p/u!!!!...I really enjoyed reading the itinerary letter and all it's detail...You can just imagine how thrilled the kid was...And the dinner with Ruth was really something!

[Al C.risafulli]

Holy cow, this is INCREDIBLE.

-Al

[Lordstan]

Thanks again everyone. I am really excited as well to get this.

Scott,
Thanks for the kind words. It really is a special grouping. I mean, really, what are the odds that all of this stuff would stay together for all this time intact?
I keep looking at the items and can't keep from smiling.

Mark

[pcoz]

Fxx CI it


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[PeterR]

Hey I know I'm new here, but I had to make a profile simply because of how amazing this is. The boy kneeling down in the first picture happens to be my grandfather, another winner of the contest. His name was Douglas and he was from Toronto. I'm not particularly knowledgeable as far as this memorabilia stuff goes, but my grandma recently died and when cleaning her place out we found 2 pictures, one of which is signed, in similar poses as you have. We have one like the one where he is standing next to Babe and Lou at the game, and another one where Babe is shaking his hand after the restaurant visit. The one we have that looks signed is the one where he's shaking his hand, since it seems like yours has a signature in the same place to I was wondering if you knew whether it was an authentic original signature, or just a copy? Thanks, this information is so interesting!

[icollectDCsports]

Originally Posted by PeterR

Hey I know I'm new here, but I had to make a profile simply because of how amazing this is. The boy kneeling down in the first picture happens to be my grandfather, another winner of the contest. His name was Douglas and he was from Toronto. I'm not particularly knowledgeable as far as this memorabilia stuff goes, but my grandma recently died and when cleaning her place out we found 2 pictures, one of which is signed, in similar poses as you have. We have one like the one where he is standing next to Babe and Lou at the game, and another one where Babe is shaking his hand after the restaurant visit. The one we have that looks signed is the one where he's shaking his hand, since it seems like yours has a signature in the same place to I was wondering if you knew whether it was an authentic original signature, or just a copy? Thanks, this information is so interesting!

Wow. So cool!

[Dewey]

Super cool. Welcome, Peter. I hope you get the answers you're looking for.

[lrspaulp]

Mark,

This is amazing. I purchased a Quaker oats Babe Ruth photo a few weeks ago that kids received when they joined. My buddy has all the books as well. Great stuff, congrats.

[ramram]

Originally Posted by PeterR

Hey I know I'm new here, but I had to make a profile simply because of how amazing this is. The boy kneeling down in the first picture happens to be my grandfather, another winner of the contest. His name was Douglas and he was from Toronto. I'm not particularly knowledgeable as far as this memorabilia stuff goes, but my grandma recently died and when cleaning her place out we found 2 pictures, one of which is signed, in similar poses as you have. We have one like the one where he is standing next to Babe and Lou at the game, and another one where Babe is shaking his hand after the restaurant visit. The one we have that looks signed is the one where he's shaking his hand, since it seems like yours has a signature in the same place to I was wondering if you knew whether it was an authentic original signature, or just a copy? Thanks, this information is so interesting!

Very cool. Keeping this near the top so that hopefully he gets his answer.

Rob M.

[Lordstan]

I responded to him already, but for everyone else, the auto is secretarial.

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[callou2131]

Amazing. the way the trip is chronicled, I can just imagine the sense of wonder and amazement of a 9 year old boy coming from the corn fields of Iowa to go to New york and hang out with the biggest celebrity of the day. No TV no Internet, everything must have seen like it was whole other world.

[PeterR]

Hey guys thanks for your interest, it truly is amazing what the internet can do. Mark and I have exchanged pictures, I think we both found something we’ll both really be able to appreciate. If any of you are interested I’ll give you a short synopsis on the whole story. My Grandfather was 13 and living in Toronto when he won the contest to meet Babe Ruth in New York. My great Grandmother was the mastermind behind his plan to send in multiple entries. When she received the telegram saying my Grandfather won, she went to find him outside and was running over a hill and yelling the news. There were 4 kids in the family and his 16 year old brother was the lucky one chosen to be the chaperone on the trip. I don’t think anyone would let that happen today. Here are some copies of the pictures that we have of my Grandfather.
Babe and Grampa watermark.jpg
Babe Lou and Grampa watermark.jpg

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by PeterR

Hey guys thanks for your interest, it truly is amazing what the internet can do. Mark and I have exchanged pictures, I think we both found something we’ll both really be able to appreciate. If any of you are interested I’ll give you a short synopsis on the whole story. My Grandfather was 13 and living in Toronto when he won the contest to meet Babe Ruth in New York. My great Grandmother was the mastermind behind his plan to send in multiple entries. When she received the telegram saying my Grandfather won, she went to find him outside and was running over a hill and yelling the news. There were 4 kids in the family and his 16 year old brother was the lucky one chosen to be the chaperone on the trip. I don’t think anyone would let that happen today. Here are some copies of the pictures that we have of my Grandfather.
Attachment 273452
Attachment 273453

Those pictures are amazing, thank you for posting them.

[pherbener]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Those pictures are amazing, thank you for posting them.

Agreed! Thanks so much for sharing!!

[Lordstan]

Very nice Peter. It's great to see us connect with history as that is what collecting is all about.
Glad I could help give you guys some additional information.

[SyrNy1960]

Speechless! Wow! And how awesome that it brought Mark and Peter to connect in this way! Thanks for sharing!

[da-bullman]

The responsibility of protecting an event left behind in ephemeral is often lost. But, when a collector assumes custodial responsibility the memories live on. Thank You for keeping a wonderful story alive !!! Please visit my web site www.1939baseball.com All the Best Steve

[GoCubsGo32]

a great story and find...that got even better! How cool! Thanks for sharing!

[Jay Wolt]

Fantastic thread!

[GrayGhost]

Just read this all the way through. Awesome stuff and a connection too. !!!