Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul began his professional baseball career as a left-handed pitcher for the San Francisco Seals in the Triple-A's Pacific Coast League. He toiled as a reliever with the Yankees and Red Sox (1919-23) before being sent down to the minors and where he turned into a slugging outfielder. Back in the Big Leagues in 1928, O'Doul put together one of the finest offensive seasons in baseball history in 1929 with the Philadelphia Phillies, leading the National League in batting average (.398) and hits (254) while clubbing 32 home runs, driving in 122 and scoring 152 times. Traded to the Brooklyn Robins, he batted .383 with 22 homers in the 1930 and won his 2nd batting crown with a .368 clip in '32 . He was traded to the New York Giants in 1933 where he finished his terrific career in 1934. His lone All-Star appearance was the inaugural 1933 Mid-Summer Classic.
Offered in this lot is a vintage pair of Lefty O'Doul's game-worn cleats, circa 1929-33. While it may be tough to photo-match black and white images, especially shoes, the color and style of these black Brooks cleats appear awfully similar to the ones he wore in a 10/17/33 exhibition game with his 1933 National League All-Star
uniform (Getty 517293806 next to Ty Cobb and Joe Cronin). Thus, it is not a stretch to conclude that O'Doul may have worn these
same cleats in the inaugural 1933 MLB All-Star Game. Only Lefty would know for sure.
The black leather shoes come in size 10 1/2, which is stamped in barely legible yellow on the inside with a manufacturer's code (38396). The size is again carved into the outsoles. The insoles and laces are present and intact, all but a few broken shoestrings on the right shoe. The outsoles are stamped "Lefty O'Doul BROOKS SHOE MFG. CO. PHILADELPHIA." This coincides with the Brooks Sports, Inc. apparel company starting to make cleats for baseball and football in the 1920's and 30's. Both cleats show excellent game usage but have been preserved quite well.
The consignor's late husband was one of the foremost known collectors of vintage PCL memorabilia, and Lefty O'Doul was one of his favorites. He acquired most of his autographed and game-used items in-person at autograph shows featuring former PCL stars.