Summer Premier Auction 2014

The year 1906, of course, marked the Chicago Cubs’ first National League pennant as they finished the regular season with a 116-36 record, a full 20 games in front of the NL runner-up New York Giants. To no one’s surprise, the Cubs’ pitching staff led the majors with a team ERA of 1.76. Six members of the pitching staff, in fact, recorded double-digit victories: Mordecai Brown (26), Jack Pfiester (20), Ed Reulbach (19), Carl Lundgren (17), Orval Overall (12) and Jack Taylor (12). In addition, Brown set a major league record with the lowest ERA attained with at least 250 innings pitched (1.04). On offense, the star of the team was third baseman Harry Steinfeldt, who led the NL in both hits (176) and runs batted in (83), and who finished second in the league batting race with a .327 average. Pittsburgh’s perennial batting champ Honus Wagner was first with a .339 average. This engraved sterling silver NL Trophy Cup, which stands 10” tall, was awarded to the team by the Hamilton Club of Chicago. It is truly an exceptionally well crafted presentation piece. Engraved across the front is the following passage: “To The Cubs, Champions of the National League, 1906, Compliments of the Hamilton Club of Chicago, a Republican Organization.” The team included four future Hall of Famers: manager and first baseman Frank Chance, second baseman Johnny Evers, shortstop Joe Tinker, and Brown. An impressive and historic piece of Chicago baseball history, the likes of which has never before been introduced to the collecting public. Includes a Letter of Provenance from the Helms Athletic Foundation/LA84 Collection.