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Lot # 233: 1951 Willie Mays Hand-colored Oval Photograph From His Family Home

Starting Bid: $1,000.00

Bids: 2 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed

Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall 2016",
which ran from 9/21/2016 12:00 AM to
10/28/2016 9:00 PM



A Portrait of a Legend. The man many baseball aficionados consider the best all-around ballplayer ever, Willie Mays, is lovingly commemorated in this framed, hand-colored photograph that hung in his family home. It was snapped when the Hall of Famer was still a young man and in uniform. On the bottom is written: "Willie Mays World Series 1951" and included is his grade school report card. The photo is housed inside convex glass, a popular style of the time. In short, this is a terrific piece from the family of the "Say Hey Kid." In 1951, Mays' first year in the majors, he capped off that rookie campaign with one of the most famous catches the game has ever seen, robbing Cleveland's Vic Wertz of a huge hit with a back-to-the-plate, over-the-shoulder catch while running at full speed toward the center field clubhouses at the cavernous Polo Grounds. Thanks to plays such as that, the Giants upset the Indians in a four-game sweep.

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