This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/15/2019
It would be difficult to imagine the game of baseball without the indelible contributions of Ford Christopher Frick. What began as a journalist, his career took off in 1934 when he was named president of the National League, a position he held until 1951. During his tenure, he was instrumental in creating the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y. in 1939, and he shielded the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson from protests when he broke MLB’s color barrier in 1947. Frick then became baseball’s Commissioner from 1951 to ’65, a stretch the saw four expansion teams added, the establishment of national TV contracts, the creation of a league-wide draft and international development of the sport overseas. Ford C. Frick was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, which he essentially founded, in 1970. He died in 1978, the same year baseball created its most preeminent broadcasting award.
Presented here is Frick’s very own Hall of Fame induction ring made of 10-karat gold. The top features a baseball mounted on a black stone surrounded by "Baseball Hall of Fame" in raise letters. The left shank has “FRICK” engraved on a ribbon above a baseball and crossed bats with a second ribbon engraved with “ELECTED 1970.” The right shank has a blank ribbon above the façade of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. The interior band of the rather large size 13 ring has the “Balfour 10K” hallmark. The ring shows little wear and comes in outstanding condition with its original Balfour presentation case. According to a previous listing, it was gifted to a close friend around the time of Frick’s passing. A monumental, one-of-a-kind piece of baseball history.