The collection of long-time sportswriter Bill Madden is on the auction block.
A total of 150 lots including large collections of Hall of Fame and All-Star Game press pins, media credentials, baseball cards and autographed memorabilia are being sold by Sterling Associates of New Jersey. Online bidding is already underway and the sale will conclude with a public portion on Tuesday.
Madden wrote about the hobby on a regular basis for The Sporting News and elsewhere for many years. After several years at UPI, Madden joined the New York Daily News in 1978, first covering the New York Yankees beat, then launching his own popular column. In 2010, he was honored by admission to the writer’s wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame and recently donated a huge accumulation of research material and files to the Hall.
Among the items being offered in the auction is a bat signed by 65 Hall of Famers, Madden’s mini archive of ephemera pertaining to Chick Gandil and Eddie Cicotte and the original artwork for Luke Appling’s 1930s Diamond Stars baseball card.
“We anticipated seeing some very rare items in his collection, and we were not disappointed,” said Sterling Associates owner, Stephen D’Atri.
Another top highlight is a complete “Goodwin Round Album.” This 19th-century rarity issued by New York City tobacco manufacturer Goodwin & Co., consists of ten pieces in total, with six of the round, color illustrations matted and framed under glass. The series includes four single, full-color portraits of players Anson, Kelly, Ward and Comiskey; and full-length poses of Hall of Famers Mickey Welch, Tim Keefe, Roger Connor, John Ward and Jim O’Rourke. The original album cover is also included.
Two items associated with Grover Cleveland Alexander include a circa-1946 letter on Hotel Broadway stationery, handwritten and hand-signed by Alexander and accompanied by a JSA LOA. Another is a circa-1912 “S-1 Silk” of the Hall of Fame pitcher.
Every item from the collection will convey with a personally handwritten letter in which Madden details how the piece was acquired.
You can access the auction here.
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