Carl Morton's debut season in major league baseball was notable, winning the National League Rookie of the Year as a Montreal Expo in 1970. He went on to pitch several more seasons as an Expo and an Atlanta Brave, interesting as the Braves were the team to originally sign Morton before he was selected by the Expos in the expansion draft.
Sadly Carl passed away suddenly in 1983 at the young age of 39. Because of his status as a MLB Rookie of the Year and due to his death as such a young man, Carl's autographs are very desirable to collectors. These were all obtained at the time in the early 1970's.
Here we have a colorful array of three of Morton's baseball cards, signed in period ballpoint pen and PSA/DNA slabbed. The 1973 Topps card is especially sharp. Note that the 1971 Topps edition signature is a bit light.
In addition to the cards, a Beckett authenticated 8.5" X 11" baseball magazine page of Morton in action in Jarry Park, boldly signed by Morton in period ballpoint, is also included. (Thurman Munson, Morton's 1970 Rookie of the Year counterpart in the AL, is the other player on the magazine page, although NOT signed by Munson)
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!