Spring 2021 - Item detail
1919 Grover Alexander Endorsed Chicago Cubs Payroll Check - PSA/DNA
- Sold For:
- $4,440
- Year:
- 1919
- Auction:
- 2021 Spring
- Lot #:
- 2221
- Category:
- Autographed Baseballs/Flats/Photos
Chicago Cubs payroll check, dated September 30, 1919, issued to and endorsed by Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Alexander. PSA/DNA has encapsulated the check and certified the signature as "Authentic." The check, drawn on the Lake View State Bank of Chicago, Illinois, is made out in the amount of $950.00. Signed by the club's President William Veeck Sr. in the lower right corner. Endorsed by "Grover C. Alexander" in black fountain pen (grading "7") on the reverse. Also endorsed in black fountain pen by Arthur Aldrich directly below Alexander's signature. This is an exceptionally early Hall of Famer payroll check and it comes with a unique provenance. This lot originates from the extraordinary collection of a longtime Chicago Cubs executive, Eldred "Salty" Saltwell, which is consigned to this auction by his family. The collection, which includes a remarkable array of contracts, checks, and other related documents and mementos, will be presented over a series of auctions and will offer publicly for the first time many significant items spanning decades of Chicago baseball.
1919 marked Alexander's second season with Chicago. The prior year, he compiled a 2-1 record before being drafted into the military. In 1919, he led the league in ERA and shutouts, compiling a 16-11 record. Few pitchers in the history of the game entered the Hall of Fame with a better resume than Grover Alexander. Between the years 1911 and 1927 Alexander won twenty or more games nine times, including three thirty-win seasons, and finished his career with 373 wins, which ties him with Christy Mathewson for fourth place on the all-time list. Alexander was at his best during the three-year span 1915-1917, when he became the only pitcher to lead the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts for three consecutive seasons. Despite all of these accomplishments, he is still best remembered today for his dramatic strikeout of Tony Lazzeri with two outs and the bases loaded in Game 7 of the 1926 World Series, which basically won the Series for the Cardinals. Alexander retired in 1931 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1938. The check (8.25 x 3.75 inches), which has normal bank cancellation stamps and holes, displays a vertical fold and light creasing. In Very Good condition overall. Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open).
1919 marked Alexander's second season with Chicago. The prior year, he compiled a 2-1 record before being drafted into the military. In 1919, he led the league in ERA and shutouts, compiling a 16-11 record. Few pitchers in the history of the game entered the Hall of Fame with a better resume than Grover Alexander. Between the years 1911 and 1927 Alexander won twenty or more games nine times, including three thirty-win seasons, and finished his career with 373 wins, which ties him with Christy Mathewson for fourth place on the all-time list. Alexander was at his best during the three-year span 1915-1917, when he became the only pitcher to lead the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts for three consecutive seasons. Despite all of these accomplishments, he is still best remembered today for his dramatic strikeout of Tony Lazzeri with two outs and the bases loaded in Game 7 of the 1926 World Series, which basically won the Series for the Cardinals. Alexander retired in 1931 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1938. The check (8.25 x 3.75 inches), which has normal bank cancellation stamps and holes, displays a vertical fold and light creasing. In Very Good condition overall. Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open).