1951 Ty Cobb Three-Page Handwritten Letter to Harry Heilmann - PSA/DNA

Sold For:

$4,560

Year:

1951

Auction:

2023 Spring

Lot #:

2624

Category:

Autographed Baseballs/Flats/Photos

Three-page handwritten letter dated February 10, 1951, and signed by Hall of Fame outfielder Ty Cobb. In his letter, written on his personal stationery to former teammate Harry Heilmann, Cobb explains his efforts in trying to get Heilmann elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Both the text and Cobb's signature (first name only) have been scripted in his customary green ink. It seems almost hard to believe in this day and age that a player who led the league in batting four times, including one season in which he hit over .400, and finished his seventeen-year career with a .342 average, would have trouble making the Hall of Fame, but that was exactly the situation Heilmann found himself in at the time. Heilmann retired in 1932 and, incredibly, during his first nine years of eligibility (1937-1945) he never garnered more than fourteen votes! Sadly, the main reason Cobb was taking an active interest in Heilmann's election in 1951 was because Heilmann was suffering from cancer and did not have much longer to live. Even with Cobb's help, Heilmann fell seventeen votes short in 1951. Unfortunately, Heilmann died five months after Cobb wrote this letter. Perhaps Heilmann's death softened the hearts of some of the Hall of Fame voters, because the following year he was easily elected to the Hall, receiving the highest number of votes (203) of any candidate that year. Each page of the letter (7.25 x 10 inches) has two horizontal mailing folds. In Near Mint condition overall. The signature and all writing are essentially flawless. The letter is accompanied by its original mailing envelope (Very Good), addressed in Cobb's hand and postmarked "Feb 11, Menlo Park, Calif." Also accompanied by an original newspaper clipping, dated July 8, 1951, regarding Cobb's publicly known efforts to get Heilmann voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame. Total: 4 items (three pages, envelope, and newspaper clipping). Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Opening Bid $2,000.