Two iconic National League sluggers are presented here, both "the face of their franchise" during long, Hall of Fame careers.
Ernie "Mr. Cub" Banks was a Chicago Cubs legend, as was Willie "Pops" Stargell for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
We have eye pleasing signed examples of their 1970 Topps baseball cards, inked at the time in vintage black ballpoint and authenticated and encapsulated by PSA/DNA.
Note that Willie has signed just "Stargell", which was often his in-person penmanship preference. Also note that Banks is a high number (#630), so who knows how many youngsters missed out on getting Ernie's 1970 card at the time due to the shelf stocking whims of their local candy distributor as summer turned to autumn? Thank goodness we have it for you now.
Provenance:
As documented in the story The Great Autograph Hunt from the February 5, 1974 Dayton (Ohio) Journal Herald, Jack Zimmerman and his grade school buddies Tim Gallagher and Vince Martin started collecting autographs of athletes through the mail, at games and at team hotels, primarily in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas. The boys were relentless in their pursuit of baseball, basketball and football players, obtaining the stars and "commons" of the day, plus "old timers" and "legends" that were coaches, broadcasters or responsive through the mail. Jack was locked in on collecting from about 1968 through 1975, until pursuit of his own basketball career took priority. Jack became an All-State high school player, then had a Hall of Fame career hooping at the University of Dayton, followed by several seasons as an overseas pro, including suiting up for the prestigious Maccabi Tel Aviv club. Jack's extensive collection was essentially put in a time capsule in 1976 and has literally followed him all over the world. We are proud to present selected treasures from Jack's collection in our Auction, fresh to the hobby and seeing the light of day for the first time in over 45 years!