Share your research stories. Here's mine...

[thekingofclout]

One thing about the hobby that I really enjoy is to research pieces in my collection. Not only can it be very rewarding, it doesn't cost ya a dime. Not to mention that the info you dig up can make for great conversations and sometimes even add value to your piece!

I'll kick it off with this Gehrig signed postcard that I got in summer of last year. I was so thrilled just to win this piece I never even gave the hotel that this postcard originates from a second look, until... a couple weeks ago.

I pulled the Gehrig postcard out of the vault and was enjoying it and then it hit me... I wonder what's the story with this Book-Cadillac Hotel?

So after a quick visit to Wikipedia I started reading about the interesting history about this luxury hotel and the Book Brothers whom built it.

Once I hit the third paragraph, I came upon something that flat out stopped me cold and left my jaw hanging open...

"On May 2, 1939, a meeting took place in this lobby between Lou Gehrig and Joe McCarthy, Gehrig told McCarthy to leave him out of the starting line-up ending his 2,130 consecutive games streak."

Now, I will never be able to pinpoint my Gehrig/Jimmy postcard to that fateful day, but it sure as hell makes for a great story!

Let's hear about your research findings.


gehrigjimmyfront.jpggehrigjimmyAUTO.jpg

Further research has led to this letter. Ironic that the letter is from Wm. Chittenden to the Mgr. of the Book-Cadillac Hotel in 1928 and that Chittenden became the Mgr. of the Book-Cadillac at the time Gehrig signed the postcard!
BOOK-CADILLAC-HOTEL-LETTER.jpg

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by thekingofclout

One thing about the hobby that I really enjoy is to research pieces in my collection. Not only can it be very rewarding, it doesn't cost ya a dime. Not to mention that the info you dig up can make for great conversations and sometimes even add value to your piece!

I'll kick it off with this Gehrig signed postcard that I got in summer of last year. I was so thrilled just to win this piece I never even gave the hotel that this postcard originates from a second look, until... a couple weeks ago.

I pulled the Gehrig postcard out of the vault and was enjoying it and then it hit me... I wonder what's the story with this Book-Cadillac Hotel?

So after a quick visit to Wikipedia I started reading about the interesting history about this luxury hotel and the Book Brothers whom built it.

Once I hit the third paragraph, I came upon something that flat out stopped me cold and left my jaw hanging open...

"On May 2, 1939, a meeting took place in this lobby between Lou Gehrig and Joe McCarthy, Gehrig told McCarthy to leave him out of the starting line-up ending his 2,130 consecutive games streak."

Now, I will never be able to pinpoint my Gehrig/Jimmy postcard to that fateful day, but it sure as hell makes for a great story!

Let's hear about your research findings.


Attachment 27251Attachment 27252

Further research has led to this letter. Ironic that the letter is from Wm. Chittenden to the Mgr. of the Book-Cadillac Hotel in 1928 and that Chittenden became the Mgr. of the Book-Cadillac at the time Gehrig signed the postcard!
Attachment 27254

WOW! Tremendous research Jimmy!! This takes what is already an unbelievable piece because of the signature (signed to Jimmy, no less!), and moves it into the upper stratosphere as far as historic collectibles go.

Two additional comments:
I may be reaching, but....Is there any chance that William J. Chittenden went by the nickname of Jimmy? What did the "J" stand for if not James or "Jimmy"? .

BTW, the Detroit-Leland building (Cass and Bagley streets where Chittenden was the mgr. in 1928) is still in Detroit. Ironically, it's the parking lot that I use when I attend games up at Detroit Comerica Park. What a coincidence...

Congrats!

[sayhey24]

Wow Jimmy, that's already one of the best pieces in the hobby, now this new information is icing on the cake!

Greg

[hcv123]

So I buy this pin in an auction ~10 years ago. I ask everyone I know including most of the major "oddball" guys and no one has seen it. It looks too good, too professional and too different to be a countereit or newer knockoff. Over the years I find about 5 more - different players similar style. Last year I did a post here that led to someone contacting me with a letter from a guy who supposedly knew the source of the pins. He shares in his letter that the guy who photographed them, the guys brother and nephew were all photographers and the original negatives supposedly still exist. Out of respect for the family he does not mention his name. From the rest of the background information I am able to take a stab at who the nephew is - currently a professional photographer. I call him and after getting just past the idea that I must be a whacko calling him out of the blue and asking about his uncles work, he confirms his uncle took the photos, the pins were never publicly issued - just a few to friends, he still has the negatives and has no interest in speaking to me ever again :-) I was so excited to finally know the pins origin, I had a smile on my face for a couple of days. I still can't imagine what the guy must have thought about my call - even after I explained that I am a collector.

