This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/4/2014
Recognized by experts and historians as the most single important baseball photograph ever recorded, this frozen moment in time resulted from the tragic demise of Hall of Famer Addie Joss, who passed just two days after his 30th birthday in April, 1911 from meningitis. Joss was a remarkable hurler who compiled a 160-97 record in nine major league season with a career 1.89 ERA, second to only Ed Walsh for the lowest career earned run average in baseball history. To honor the untimely death of Joss, the greatest array of baseball talent the world had ever seen gathered in Joss' home city of Cleveland for a benefit on July 24th, 1911 at League Park, where the Cleveland Naps played a group of American League stars, a contest that predates the first official All-Star game by over 20 years. This sensational panoramic is a permanent record of the legends that attended this historic event, ranging from 23-year old "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, whose major league career up to the 1911 season consisted of just 30 games over parts of three seasons, to 44-year old Cy Young, closing out his 511-win career in his 22nd and final campaign. Also pictured among the participants is "Home Run" Baker, Eddie Collins, Sam Crawford, Walter Johnson, Napoleon Lajoie, Tris Speaker, Bobby Wallace and Ty Cobb, who participated in a borrowed Cleveland uniform when his luggage did not arrive in time for the event. The offered piece is perhaps the finest of the precious few surviving examples, showing virtually no sign of over a century of age save for a slight wrinkle on the bottom edge, a small area of surface discoloration in the upper left corner and some minor staining on the far right, none of which impacts upon the seemingly endless line of baseball immortals. The photo is expertly matted and framed in a matter befitting of such an historic treasure and measures approximately 14" x 46" altogether. This is undoubtedly a museum-quality artifact that, even after over 150 years of baseball history, has never been nor will ever be equaled!