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Lot # 426: 1958 Cleveland Browns Team-Signed Autograph Album w/Rookie Jim Brown

Category: Football

Starting Bid: $100.00

Bids: 5 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "2023 Summer Pop-Up",
which ran from 6/11/2023 7:00 PM to
6/25/2023 10:00 PM



Presented is a 1958 Cleveland Browns team autograph book with 35 signatures, including that of Hall of Fame fullback Jim Brown, the NFL Rookie of the Year and MVP in 1957 who won the MVP again in '58. The '58 Browns tied for first with the New York Giants in the NFL's East Division that season as both teams had 9-3 records, and they met in a special one-game playoff, won by the Giants, to reach the NFL Championship Game. The autograph book is a spiral notebook, 4x6", that was employed by the consignor to gather the Browns' signatures. Most of the players on the roster signed the book, and signatures appear on the first 14 pages of the notebook, with from one to four signatures per rage. The consigner has neatly printed the names of the Browns' signatures on the same page as the autographs. Hall of Famers: Jim Brown, Lou Groza, Bobby Mitchell (who became the first African American player on the Washington Redskins), Gene Hickerson, Willie Davis, Mike McCormack, Henry Jordan, and Paul Brown (as a head coach). Other notable signatures: Milt Plum, Ray Renfro, Ken Carpenter, Preston Carpenter, Walt Michaels, Junior Wren, Ken Konz, Galen Fiss, Don Paul, Vince Costello (two signatures), Ed Modzeleski, Jim Ninowski, Jim Ray Smith, Don Colo, and Jim Shofner. Jim Brown was the NFL Rookie of the Year in '58, as he led the NFL in rushing yards (1,527), points (108) and touchdowns (18). Browns quarterback Milt Plum was 6th in the NFL in '58 in passing yards (1,619). The autographs in the spiral notebook are personalized and usually signed in blue ink from a ballpoint pen. Jim Brown's signature is on a page with two other signatures. The great fullback inscribed and wrote, "To Mel from Jim Brown". The spiral notebook has "Cleveland Browns" roughly hand edged into the cover page. The notebook shows wear, and it has some creasing, a few small stains, and some small spots in which the plastic coating on the page has come off. The lined pages with the autographs exhibit some color fading because of the passage of time. While the spiral notebook album does show some imperfections, the rookie autograph of the great Jim Brown and the signatures of the other Browns, including the Hall of Famers, make the autograph notebook of real interest to any football aficionado.

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