This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/8/2017
No less than 13 Hall of Famers are featured on this Hy Sandham print of the 1894 Temple Cup, named after Pittsburgh Pirates owner William Chase Temple.
This inaugural seven game championship contest between the top two teams of the National League pitted the Baltimore Orioles against the New York Giants and became an annual event until 1897, serving as the precursor to the modern World Series. The actual Temple Cup is now displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Delivered with stunning detail, down to the time-period attire of the fans and netting that protects the spectators, the action on the diamond is caught mid-pitch with the runner on first breaking for second and another runner on third in position to break for the plate. Lining the top and bottom of the image are individual portraits of the participants and baseball executives, including Cap Anson, Charles Comisky, Roger Conner, Ed Delahanty, Hugh Duffy, Amos Rusie, Wilbert Robinson, Albert Spalding, John Montgomery Ward, George Wright and Cy Young. The piece measures approximately 41" x 28 1/2" with the artist's pencil signature in the lower right and exhibits some mild water staining on the bottom that does not impede upon the portraits above it. The mild wear is negligible given the age of this wondrous piece of Americana. A color tinted version of the print was released years later without the individual portraits at the top and bottom, but this black and white original version is far more scarce with only a few surviving specimens known to exist. This is without question one of the finest examples to showcase organized professional baseball at its earliest stage.