Christy Mathewson's 1900 Signed Rookie Contract (Player's Copy dated 1900) This Contract comes from the late Barry Halper Collection, with a letter from Mr. Halper stating he received the contract from Christy Mathewson's daughter-in-law.
(LOT 5) 1900 Christy Mathewson Rookie Signed Contract (Player's Copy) PSA/DNA and JSA Authenticated Serious Rarity A True Historic document! - An Original Inductee in the Baseball's Hall of Fame! One of the game's Greatest Pitchers 373 Wins (3rd all time) with a 2.13 ERA (8th all time) A Hall of Fame caliber historic document; the Rookie Player's contract from one of the Game's inaugural, (One of the famous First Five), Hall of Fame Inductees, the great Christy Mathewson. This 107 year old vintage Contract contains an absolute fabulous signature of Mathewson on page three. The 4 page document overall is in excellent condition given its 107 year old age. We as Collectors are lucky it has survived at all! A fact we can only attribute to Mathewson's immense stature and reputation among the public –that the mere fact if it had Mathewson's name on it made it too valuable to just throw away! This is a one of a kind Rarity that deserves serious hobby attention and it marks the entry into the Game one of baseball's most important player figures and top tier Hall of Fame legend. No one American athlete, in any sport, has ever summed up the values of his era more than the pitcher Christy Mathewson. This "Greek God in flannels," as the publicists liked to call him, appeared on the major-league diamond, during the first years of the 20th century, as if in answer to the national yearning for a gentleman-hero. Baseball gloried in its rough-necked, hard-drinking, roustabout spirit when Mathewson first stepped upon its muddy fields. "He handed the game," wrote dean of sportswriters Grantland Rice, "a certain...indefinable lift in culture, brains, personality." Mathewson would be remembered today even if he had lacked those golden attributes of body and spirit. At a point when baseball was a pitcher's game, dominated by such immortals as Walter Johnson, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Chief Bender, and Rube Waddell, Mathewson's strong right arm made him a star second to none. Over a period of sixteen full seasons of play with the New York Giants, he won twenty or more game thirteen years and thirty or more games four years. Provenance: Ex-Barry Halper Collection. Accompanied by a letter of provenance from Mr. Halper on his Yankees letterhead explaining that he obtained this from Christy Mathewson's daughter-in-law who was bequethed some of his effects when her husband, Christy Mathewson Jr. passed away. Condition: The contract has typical folds and shows minor soiling and is overall excellent condition. Mathewson's fountain pen signature is a 9/10."
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