-Howard

[3and2]

Great research Jimmy and hcv123...I think the bulk of my research has come when purchasing regular season tickets. Usually, I come up empty but good research has revealed I've picked up some nice Mantle HR games, double digit strikeout Gibson, Seaver, etc.

I also appreciate the research that fellow members do for one another on the side.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by hcv123

So I buy this pin in an auction ~10 years ago. I ask everyone I know including most of the major "oddball" guys and no one has seen it. It looks too good, too professional and too different to be a countereit or newer knockoff. Over the years I find about 5 more - different players similar style. Last year I did a post here that led to someone contacting me with a letter from a guy who supposedly knew the source of the pins. He shares in his letter that the guy who photographed them, the guys brother and nephew were all photographers and the original negatives supposedly still exist. Out of respect for the family he does not mention his name. From the rest of the background information I am able to take a stab at who the nephew is - currently a professional photographer. I call him and after getting just past the idea that I must be a whacko calling him out of the blue and asking about his uncles work, he confirms his uncle took the photos, the pins were never publicly issued - just a few to friends, he still has the negatives and has no interest in speaking to me ever again :-) I was so excited to finally know the pins origin, I had a smile on my face for a couple of days. I still can't imagine what the guy must have thought about my call - even after I explained that I am a collector.

-Howard

Howard,
That's a great looking Clemente pin- congrats!

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by hcv123

So I buy this pin in an auction ~10 years ago. I ask everyone I know including most of the major "oddball" guys and no one has seen it. It looks too good, too professional and too different to be a countereit or newer knockoff. Over the years I find about 5 more - different players similar style. Last year I did a post here that led to someone contacting me with a letter from a guy who supposedly knew the source of the pins. He shares in his letter that the guy who photographed them, the guys brother and nephew were all photographers and the original negatives supposedly still exist. Out of respect for the family he does not mention his name. From the rest of the background information I am able to take a stab at who the nephew is - currently a professional photographer. I call him and after getting just past the idea that I must be a whacko calling him out of the blue and asking about his uncles work, he confirms his uncle took the photos, the pins were never publicly issued - just a few to friends, he still has the negatives and has no interest in speaking to me ever again :-) I was so excited to finally know the pins origin, I had a smile on my face for a couple of days. I still can't imagine what the guy must have thought about my call - even after I explained that I am a collector.

-Howard

That's a great story Howard. Now you got me wondering who the photographer was. And what a terrific image that is of the Great One.

[Abravefan11]

Some of you may remember this but earlier this year I came across a photo in the local libraries collection of the NY Giants. I posted the image on the board in hopes of confirming the libraries year and possibly identifying the park where it was taken. It was a great thread and fun research but it went to another level when Mark Fimoff connected the image to the same photo session used for the Fatima T200.

Link to the thread Here

[mcgwirecom]

Not a real thrilling story but is kinda neat...

A few months ago I saw a game used ball on Ebay. It's a Warren Giles NL ball. It has the notation that it was a foul tip from Dale Long of the Pirates. I know Dale was the first guy to homer in 8 consecutive games which is the record and has been tied twice by Mattingly and Griffey Jr. The ball was also dated 5/29/56. Upon researching the date it turns out that the date was the game after his 8th consecutive HR game. If he had gotten better hold of this foul tip it could have been nine games! LOL. Just seemed pretty neat to me.

[Exhibitman]

A couple of interesting (at least to me ) stories:

I bought this Pebble Beach O'Doul at the 2006 National. The back has a name ___ Dempsey on it. Turns out it used to belong to PCL legend and brief MLB player Con Dempsey, who got it as a kid in San Francisco! So I got an O'doul PB card autographed by Con Dempsey too.



Bob Steele was a cowboy movie star in the 1920s and 1930s. Fast-forward 30 years and he is playing Duffy on F Troop:



This uncut sheet of Exhibit cards is proof positive that the whole split between the "Salutation" cards and the postwar cards is nonsense. ESCO recycled the images from the Salutations set for as long as the player kept playing. This one is clearly from 1960 at the earliest because it shows Rocky Colavito with Detroit, where he went after the 1959 season in a trade for Harvey Kueen, and next to Rocky is Ted Williams' Salutations card that supposedly was printed from 1939-47.

