This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/22/2018
The St. Louis baseball franchise was established in 1882 as the Brown Stockings and went through several name changes before winning their first championship in 1926. It didn't take another 42 years to win the next one as the Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Athletics in seven games to capture the 1931 World Series and earn Hall of Famer Sunny Jim Bottomley his second championship ring. According to members of the family, Bottomley always wore his 1926 World Championship ring and decided to give the 1931 ring to his wife Betty, who stored it for safekeeping. Bottomley eventually lost the '26 ring while pheasant hunting but the 1931 ring survived and is offered here. A round diamond is surrounded by a red stone with "St. Louis World Champions 1931" wrapped around the stones. On both sides of the ring are two cardinals sitting on a branch, originally red in color but the red enamel has faded over the years though traces can still be seen under magnification. This ring is from the personal estate of Sunny Jim Bottomley, passing from Jim to his wife to her second husband to his daughter. A fantastic piece of history from a two-time St.Louis World Series champion.