19516

1930's Billy Hamilton Silver Lifetime Pass

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop Start Price:950.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 2,500.00 USD
1930's Billy Hamilton Silver Lifetime Pass
<B>1930's Billy Hamilton Major League Baseball Silver Lifetime Pass.</B></I> An indication of the scarcity of collectibles from this nineteenth century Hall of Famer? His autograph on a piece of paper books in Sports Market Report for $2500, while the guide lists signed photographs, checks and letters with a simple "UNK." So imagine our pleasant surprise when this fantastic piece arrived in our offices, the beautiful silver pass issued to the Victorian era's definitive base thief. It stands as the first personally owned Hamilton artifact to reach the auction block in recent memory, and possibly ever, and what a piece to do it! The shimmering silver pass (2.75x4.25") bears the maker's mark of "Lambert Bros Jewelers NY" on verso, with text on front boldly proclaiming "The National - American Major Leagues of Professional Baseball Present this Lifetime Pass to Billy Hamilton in Appreciation of Long and Meritorious Service." The facsimile signatures of League presidents Frick and Harridge appear at bottom. The piece shows expected tarnishing, but this could easily be remedied at the winning bidder's preference. The appeal doesn't end here, however. Joining the pass is a small printed card with the words, "This Permanent Pass replaces the temporary pass sent you last season. We hope you like it. Sincerely, Ford Frick" And sure enough, we have that temporary pass too! Similar in dimensions to the silver model, the card stock version reads simply, "The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs Life Time Pass. Extending the courtesy of all its grounds to Mr. W.R. Hamilton In recognition of his long service to baseball." Ford Frick's facsimile signature appears at bottom here as well. The original envelope that housed the temporary pass is the final piece in this archive, with two paragraphs printed on the front that notes in part, "The league at its meeting December 11, 1934, voted to extend this courtesy to all retired players with ten or more years active service in either or both major leagues." The three paper pieces in this lot show the mildest of handling wear, with no noteworthy creases, tears or stains. This amazing ensemble was acquired from the Hamilton family by young Doug Norwine in the mid-1960's, and may very well be your first and last chance to own anything at all from the estate of "Sliding Billy." <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 22.5% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid. This lot is being auctioned in conjunction with a live floor auction by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers. All final auction and invoice information will be supplied by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, and all other information should be considered preliminary. Lot:19516 <BR><BR><B>Winning Notification and Billing:</B> After the FINAL session in this auction is complete, Heritage will send e-mail and snail mail invoices. This process normally takes several days. All final auction and invoice information will be supplied by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, and all other information should be considered preliminary. <BR><BR>This auction will be conducted on a live auction floor and over the Internet through eBay Live. If you choose to place an absentee bid, please take a moment to <font color='#0000ff'><u><a href='http://pages.ebay.com/liveauctions/help/before/laabsentee.html'>learn how eBay Live absentee bidding works</a></u></font><font color='#000000'>