The Other Signature on the Foxx Ball - George Earnshaw

I believe I mentioned earlier that there were three signatures on my Jimmie Foxx baseball.  Along with Hall of Famers Foxx and Al Simmons, George Earnshaw's signature graces the sweet spot of the baseball.

Earnshaw (b. 1900 - d. 1976) played in the majors from 1928 to 1936 for the A's (Philadelphia), White Sox, Dodgers and Cardinals.  He had a career record of 127-93 with an ERA of 4.38 and 1,002 strike outs.  He was a 20-game winner 3 times in his career.  He led the AL in wins in 1929 with 24.  He won the World Series with the A's in 1929 and 1930.

If this baseball was signed while the players were still active, that might put is an era from 1928 to 1933 since by 1928, all three players were on the A's, until Simmons left in 1933.  It would be really cool if it was from that time period.  It has to be from at least 1956, since that is the year that Simmons passed away.  Regardless, I have an amazing baseball, and piece of history on my hands.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Al Simmons

Not to be lost with the excitement of Jimmie Foxx, there was another Hall of Famer on my ball that I purchased at the National.  Al Simmons is one of those players from that era that is known only to die hard baseball fans.  Yet, he is a Hall of Famer, and a very tough one to get on a baseball.

Simmons (b. 1902 - d. 1956) played in the majors from 1924 to 1941, 1943 and 1944 for the A's (Philadelphia), White Sox, Tigers, Senators, Braves (Boston), Reds and Red Sox.  He had 2,927 hits, 307 home runs and a .334 batting average.  He finished as high as 2nd in the MVP voting (1925, losing to Roger Peckinpaugh).  Peckinpaugh's stats do not even begin to compare to Simmons's, let alone other players during that season (Babe Ruth..???).  That version of the MVP award was voted on by an 8-member committee and was dropped after 1928.

Simmons had a great career; he is the fastest player to ever record 2,000 hits (in 1,390 games).  He is ranked 23rd all-time in batting average with .334.  He was a three-time All Star (1933, 1934 and 1935) and won the World Series twice with the A's (1929 and 1930).  He had 200 or more hits six times.  He was the AL batting champion in 1930 and 1931 (.381 and .390, respectively).  He batted over .300 and had 100+ RBI in his first eleven seasons.  Simmons was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1953 with 75.4% of the vote (his seventh official ballot).  Simmons is my 124th Hall of Fame autograph.

COMC Pickup - 1970 Fleer World Series #27: 1930

Here is another really cool card that I picked up from COMC the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  This is a 1970 Fleer World Series #27 - 1930 A's vs Cardinals card.

The 1930 World Series is special to me, mainly because it is the only World Series for which I have held the actual corresponding championship ring.  I was afforded the opportunity by the generosity of the son of one of the 1930 Philadelphia A's.

The 1930 World Series pitted the AL Champion Philadelphia A's who were 102-52 against the NL Champion St. Louis Cardinals who were 92-62.  Philadelphia won the series 4 games to 2.

Future Hall of Famers for the 1930 A's included: Manager - Connie Mack, Catcher - Mickey Cochrane, First Baseman - Jimmie Foxx, Outfielder - Al Simmons, Player/Coach - Eddie Collins and Pitcher Lefty Grove.

Future Hall of Famers for the 1930 Cardinals included: First Baseman - Jim Bottomley, Second Baseman - Frankie Frisch, Pitcher - Jesse Haines, Pitcher - Burleigh Grimes and a 20-year old rookie pitcher named Jay Hanna (Dizzy) Dean.

I got this card for $2.50, even though supposed BV is $1.50.  I didn't care, I thought it would be a cool addition to my Eric McNair and/or Jimmie Foxx PCs.

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.

Corresponding With The Son of A Former Big Leaguer

I have been reading a book that I bought from Schuyler's bookstore (Merritt Books) about Jimmie Foxx called Jimmie Foxx: The Pride of Sudlersville.  In the book, Foxx's career is discussed through the author's collection of personal interviews with Foxx's family and various newspaper and magazine articles, etc.  One of the players mentioned in the book was Eric McNair, who as a rookie in 1930 won the World Series with Foxx and the Philadelphia A's.

