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Lot # 242: Signed 1970s Hank Greenberg Postcard (PSA)

Starting Bid: $100.00

Bids: 3 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "2023 Winter Pop-Up",
which ran from 1/8/2023 7:00 PM to
1/22/2023 10:00 PM



Presented is a signed and inscribed 1970s Hank Greenberg postcard. Born in the Bronx as Hyman Greenberg in 1911, Hall of Famer Greenberg had a 13-year Major league career, his first 12 seasons with the Detroit Tigers and his final season as a Pittsburgh Pirate. Greenberg was the first Jewish superstar in American team sports. He was the first American League player to register for the peacetime military draft in 1940, and Hank served 47 months in World War II as an officer in the Army Air Corps, the longest stint of any Major League player. Despite missing the equivalent of more than four seasons of baseball because of his military duty during the prime of his career, Greenberg hit 331 home runs. In 1934, the Tigers were involved in a pennant race and Greenberg announced that he would not play games on Sept. 10th, which was Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). This created a controversy. Greenberg, after consultation with his rabbi, agreed to play on Rosh Hashanah, but not on Yom Kippur. In 1938, Greenberg made a serious run at Babe Ruth's single season home run record of 60, and Greenberg wound up with 58 homers to tie Jimmie Foxx as the two players up to that time to come closest to breaking Ruth's record. Greenberg wasn't just a slugger; he finished with a .313 lifetime batting average. Greenberg had experienced antisemitic remarks as a player, and when Jackie Robinson was breaking the Major League "Color Line" while playing his rookie season with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Greenberg was on the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947, Greenberg was one of the first opponents to publicly offer encouragement to Robinson. After his playing career, Greenberg became a baseball executive. The postcard measures approx. 3.5x5.5". On the back, written in pencil by an unknown hand (apparently a fan) is "Please sign front." On the front, Greenberg used black ink from a fountain pen to sign and inscribe, "To Mort - Best Wishes Hank Greenberg." The postcard has been encapsulated and certified PSA/DNA "AUTHENTIC AUTO."

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