[jboosted92]

less than 7 years ago, it was believed by most that Pro-players didnt use 40-k Kork Grip bats. I discovered photos of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, and others handling Kork Grip L.S. bats....(Cobb ultimately teamed with L.S. to design bat in 1913 - See Sporting news article Dec. '13) ...What also came from this, is when Pro-Model Kork Grips were used by Pro's (1913-14) was when we first saw Signatures Burned-into the barrels....since then values of these bats have gone up 100%-500%... It all started when i bought a 1914 Cobb 40-k, that had all the Cobb characteristics (lenght, weight, cleat marks, wood style...even a wrapped handle with spiral tape, after kork removed) but it was a 40-k......Countless hours of research went into it. Well worth it, and very rewarding....

- Justin

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by jboosted92

less than 7 years ago, it was believed by most that Pro-players didnt use 40-k Kork Grip bats. I discovered photos of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, and others handling Kork Grip L.S. bats....(Cobb ultimately teamed with L.S. to design bat in 1913 - See Sporting news article Dec. '13) ...What also came from this, is when Pro-Model Kork Grips were used by Pro's (1913-14) was when we first saw Signatures Burned-into the barrels....since then values of these bats have gone up 100%-500%... It all started when i bought a 1914 Cobb 40-k, that had all the Cobb characteristics (lenght, weight, cleat marks, wood style...even a wrapped handle with spiral tape, after kork removed) but it was a 40-k......Countless hours of research went into it. Well worth it, and very rewarding....

- Justin

Outstanding effort Justin! Really significant work. Congrats.

Best, Jimmy

[D. Broughman]

I purchased the Baseball below May 4th, 2008 and have been researching to find out all I can about it and the game. Still haven't found out who won the game. I posted the ball in Jan. 2009 with the help of Leon and with the help of NET54 members have found out there was a pin sold at Oregon Trail Auction (Dan B. helped with that info). Clint posted a picture of the ad with the pin. Joe G. found out about the ball before it was posted and contacted me to see the ball. He posted better pictures of the ball and then found a picture of the 1889 Detroit Baseball Team in the Burton Collection at the Detroit Library. I have been trying to find out more about the Cleveland team but I am not very good at using the internet or computers. I contacted the Cleveland Police Museum and two different people said they would try and find out what they could for me but haven't heard back from them. I want to THANK THE NET54 MEMBERS for all there help. They are the best resource I have found. Dynarl

[sylbry]

Not really a vintage item but research none the less.

I have a 1994 Minnesota Twins game used home jersey worn by Scott Erickson. Erickson pitched a no-hitter at home that year. It took over a year of looking through Minnesota Twins related books, publications, online pictures,ect... before I found a definitive answer. Out of luck I set my DVR to record the Twins 30 for 30 on the MLB network. At the end of the episode were highlight clips of some of the teams better moments. And there was a 5 second clip of Erickson's no-hitter. The jersey he was wearing matched up perfectly to mine. I sent it to MEARS for review and they agreed it was the same jersey.

[PhilNap]

I just picked up this 1925 Wally Pipp payroll check in an auction. The auction house had it described as just that. Something told me to check the dates as I knew Gehrig started his streak sometime in 1925. My suspicion was right as this turns out to be Pipp's last paycheck as starting firstbaseman of the New York Yankees. Payday was May 29 and Gehrig played game 1 of the next 2130 just four days later on June 2. The kicker is that the bank stamps reveal that this check was actually paid on that very day of June 2. I suppose that "headache" wasn't enough to keep Pipp from collecting his dough that day.

[mr2686]

Phil, that is awesome!

[rlevy]

That's a great Wally Pipp story! Hard to find a check like that, then amazing to have it date to the beginning of Gehrig's streak.

here is one of my own research projects to share.
I picked up what was advertised as an early 1960's Tommy Davis game-used bat. His bats would usually have a criss-cross taped handle (a method he picked up from Duke Snider), and if there was a uni number on the knob, it should be a #12. This bat had a #5 written on the knob, and no taped handle, but given the low price and how rare his bats are, I decided to get this anyway.
When I received it, I realized that it was actually a late 1950's bat, and that it had red paint bat rack marks on it. Well, red paint was the team color for the Spokane Indians, the Dodgers top farm team, whom Davis played for in 1959 before his call-up in 1960. And while I could find Spokane's roster for 1959 with him on it, I couldn't find any info on player uniform numbers. Then I found a reference on-line to a book called Rain Check- Baseball in the Pacific Northwest that referenced Tommy Davis. So I found a copy at my local bookstore, and there on page 84 is a large picture of a leaping Tommy Davis with the #5 planted firmly on the front of his jersey. While not real valuable, I was happy to have an authentic TD bat from his minor league days, dating just 3 years before he would win back-to-back batting titles.

TD Spokane picture2.jpg
knob2.JPG