Mailday - Virgil Trucks Signed Photo

I sent an email to my friend (and friend of the blog) Mr. Don McNair last week letting him know that Virgil Trucks had passed away.  Mr. McNair's father, Eric McNair, and Mr. Trucks played on the 1941 Tigers together and both had been members of the Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics organization in their careers.  Mr. McNair (Don) had met Mr. Trucks during an Athletics Alumni luncheon a while back and conversed at times.  On one of those occasions, Mr. Trucks sent Mr. McNair a signed photo.  Well, when I mentioned to Mr. McNair that Mr. Trucks had passed, I made a comment about how I wanted to get a nice photo of him to put on my wall in my 'man cave.'  Mr. McNair responded and said "Don't buy one.  I have one, signed, that I will put in the mail to you!"  The photo arrived today.

I'm so lucky that I have been able to interact with some really nice folks during the life of this blog.  It makes the collecting experience that much more fun and rewarding.  I think, aside from Mr. Trucks, I have conversed with Mr. McNair the most about the hobby and the history of the game.  I really wish there were more folks like them so that the rich history of the game could be passed along so easily.

Thank you again for the photo, Mr. McNair, it is definitely in good hands!

Some More Stuff From Mr. McNair

I still haven't shown off everything I got from my vacation and from the National Card Show, which is amazing to me.  When Chris and I left our dinner meeting with Mr. Don McNair, Chris was given a 'grab bag' from Mr. McNair and was told not to open it until we got back to our hotel.  We were also told that there were a few things in there for me, and a few things in there for Chris.  Chris was told specifically that there was a baseball card in there for him and that I would be able to figure out what was mine.

This 1939 Play Ball Eric McNair was the card for Chris.  This is now Chris' oldest baseball card, by far and will be kept in my safe until he is older and can take care of it.  The card is in rough shape, but this is definitely one of those moments when 'Mint' is not necessary.  The card has definite character.  I will pick up a EX-NM version of the card at some point (yes, I will have an Eric McNair PC).

You should be able to click on the picture and read the back of the card.  This card is from 1939, of course, and by then, McNair had been in the majors for 10 years and had a World Series ring from 1930 after seeing only 4 games of action in the 1929 season.  He had been on the legendary Phillies teams of 1929 through 1931 and then had seen the dynasty dismantled by Connie Mack.  He worked through a few lean seasons with the A's then was moved to the Red Sox and was reunited with his good friend, Jimmie Foxx.  When the above card was printed, McNair was beginning his first season in Chicago after being traded there by Boston for Boze Berger.  It is kind of interesting to see how certain players ended up with certain teams.

Something really cool that was in the grab bag was this old Eric McNair fountain pen.  I used to have a couple fountain pens when I was in high school.  I used them for some pen and ink work in art class.  I was actually really good at it (I'm sure you didn't know that).  Seeing this pen brought back some good memories.  I probably should get back into doing a little art work here and there.  Who knows.

Anyway, the Eric McNair fountain pen was really cool.  When I met with Mr. McNair's son, Eric, III, the next day, I told him about the grab bag.  He laughed and explained to me that this was something his dad has been doing for his daughters their entire lives.  Every time they visit Mr. McNair's house, he gives them grab bags full of random items that he picked up from around his house.  This was so funny to me because it explained the eclectic mix of stuff that was in the bag.  Along with the above items, there was also a turkey feather, a book for Chris, a shirt for me, photos of Mr. McNair and his family and a check-in ticket from a local jewelry store (???).

This also reminded me of something I and my brothers used to do for each other's birthdays.  We would take an old toy out of the toy box and wrap it up or get a couple popsicle sticks and wrap them up.  You know, random stuff.  Eric, III told me that it was something unexpected that his dad did for the kids and it speaks to his dad's sometimes eccentric personality.  I definitely enjoyed that about him.

Don McNair accepted Chris and I as if we were members of his own family and I appreciated it greatly.  I hope he enjoyed our dinner as much as I did.  I really hope I can get back to Meridian, Mississippi and see him again soon.  Thanks Mr. McNair!

