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Lot # 673: 1953 Hank Greenberg Signed Uniform Player's Contract (JSA)

Starting Bid: $200.00

Bids: 10 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Winter Classic 2022",
which ran from 2/13/2022 3:00 PM to
3/12/2022 10:00 PM



Hank Greenberg was a home run hitter who once challenged Babe Ruth's record of 60 homers in a season. It was in 1938, and Hall of Famer Greenberg came close - with 58 round trippers for the Detroit Tigers. Hank was a 2-time AL MVP and a member of two World Series winners. He hit a total of 330 homers and had an outstanding career OPS of 1.047. He later became the general manager of the Cleveland Indians. The playing contract is for outfielder Wally Westlake for the 1953 season, and the document is four pages long and measures 8.5x11". The contract has three signatures: Greenberg, American League President Will Harridge (HOF executive), and Cleveland outfielder Waldon "Wally" Westlake. The contract was for $17,500, not a bad sum almost 70 years ago. The contract has strict language against playing any after-the-season exhibitions, i.e., barnstorming, except in a period no more than 30 days after the season and with permission of the league president. The contract was initially signed by Greenberg and Westlake on April 6, 1953, and signed by Harridge two days later. Greenberg must have been making good decisions, because the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) broke a string of five straight years when the New York Yankees won both the pennant and the World Series when Cleveland took the AL flag in 54. Obtaining this signed contract gives a collector a behind-the-scenes document signed by a Hall of Fame slugger.

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