Fred "Cy" Williams, an amazing overall athlete, was the all-time National League home run hitter until he was surpassed in 1929 by Rogers Hornsby. Presented is a 1972 Fred "Cy" Williams signed check. Williams was a terrific Major League center fielder, with speed and power. Born in 1887, Fred was a tall, slender (6'2", 180 lbs.) farm boy from Wadena, Indiana. He had attended Notre Dame University, and while there he acquired his "Cy" nickname, then a common nickname for rural-looking young men. In addition to playing on the team's baseball squad, he was also a football player, as the backup left end on the 1910 team that had Knute Rockne as the backup right end. Williams was also a star track man, and he turned down a spot on the 1912 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team as a hurdler and broad jumper so that he could play professional baseball. Williams played from 1912-30 in the Major Leagues: Chicago Cubs (1912-17), Philadelphia Phillies (1918-30). Williams began his Major League career with the Cubs during the tail-end of the Deadball Era, and he became a true star during his time after the Deadball Era, with the Phillies. Williams was a superior center fielder. Johnny Evers, the famed Hall of Fame second baseman of the Chicago Cubs, said Williams was "the greatest natural outfielder I ever saw." Cy batted a lifetime .292, finishing with 251 home runs. His best season was with the Phillies in 1923, when he batted .293 with 41 home runs and 114 RBIs. Williams was a 4-time National League home run leader. In his retirement, he had his own construction company in Three Lakes, Wisconsin. Williams' building company constructed a development called Three Lakes Estates, and in 1966, to honor Williams, the city dedicated "Cy Williams Park." 

The offered signed check, in the amount of twenty-five (25) dollars, is drawn on the Peoples State Bank of Three Lakes, Wisconsin. The check is written and signed in black or dark-blue ballpoint ink, and it is dated on "Dec 29th [19]72." It was written to "Cash," and cashed, but not signed by Williams, on "Jan 3/1973." The back of the check has a PSA sticker (AO88359). The check measures approx. 3x7.8", and it is in EXCELLENT condition. Williams passed away in 1974, and his signature represents one of the National League's biggest stars of the 1920s.