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H - $ 200 to $ 400 I - $ 400 to $ 700 J - $ 700 to $ 1000
K - $ 1000 to $ 2000 L - $ 2000 to $ 5000 M - $ 5000 to $ 10000
589 . 1924 JOSÉ MÉNDEZ “ THE BLACK DIAMOND ” ( HOF ) NEGRO LEAGUE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH PSA / DNA TYPE I . Presented here is what we believe to be the only known in-action , full figure pose depicting Cuban and Negro League legendary hurler , José Méndez , wearing his 1924 Kansas City Monarchs pinstriped uniform . While original photographs of former Negro League greats are exceedingly rare to begin with , even more rare are those images portraying the subject in their Negro League attire as opposed to a Winter League uniform from such foreign destinations as Cuba , Venezuela , Puerto Rico and Mexico . Adding to the importance of this amazing relic is the fact that Méndez led the Kansas City Monarchs club to the first-ever Negro League World Series championship in 1924 , besting the Hilldale ball club with 5 wins , 4 losses and 1 tie .
José Méndez was born in Cuba in 1887 and made his baseball debut there in 1903 at the age of sixteen . Five years later , he was pitching for Havana , the top team in Cuba , and that same year , 1908 , he made his U . S . debut , recording a 3-0 record for the Brooklyn Royal Giants . Méndez would go on to unrivaled success over the next decade and a half , including some of the most memorable pitching duels in baseball history , outpitching both Christy Mathewson and Eddie Plank in exhibition games along with the great Rube Foster during an epic Negro League battle . However , José ’ s best remembered performance came in 1911 while pitching for Almendares , when he shut out Smokey Joe Williams ’ team for 10 innings and picked up the win after Williams went the first nine frames without allowing a single hit but was tagged with the loss in the 10th . While Méndez played virtually every season of his career in both Cuba and the U . S . at different times of the year , José is best remembered here for his time with the Kansas City Monarchs , joining the club in 1920 and teaming up with “ Bullet Joe ” Rogan to form possibly the greatest one-two pitching punch in Negro League baseball history . Méndez would stay with Kansas City through his final season of 1926 . Tragically , he would only live two more years , dying from bronchopneumonia in the fall of 1928 .
Photo is 8x10 ”. The back of the photograph exhibits ink stamp of the photographer responsible for this iconic image , “ Jose Luis Lopez ”. Back has extensive publication markings , notations and newspaper clipping text . Includes ink stamp dates of when this photo was reused over the years , including 1950 and then again as late as 1988 , before it found its way into the Merkin Collection . Moderate all over scattered creases from handling but most just seen in reflected light . Image remains bold and distinct and photo remains glossy .
Given the highly coveted designation of being a Type I original photograph by PSA / DNA , this was assigned an estimated date range of 1920s by PSA . As mentioned previously , our extensive research has identified that 1924 was the only season that the Monarchs wore this specific style of uniform . We have been unable to uncover any prior public sales of a Type I Méndez photo of this magnitude so the value is truly in the hands of the bidders . Don ’ t pass up the opportunity to own this one-of-a-kind treasure , you rarely get a chance to add a true centerpiece such as this to your Cuban / Negro League photograph collection . Offered for the first time at auction and from The Richard Merkin Collection . ( M ) $ 2,000.00 590 . 1925 PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS TEAM ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH WITH HOF ROOKIES LEFTY GROVE AND MICKEY COCHRAN PSA / DNA TYPE I . Offered here is an image that we have never seen before and presents a rare opportunity to acquire a pre-rookie collectible showing two future all-time greats and National Baseball Hall of Famer members a year before they would make their first MLB baseball card appearance . This crystal clear group image of the A ’ s is highlighted by the inclusion of the greatest left-handed pitcher of the first half of the 20th century , Robert “ Lefty ” Grove ( third from left ), as well as picturing the man many consider to have been the best all-around catcher
