Fresh to the hobby is this vintage PSA/DNA 9 authentic autograph of baseball legend Willie Mays on his 1972 Topps #49 card. Willie is classically posed, bat in hand, in his San Francisco Giants uniform.
Mays appeared on a lot of cards, but this is his LAST CARD as a Giant (before being dealt to the Mets to close out his iconic career). Any signature of the "Say Hey Kid" is cherished, but especially on one of his baseball cards signed AT THE TIME in bold ballpoint, smartly inked on the "sweet spot" of the card.
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!