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Lot # 780: 1956 Topps Ken Boyer Signed Contract w/Signed Card Display

Starting Bid: $300.00

Bids: 6 (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



Displayed is a Topps baseball card contract signed by Ken Boyer and Sy Berger, a cancelled check from Topps to Boyer, and a Ken Boyer Topps 1956 baseball card, and these items provide a fascinating behind the scenes look at the 1950s baseball card world. Topps was located in Brooklyn, and Brooklynite Sy Berger began working for Topps in 1951. He is credited for being the co-designer of the iconic 1952 Topps baseball series. Boyer was an 11-time All-Star third baseman playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. Boyer was an excellent fielder and had a .287 lifetime batting average over his 15-year career, mostly for St. Louis Cardinals. Boyer had his best season in 1964, when he led the National League in RBIs with 119 and was named the NL MVP. He also helped St. Louis win the '64 World Series against the New York Yankees. The contract states that Boyer was paid an initial five dollars, that amount to be deducted from his first-year payment of $125 of a five-year contract starting in January 1957. The colorful cancelled check displays "Bazooka"(Topps' bubble gum) printed in red and blue letters, and the check is from the National City Bank of New York, at the Bush Terminal Branch (in Brooklyn). Of course, player salaries in the 1950s, even adjusting for inflation, were minuscule compared to those of today, so maybe Topps was "generous" when they never deducted the five-dollar advance to Boyer from his initial check. Boyer's 1956 Topps card is autographed by him just a bit over the facsimile autograph on the card. The three items are attractively displayed together and matted and framed at 13.5x25.75". Together the display gives a great inside look at baseball and baseball card economics in the more frugal days of baseball.

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