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Lot # 869: 1920 World Champion Cleveland Indians Team Photo by Postergraph

Starting Bid: $300.00

Bids: 17 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed

Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "2023 Spring Classic",
which ran from 4/2/2023 7:00 PM to
4/22/2023 10:00 PM



Displayed is a wonderful team print of the 1920 Cleveland Indians, that season's World Champions. The team photo has an individual photo of the tragic figure of Ray Chapman, who died during the season after being hit in the head with a pitch, in the oval on the top of the photo. The 1920 Cleveland Indians went 98-56 in the regular season, and they beat the Brooklyn Dodgers (also known at that time as the Robins) 5-2 in games in the best-of-nine games World Series. Hall of Famer Tris Speaker (front row, sixth from left), the player-manager, led the team in batting, at .388. Jim Bagby (middle row, fourth from left) was the team's ace pitcher, going 31-12. Hall of Fame pitcher Stan Coveleskie (sic) (front row, second from right) was 24-14 that year. Other notables: Smokey Joe Wood, a top American League pitcher, and after he hurt his arm a fine outfielder (top row, fifth from left), Bill Wambsganss, who had an unassisted Triple Play (still the only triple play in World Series history) in the World Series (top row, sixth from left). Ray Chapman, the Indians' shortstop, was hit in the head on August 16, 1920, with a submarine pitch from the Yankees' pitcher, Carl Mays. Chapman was crumpled at the plate. He said, "I'm all right; tell Mays not to worry...ring...Katie's ring." Katie was his pregnant wife, and Mays died 12 hours later at 4:40 a.m. at St. Lawrence Hospital, near the Polo Grounds. His wife arrived from Cleveland at 10:00 a.m., and she fainted when she learned that her husband had died. Chapman is the only player to have directly died from an injury in a Major League baseball game. The photograph (measuring 13.75x19.5", framed to 18x24") appears in excellent condition, and it is in its original frame. The framed photo is very rare, a limited production of the 1920 Champs by the Postergraph Company of Cleveland.

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