1951 New York Yankees Lineup Card with DiMaggio and Mantle - Signed by Casey Stengel

Sold For:

$1,080

Year:

1951

Auction:

2014 Fall

Lot #:

904

Category:

Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Original New York Yankees lineup card, filled out and signed in pencil by manager Casey Stengel, dating from the 1951 season. The starting nine listed for the Yankees are Mantle (rf), Rizzuto (ss), McDougald (3b), Berra (c), DiMaggio (cf), Bauer (lf), Coleman (2b), Collins (1b), and Raschi (p). Signed "Stengel" (grading "9/10") in the lower right corner. Although the card is not dated, based upon the lineup, it can only date from the 1951 season because that was the only year in which Mantle and DiMaggio played together. According to our research, the starting lineup listed on this card only corresponds to the box score from a game between the Yankees and White Sox at Yankee Stadium on September 18, 1951. In that game, Mantle and DiMaggio each singled once in four at bats in the Yankees' 7-1 loss. Original 1951 New York Yankees lineup cards featuring Mantle and DiMaggio are exceedingly rare. Mantle only appeared in ninety-six games with the Yankees in 1951, having spent a portion of the season in the minors following his demotion on July 15th. He was recalled on August 21st. Therefore, he was only on the Yankees roster for fifty-seven home games that year. This is one of only three 1951 New York Yankees lineup cards we have ever seen that features both Mantle and DiMaggio together. One, from the first game of the 1951 World Series, realized $27,000 at auction in 2007. The other, from DiMaggio's final game as a Yankee, sold at auction for $16,000 in 2008. The card (3.75 x 4.75 inches) displays a few minor creases and surface-paper loss along the top, probably a result of its having been taped to, and then removed from, the dugout wall. There is a small amount of adhesive residue on the reverse from the card having once been mounted in a photo album. In Very Good condition overall. LOA from James Spence/JSA.

SOLD FOR $1,080