Circa 1936 New York Yankees Lineup Card with Lou Gehrig - Signed by Joe McCarthy

Sold For:

$600

Year:

1938

Auction:

2014 Fall

Lot #:

902

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Original New York Yankees lineup card, filled out and signed in pencil by manager Joe McCarthy, dating from the 1936 or 1937 season. The starting nine listed for the Yankees are Johnson (rf), Rolfe (3b), Koy (lf), Gehrig (1b), Dickey (c), Lazzeri (2b), Hoag (cf), Heffner (ss), and Gomez (p). Signed "McCarthy" (grading "9/10") in the lower right corner. Changes, indicated by uniform number, are listed for seven of the starters. Although the card is not dated, based upon the lineup, it can only date from spring training of either 1936 or 1937. Koy played a number of years in the Yankees farm system before his contract was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1938, three days prior to the start of the season. Since Koy never played a regular-season game with the Yankees, and the lineup includes Roy Johnson, who was only with the club in 1936 and 1937, it must date from a spring training game in one of those two seasons. New York Yankees lineup cards from this era, let alone from a championship season, are exceedingly rare and we cannot recall the last time we saw another example. The fact that the offered card features Gehrig and three other Hall of Famers makes it especially desirable. This card most likely hung in the dugout during the game, as there is a tack hole along the top that has been torn through, which most likely occurred when it was later removed from the wall. The card (3.75 x 4.75 inches) displays some creasing and foxing on the reverse. In Very Good condition overall. LOA from James Spence/JSA. SOLD FOR $600