ITPC: Rare Brooklyn Memorabilia

Inside the Park Collectibles has some great vintage Dodger memorabilia worth a long look in their current Summer auction.

As I'm sure you've read in ad nauseam, the Brooklyn faithful hoped and prayed diligently to keep their team in the borough. Unfortunately for them it was all for naught. They eventually moved westward towards a more sunny destination. In the citywide campaign to keep the boys in Blue in town fans did all they could. They rallied and protested. They even wore pins like a delegate at a political convention that expressed their desire to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn. Below is one of those pins. It is rare and highly sought after. After all, after the team left town I am sure most Brooklynites quickly threw this in the round-file. As of this writing it is already at $666.00.

Auction Link: Dodger Pin:

Here is a phenomenal 1950's Gibbs-Connor Brooklyn Dodger "Bum" lamp. It measure 28" tall and is beyond rare. I would guess that only a handful exist. In fact, this is the first time I have seen one of these.

It features the Dodgers mascot bum holding onto a lamp post. On the top of the post the street sign reads "Ebbets Field"(the light works). In his other hand he holds a baseball bat. He is standing on a base which has a very light hairline in the back (cannot be seen when displayed). The is a push button switch on the bottom of the lamp post to turn the light on at the top of the pole.

It is already up to $5,363.00.

Auction Link: Brooklyn Mascot:

Below is a 1940's music sheet for a song titled, "Why do they all pick on Brooklyn?" Manager Leo Durocher is featured prominently on the cover

Auction Link: 1940's Music Sheet:

In 1956 Dairy Queen handed out these mini plastic statues to fans and patrons with a purchase of ice cream. They are kind of like prizes from a Cracker Jack box or a kids happy meal. Below are statues for Roy Campanella and Pee Wee Reese.

Auction Link: 1956 Dairy Queens:

Vintage Collectible Commercials

A recent twitter post by Upper Deck got me searching a bit for some old-time vintage card/ collectible commercials from my youth. Check them out below.

YouTube Link: 1987Hawkeyes:

Does anybody remember this game that used over-sized 1989 Topps cards? Neither do I.

YouTube Link: milwaukeetvmadmen:

Check out this 1992 Donruss commercial.

YouTube Link: Musicluvr76:

How About a 1960's Post Cereal commercial featuring Mickey Mantle and Post Baseball cards.

YouTube Link: OldWorldTelevision:

Remember Sportscasters?

YouTube Link: rrunner81sg:

Topps T206 Jackie Robinson

Topps newest release, 2009 Topps T206, is a throwback issue that comes out during the 100th anniversary of the original vintage set. The original T206 is the most widely collected vintage set in the hobby. I know of numerous hobbyist who have put together 3 or 4 complete sets (minus the big 5 like Honus Wagner) throughout their lifetimes. It is just the gold standard set in the hobby.

The Beckett blog recently released a sneak peak of the set that includes the above Jackie Robinson silk insert card. I just thought this card was worth sharing with all of you. Expect boxes to arrive in stores in November.

Dodger Correspondence: Babe Phelps

In last night's game Vin Scully mentioned Babe Phelps. If I remember correctly the Dodgers had him catch a grapefruit from a tall building. Anyway, below is a letter written by Babe to a fan.

(click pic to enlarge)

"The years that I played Baseball was very enjoyable and had some wonderful guys to play with. Was voted to (the) All Star game 1938-39-40. Was very pleased to have the opportunity to be a All Star team. Had a life time batting average of .310. Which I am very proud of. Had some real good managers- Casey Stengel and Leo Durocher. They were the best. Really knew their Baseball..."

BTW, he got his nickname "Babe" because of his resemblance to the Yankee slugger Babe Ruth. It is also worthy to note that he became fast friends with Ruth when he joined the Dodgers as a coach. Go to SABR's biography of Babe Phelps for a comprehensive history of his career. He was quite a character.

(click pic to enlarge)

eBay Auction Link: Phelps Letter:

Legacy Sports Rarities: Summer Auction

Legacy Sports Rarities is about to close up on their recent summer auction of vintage Baseball cards, and their selection is really impressive. You should just do some window shopping to see what they have. Below are a few items that really stuck out to me.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot of notable Dodger cards, but I did run across the below Plow's Candy card of Brooklyn Dodger Cy Barger that is worth noting. This set is a extremely rare and was only discovered in the late 1960's. In fact, it is not known how many cards complete a set and new additions are found from time to time. My Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from 2002 list common cards in near mint condition at $2500.00 each.

Auction Link: 1912 E300 Plow Boy Cy Barger:

The 1887 Gypsy Queen is another set where a complete checklist is unknown. It is assumed that there are new additions yet to be found. Below is Hall of Famer John Ward's Gypsy Queen large size card. It measure 2" X 3 1/2" and is much rarer than it's smaller brother (which measures 1 1/2" X 2 1/2"). With two days remaining it is already at $13,500.00.

Auction Link: 1887 Gypsy Queen John Ward:

The 1887 Baseball Currency advertising pieces are some of the more ornate vintage collectibles in the hobby. They feature portraits of Major League teams and often have advertising printed on one side. They were probably handed out by store owners and used as coupons for future purchases. The below example offers a 5% discount to patrons at Hayes Brothers Jewelers. The bill below is of the Chicago White Stockings (White Sox) and features Hall of Famer Cap Anson in a familiar batting pose. It is graded by PCGS- a premier currency grader.

Auction Link: 1887 Baseball Currency:

Holland and Otterstad

The other day I posted about the currently running ThinkCure! auction and highlighted a couple of great paintings available. In the comments section of that post, Danny Stern provided some additional background on the two paintings by Stephen Holland and Opie Otterstad that I thought would be worth passing along in a new post.

Below is Stephen Holland's painting of Jackie Robinson's Slide. Read more about the artist here, and then go here for more about this specific painting.

Then, check out this great video featuring the above painting.

YouTube Link: limelightage:

Below is Opie Otterstad's painting of the '55 Brooklyn Dodgers as they celebrate their first World Championship. Read more about the artwork here.
Then, check out the outline below and see if you can name all of the players. The answers are available in the above link.