Pennsylvania-based Morphy Auctions is launching a new Sports Memorabilia Division. The company kick off its first sports-only event October 26 with a 500-lot sale. Morphy’s Sports Memorabilia Division will be headed by Tommy Sage, Jr., who joined forces with Dan Morphy in 2004 to establish Morphy Auctions. Sage is a long-time collector of sports items and also … [Read more...]
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Photo of the Day: End of the Line for DiMaggio
It didn’t become official until December but by the fall of 1951, it was fairly clear Joe DiMaggio’s career was coming to an end. The RMY Auctions Photo of the Day is a composite image created for distribution by Acme News in October of that year as stories circulated on the Yankee Clipper’s future plans. It paints a sad portrait of DiMaggio, who had struggled … [Read more...]
Mickey Mantle 1951 Spring Training Photo at Auction
"He's the greatest prospect I've seen in my time, and I go back quite a ways. I'll swear I expect to see that boy just take off and fly any time." —Bill Dickey on Mickey Mantle He was only 19 years old, still very much a country kid from Commerce, OK when he arrived at the New York Yankees’ 1951 spring training camp. Mickey Mantle was a great name for a ballplayer but … [Read more...]
Photo of the Day: Mantle Stares at His Future
He made the number 7 famous in baseball circles but Mickey Mantle didn't start his big league career with it. He was a teen prospect from Commerce, OK in April of 1951, wearing number 6 and crossing the plate when a news photographer snapped one of the more interesting Mantle photos you'll see. Our Photo of the Day from RMY Auctions shows Mantle shaking hands as he crosses … [Read more...]
Matson Jersey at Auction; Recalls 1950s Racial Climate
In the fall of 1951, Ollie Matson did everything right. As the punishing, 220-pound senior running back for the University of San Francisco, Matson – a 6’ 2” African-American – led the nation in rushing (1,566 yards) and scoring (21 touchdowns, 126 points) and guided the Dons to a perfect 9-0 season. Despite the team’s undefeated record, USF wasn’t invited to play in any … [Read more...]
Mantle Photo with Family Dates from First Yankee Spring Start
The New York Yankees went west for spring training in 1951, acting more like a touring band of barnstormers than the defending World Series champions. Games in Arizona and California preceded a trip to the Midwest and the Yanks’ California-born players got most of the starts. Finally, on April 10, Mickey Mantle’s name was finally written on the lineup card. The Vintage … [Read more...]
Vintage Photo of the Day: Farewell Joe, Hello Mickey
The changing of the Yankees icon was underway in the spring of 1951. 36-year-old Joe DiMaggio was just about to enter his final season in New York while a fresh-faced kid from the Midwest was turning heads. Mickey Mantle was just 19 when he posed for this photo with DiMaggio in the dugout of Mission Stadium in San Antonio, TX on April 5 of that year. It’s our Vintage … [Read more...]
Vintage Photo of the Day: Satchel Paige 1951
The prime of Satchel Paige’s career was spent in the Negro Leagues and it was because of his dominance there that he eventually earned induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he got a taste of the majors once baseball slowly warmed to integration. Our Vintage Photo of the Day shows Paige, who had turned 45 just two weeks earlier, walking off the mound toward the dugout … [Read more...]
Miracle Ball: Search for Thomson’s Homer
A new book hits store shelves this week, focused on one man's search for the famous 1951 home run ball hit by Bobby Thomson. But it's not just a sports memorabilia book. It's among the great mysteries of the sports memorabilia world. What became of Bobby Thomson's 1951 'Shot Heard 'Round the World'? Thomson's October 3, 1951 home run is still considered the most … [Read more...]
