This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/8/2018
After several seasons managing the PCL's Hollywood Stars, Ossie Vitt was tapped by the New York Yankees to manage their affiliated club in Oakland. For years the Oakland Oaks were a strictly second-division team, overshadowed by the more successful San Francisco Seals across the bay. Vitt proved to be just what the Oaks needed and the team improved to a respectable 3rd place finish. Future Yankees star Spud Chandler and several other players destined for the majors found their first success under Vitt’s management in Oakland. The Yankees took notice of Vitt’s work and he was moved up the ladder to Newark where he managed what is recognized as the greatest minor league team of all-time: the 1937 Newark Bears.
This extraordinary album contains 43 vintage photographs of the 1935 Oaklans Oaks printed on rag paper. The subjects range from great posed shots of members of Vitt’s club to stadium and crowd shots. The photos were taken by the Oaks’ play-by-play man, Ray Donald Clark, who assembled the collection and presented it to Vitt, complete with a photo of the announcer with an inscription to Vitt. The photos are incredibly well-preserved considering the fragility of the paper they were printed on. Each photo has three holes punched on one side where they were secured into a spiral album. A total of 43 beautiful 8.5" by 11" black and white shots are included. A one-of-a-kind presentation album awarded to Ossie Vitt in appreciation of his bringing respectable baseball back to Oakland
Includes LOA from Vitt's grandson.