19291

1954 Otto Graham Signed Contract PSA/DNA

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop / Sports - Autographs (Original) Start Price:625.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 1,200.00 USD
1954 Otto Graham Signed Contract PSA/DNA
<B>1954 Otto Graham Signed Standard Players Contract.</B></I> This season was to be the Hall of Fame quarterback's last, but Graham responded to coach Paul Brown's pleas to return for the 1955 season after leading his Cleveland squad to a resounding fifty-six to ten win over the Detroit Lions in the 1954 NFL Championship game. One could certainly consider this second-to-last year to be Otto Graham's finest, and this contract is the document that secured his services for the sum of $22,500. Accepting the terms with 10/10 signatures are Graham and coach Paul Brown, each now enshrined at Canton, as well as league commissioner Bert Bell who brings the Hall of Fame total to three. The document measures 8x19.75" in size and presents marvelously with original mailing folds. It appears that the document has been affixed to the backing, but this is of little concern as the back of standard players contracts are blank. Matted and framed along with the contract is a great 8x10" photo of Graham which he inscribes, "To Dwight Hott, Best Wishes, Otto Graham" in 9/10 ink. The initial recipient of the photo is better known to the hobby as "Duke" Hott, the most noted football collector in the world. This fine display piece, housing one of the most important documents in Cleveland Browns history, is framed to final dimensions of 16x37". <I>LOA from PSA/DNA.</B></I> <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:19291 <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'>