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Lot # 845: Very Rare 1950s Roy Campanella Jax Beer Cardboard Advertising Display

Starting Bid: $300.00

Bids: 12 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "2023 Summer Classic",
which ran from 7/16/2023 7:00 PM to
8/5/2023 10:00 PM



Presented is a very rare 1950s Jax Beer cardboard advertising display featuring Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella. During the early-to-mid-1950s, Campanella was one of baseball's greatest stars. In a five-year period, the Brooklyn Dodger catcher was the National League's MVP an amazing three times (1951, '53, and '55). Campanella had a cannon for an arm and was an outstanding handler of pitchers. He had already been catching for 10 professional seasons, in the Negro Leagues, when he entered so-called "organized" baseball. Only racial segregation kept him from being in the Major Leagues long before he made his MLB debut in 1948. And Roy could hit! In his three NL MVP seasons, he hit between .312 and .325 each season, and he averaged 35 homers and 119 RBIs in those MVP years. The display measures 13.75x17.8". It hung or sat at points of purchase for Jax Beer. The easel on the back is missing, and there are a few small holes, most likely from when the display was hung, and there are some chips, small stains and scuffs, and light fading, but this would still look sweet framed on a wall. There is a slight amount of inpainting at top to cover up a blemish. During and after his playing days with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Campanella owned and operated a liquor store in Harlem, in upper Manhattan in New York City, so he was not averse to advertising alcohol, as was teammate Jackie Robinson, who refused to advertise liquor products. The display includes an image of a catcher and a color photo of Campanella, nattily attired in a sports coat, helping himself to salad, not actually holding a beer, but with the Jax beer bottles prominently displayed. The very scarce item evokes great 1950s nostalgia.

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