October autograph pickups.

[CooperstownExpert]

Let's see what everyone picks up this month. There's bound to be some very cool things.

Here are three pieces I've picked up in the last few days.

The first two pieces are Heilbroner Baseball Bureau information cards. Louis Helibroner was the Cardinals manager in 1900 and later opened up the first statistical bureau devoted entirely to baseball. The first of the two cards is filled out by MLB's first 30-homer, 30-stolen base man, Ken Williams. It was signed in 1914, a year before his big league debut. Here's the link to Ken Williams' page on the CooperstownExpert site.

The second is filled out and signed by Wes Ferrell as a 19-year old just before his MLB debut. Here's the link to Ferrell's page. Neither player's autograph is at all rare, but it was neat to find something from so early in their lives and careers.

The bottom image is a contract for Bill Dickey to appear in The Stratton Story" starring Jimmy Stewart as pitcher Monty Stratton who, despite having his leg amputated in 1938 at age 26, pitched in the minors until age 41. Stratton's page on the site can be accessed here while Dickey's is here.

Sorry the images are a bit uneven.

The years have passed quickly. I stared collecting high school and now all of a sudden it's been 35 years. Everything on the CooperstownExerpt.com pages is still in the collection.