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Lot # 776: 1919 "Bullet Joe" Bush Boston Red Sox Contract Addendum Signed by Bush and Harry Frazee

Starting Bid: $200.00

Bids: 13 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Spring Classic 2022",
which ran from 5/20/2022 7:00 PM to
6/11/2022 10:00 PM



One-page typed contract, dated September 13, 1919, signed by Boston Red Sox team owner Harry Frazee and pitcher Leslie "Bullet Joe" Bush. In this agreement, on "Boston American League Base Ball Club" letterhead, the Red Sox agree to pay Bush his full salary for the 1919 season, even though he was injured, on the condition that his 1920 salary will not commence until he is able to pitch. Furthermore, the agreement stipulates that Bush ". . . . agrees to go to Hot Springs, Arkansas not later than February 20, 1920, to take a course of twenty-one baths for which The Boston American League Baseball Club agrees to pay the expenses thereof." Signed in black fountain pen by "H. H. Frazee" and "Leslie J. Bush." Both signatures are boldly scripted and grade 10/10. Bush enjoyed a long and successful seventeen-year Major League career (1912-1928) during which time he was member of five pennant-winning clubs and three World Championship teams, including the 1918 Red Sox and 1923 New York Yankees. Bush's main claim to fame today is that he is the inventor of the "forkball," a pitch which helped him extend his career after his arm injury in 1919. Harry Frazee, of course, will forever be remembered as the man who traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, a transaction which forever altered the course of both franchises over the next several decades. The contract (8.5x11") displays two horizontal fold lines and a written notation on the reverse (Bush's name and contract year). In Excellent to Mint condition overall.

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