590 of the first half of the 20th century , Mickey Cochrane ( third from right ). Other players include : Sammy Hale , Max Bishop and Stan Baumgartner . The A ’ s were at the very early stages of building their dynasty that would dethrone the New York Yankees as AL champs from 1929-31 . Lefty Grove finished his career w / a win-loss record of 300-141 , a superb . 680 winning percentage , along with 2,266 strikeouts and a career ERA of 3.06 during an era that was completely dominated by offensive baseball . Mickey Cochrane took over the starting catcher duties w / the A ’ s in 1925 and would remain in that role through the 1933 season . In 1934 , Mickey would move on to the Detroit Tigers , where he would complete his MLB career in 1937 . Cochrane copped two AL MVP awards during his career . Both players were inducted into the National Baseball Hall Of Fame the same year , 1947 . Photo is 7x10 ”. Back of photo has ink stamp text noting Philadelphia Inquirer along w / date of November 15 , 1925 in addition to the newspaper text clipping . Wear includes : top margin trim , margin piece off lower left , scattered creases some breaking the emulsion , 2.5 ” tear at left center w / tape repair on back , additional wear and tear . However , image is bold and distinct and photo remains glossy . This is without a doubt , one of the most important rookie year images of the pre-war era . Offered at auction for the first time and from The Richard Merkin Collection . ( K ) $ 500.00 591 . 1927 WORLD SERIES - NEW YORK YANKEES VS PITTSBURGH PIRATES ORIGINAL NEWS SERVICE PHOTOGRAPH WITH LOU GEHRIG ( HOF ) PSA / DNA TYPE I . Rarely do you come across a pre-war , in-action news service photograph from a World Series game where an iconic player is easily identifiable . Presented here , however , is that proverbial “ needle-in-a-haystack ” where a sliding Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees has just been tagged out at home plate during Game 3 of the 1927 World Series , featuring the historic New York Yankees ’ Murderer ’ s Row ball club taking on the National League champion , Pittsburgh Pirates . Photographer ’ s stamp on back credits this amazing image to “ Pacific & Atlantic Photos ”, one of the preeminent sports news service photographers of the era . Hand written notes on back of photo also indicate that Johnny Gooch is the Pirates ’ catcher who just tagged out Gehrig . Although Gehrig was not able to score the run here , the Yankees would go on to an 8-1 victory in Game 3 on their way to a 4-game sweep of the Bucs to cap what many baseball historians consider to be the greatest season by a baseball team in MLB history . The New York Yankees finished the 1927 regular season with a 110-44-1 record under future National Baseball Hall of Fame manager , Miller Huggins . Their everyday line-up , forever referred to in baseball annals as “ Murderer ’ s Row ”, was highlighted by four HOF ’ ers : Babe Ruth , Lou Gehrig , Tony Lazzeri and Earle Combs in addition to noteworthy batsmen : Bob Meusel , Mark Koenig , Pat Collins and Joe Dugan . Leading the mound brigade for this juggernaut was a pair of future Hall of Famers , Waite Hoyt and Herb Pennock . Photo is 7.25x9.25 ”. Margin trim . Corner tip off top right . Some scattered handling creases mostly seen only in reflected light . Other general wear / aging but photo remains glossy and image is sharp , especially Lou ’ s face . Perfect for both the early NY Yankees photography collection as well as the Gehrig completist , don ’ t pass up the opportunity to pick up this awesome image . Offered at auction for the first time and from The Richard Merkin Collection . ( L ) $ 1,000.00
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N - $ 10000 to $ 20000 P - $ 20000 to $ 35000 Q - $ 35000 to $ 50000
R - $ 50000 to $ 75000 S - $ 75000 to $ 100000 T - $ 100000 to $ 200000
U - $ 200000 to $ 350000 V - $ 350000 to $ 500000 W - $ 500000 to $ 750000
X - $ 750000 to $ 1000000 Y - $ 1000000 to $ 1500000 Z - $ 1500000 and up