More Vacation Leftovers - 1930 World Series Rain Check

One of the coolest things I picked up on my vacation came as a complete surprise to me.  During my dinner with Mr. Don McNair, I was allowed to look at his scrapbook that he put together about his dad's career.  When I got to the portion that showed this rain check (which used to be attached to the actual ticket to the game, of course), he asked me if I was able to take it out of the album.  I said 'I think so', removed it, and he said 'good, take it home with you.'

I'm still amazed at his generosity.  This piece of a World Series ticket is 82 years old and is definitely a part of history.  To have it in my possession is really awesome.  I saw whole tickets to later World Series at the National Card Show going for several hundred dollars.  This one is in rough shape and clearly isn't a whole ticket, but it it still amazing.  I also like that the ticket has the signature of C. McGillicuddy at the bottom.  Also known as Connie Mack.

Hidden Treasures in Mississippi

 In Meridian, Mississippi, there lives a man who has some amazing baseball memorabilia that not a lot of people know about.  He doesn't like the attention, mainly due to the epic amount of memorabilia that he has and the fact that key items had been stolen in the past, but were recovered.  I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of this man's hospitality when he uncovered his rare items so that I could take a look at them over dinner tonight.  That man's name is Don McNair.  He is the son of former Major Leaguer, Eric McNair, whom I have written about on this blog before.  Don't worry, none of these items reside in Mr. McNair's home.  They are kept in a safe location under lock and key.

I heard about Mr. McNair from a friend and colleague that I work alongside, me being a consultant and the friend being a state regulator.  Sometimes the relationship between regulator and consultant is less than amicable, but this regulator and I have developed a great rapport over the years.  One day he overheard me discussing my blog with someone and he told me about the man in Mississippi with the amazing memorabilia.

I wrote Mr. McNair a letter a while back and got some cool items in return.  So, when I knew I would be coming this way on my vacation, I shot Mr. McNair an email and we worked it out so that we could meet up for dinner (along with the father-in-law of said regulator, and my son Chris).

Mr. McNair brought a bag of various memorabilia with him as well as a briefcase that housed a good bit more.  I plan on breaking up the meeting into several blogs so I can do some of the items justice.

The first thing I noticed when we sat down for dinner was the gold ring on Mr. McNair's finger.  I asked him if it was his dad's World Series ring, and, of course, I was correct.

So, here you have it, a 1930 World Series ring, given to the members of the World Champion Philadelphia Athletics.  You know, the A's for those of you who only know them as being from Oakland.

I got to hold the ring in my hand.  82 years old, the ring still looked epic.  Well worn in places, Mr. McNair has had it since his dad's untimely death in 1949.

Mr. McNair had an album with a bunch of items from that 1930 team, one of which being this program from the World Series.  He also had a ticket stub from that series and told me to take it home with me.  I was amazed at his generosity!  I will blog the ticket stub when I get back home to my scanner.

The 1930 Philadelphia A's are regarded as one of the greatest teams in the history of baseball.  Pundits go back and forth between the '30 A's and the '27 Yankees as to which team is the greatest.  To put it into perspective, the 1930 A's went 102-52, boasted future Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Lefty Grove and were managed be legendary Connie Mack.  Even Hall of Famer Eddie Collins was a coach on the team and got into 3 games.  The A's lost more than 2 games in a row only twice that season and did not lose more than two games in a row after the 14th of June.

Jimmie Foxx led the team with 37 homers followed by Simmons' 36.  Lefty Grove pitched to a record of 28-5.  Eric McNair, a rookie at 21 years old, would have 63 hits, 0 home runs and a .266 batting average over 78 games.

The A's would win the World Series after collecting their second of three pennants in a row.  Their opponent in that series, the tough St. Louis Cardinals would bow to the A's after 6 games.

I am still amazed at Mr. McNair's hospitality.  How many people can say that they were able to hold a World Series ring from 1930 in their hands?  I plan on meeting his son, Eric McNair, III tomorrow for lunch and will enjoy more baseball discussion.  Stay tuned for a look at some more of the items in Mr. McNair's collection.