I got a phone call as I was driving to a site one morning from one of the state regulators that I have to work with.  I was wondering why he was calling me from his cell phone, as opposed to his office phone when he informed me he was calling me from his vacation to see his wife's family in Meridian, Mississippi.  He told me that his wife's family was close friends with a man whose father played baseball back in the 30's and had won a World Series with the Philadelphia A's.  He then told me that the man they knew was named Don McNair, Jr., I knew that the player he was talking about was Eric McNair.

McNair (b. 1909 - d. 1942) played in the majors from 1929 to 1942 for the A's, Red Sox, White Sox and Tigers (playing on the 1941 and 1942 Tigers makes McNair a teammate of friend of the blog, Virgil Trucks).  He had 1,240 career hits, 82 home runs and a .274 batting average over 14 seasons.

My friend got me the address of McNair's son, so I decided to take a shot at sending him a letter to see what kinds of stories and information he would be willing to share.  I was pleasantly surprised today when I came home to a large manila envelope full of documents about Eric McNair's playing career.  The above copies of McNair's signature and the vintage photos are all copies that Mr. McNair sent to me for my collection.  He also included a nice letter, which I will relay:

It was nice of you to write and inquire about Dad's MLB career.  Not many folks down home even know abt. him, as a MLB player.  Here in Deep South, football (College Style) Ole Miss, ALA., State, Sou. Miss is King of the Hill.

I was 11 years old and was a batboy for Savannah Indians baseball team, (1947) when he (Dad) had and untimely heart attack & passed away shortly thereafter.  He was back in baseball, after a 13-year playing career in MLB, as a Manager for Connie Mack's AA farm club, in Savannah, GA.  I think he would have eventually made it to Phil. A's as, a third base coach!

I remember some stories, and Foxx (old Double X) who chased The Babe's HR record was a good friend of Dad's.  I have enclosed some memorabilia, especially of J. Foxx for you to have as a keepsake.

I have a 1929 world series ring in a safe deposit box, plus a world series watch that I had restored and gave to my son Eric III for a past Christmas gift.

He could never afford college back then, his parents, Henry McNair and Nettie Roberts-McNair, was an irish immigrant's son and a hard working blue collar employee of Southern RR, In Meridian, MS.  A railroad center at the time!  Actually, Eric was only a rookie in 1930... just 21 years old.

The invite to Japan (1934) ALL AMERICAN TEAM... by the Japanese Imperial Gov't. & YOMARHARI NEWS FOR A MONTH TOUR OF JAPAN...IN NOVEMBER 1934.  Due to Japan's aggression towards China, the USA had a State Dept. ban on Americans going to Japan.  Special diplomatic approval had to be arranged.  Plus, a catcher, MOE Berg, was secretly commissioned by USA Central Intelligence Bureau, to be a Spy in Tokyo, of the Japanese warships in Tokyo Bay!  A book "the catcher was a spy," has been released several years ago!

...selected by Babe Ruth and Connie Mack [the 1934 all American Team] has been recently declared by Leland's Heritage Auction Houses as the greatest barnstorming team of the 20th century.  FOXX, RUTH, GEHRIG, the supreme HOME RUN HITTERS of that era were on [the] team.  Be that it may, ERIC MCNAIR was the invited SS on this team.

...many thanks for the heads up abt. the new release book on Foxx, I shall look it up on Amazon.

Best Regards,

Don E. McNair, Jr.

***I typed most of the letter as he had written it.

Below is a photo from the Japanese tour, with Eric McNair on the left, J. Quinn in the middle and Jimmie Foxx on the right.

Above are some paraphernalia from the Japanese tour.

Above is a newspaper photo of Jimmie Foxx circa 1926.  I love the elephant on the jersey.

Here is a comic that Mr. McNair sent me about Foxx and his pursuit of The Babe's then home run record.

I thought it was really awesome to get all of this correspondence in the mail from Mr. McNair.  I'm sure he enjoys relating the stories he has of his father.  The 1930 A's had a bunch of Hall of Famers on that team.  Along with Foxx were also Lefty Grove, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins (for 3 games as a player and most of the season as a coach) and were managed by Connie Mack.

I appreciate Mr. McNair getting back to me and for my friend who turned me toward Mr. McNair for the information.