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THIS
WEEKS FEATURE
c1927 SPALDING
BASEBALL EQUIPMENT ADVERTISING SIGN
FEATURING
PAUL WANER
42
inch tall by 29 inch wide
Die
cut stand-up printed on cardstock
Sold for $13,145.00
, Oct 28, 2005
Heritage
Auction Galleries, Dallas
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This
sign sold in Heritage Auctions for $13,145.00 in October 2005.
Now this is an exciting piece! If you click on the photo you'll see
it's been framed. However
it was originally designed as an easel back standup. When you frame a sign like this you protect it from
damage, but you loose it's full visual impact. Personally, I
prefer to display easel back signs standing up as they were
intended. We
can only view this sign on our monitors, but I can tell you from
experience, at 42" tall this sign would be very impressive
in person. If
you were a heavy duty Pittsburgh Pirates collector, this would
most likely be your center piece, seeing it features Paul Waner. Even
if you didn't know who Paul Waner was this could be a center
piece. First of all it's for Spalding, king of sports equipment
makers. Then you have the jumbo size, then the period
illustration style that announces it's age. Then you have the fact
it's a die cut standup; attributes that generally make signs more
interesting and deluxe. Lastly it features a Hall of Famer, Paul
Waner. Antique
sports related advertising signs don't get a whole lot better
than this. I wish I could walk into the National and find a sign
this great! However, the hobby has evolved to where things of
this quality are usually auctioned thru the major sports auction
houses. Here we have a perfect example!
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Paul Glee Waner
Born April 16, 1903,
Harrah, OK.
Died August 29, 1965, Sarasota, FL
Pittsburgh Pirates 1926-1940
Brooklyn Dodgers 1941
Boston Braves 1941-1942
Brooklyn Dodgers 1943-1944
New York Yankees 1944-1945 |
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 Paul
Glee Waner, along with his brother Lloyd, starred in the
Pittsburgh Pirates' outfield in the 1920s and 1930s. He led the
National League in batting on three
occasions
and accumulated over 3,000 hits in his career from 1926 to 1945. He
was voted the NL's Most Valuable Player in 1927, and compiled a lifetime batting average of .333. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952.
Paul was famous for his ability to hit while hung over. He gave up drinking in 1938 at management's request, he hit only .280 - the first of only two times that he failed to hit .300 as a Pirate.
Paul had the unusual habit of doing back flips in order to sober
up before playing. His nick name was "Big Poison".
Legend has it he got the name from an opposing New York fan who referred
to him as "Big Person" but the Brooklyn accent
converted it to "Big Poison". |
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et us know what you think of
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