This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/7/2009
Whenever a big ticket Sam Crawford piece comes up for auction, we always think it's important to remind fellow enthusiasts of "Wahoo Sam's" incredible dead-ball era accomplishments as well as his post-career contributions to the recorded legacy of the game. At 6'0" and 190 pounds, Sam was a monster of man for his era, and he was perhaps the greatest slugger ever! He played at a time when most ballparks had no outfield fences, which no doubt contributed to his still-standing career record of 309 triples. Coupled with his 51 inside-the-park home runs, which ranks 2nd all-time, it doesn't take much to imagine what his numbers would've been like were there fences to contain him. Ed Barrow believed he was the best hitter ever, as did many of his contemporaries, and the "Gray Ink Test" helps make the point, ranking Sam as the 9th best hitter of all time, ahead of such notables as Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and even Barry Bonds. When the Veterans Committee elected him to the Hall, he was living in a small cabin in southern California, his neighbors completely unaware of his accomplishments. Seven years later, in 1964, he would famously sit down with Lawrence Ritter and provide some of the juiciest details for Ritter's book, The Glory of Their Times, one of the most famous baseball books ever written. Offered in this lot is a sharp example of Crawford's 1915 Cracker Jack issue that has been graded NM/MT 8 by PSA and reports just 14 like it and only 2 higher on record. Help keep Sam's legacy alive with a strong bid on this delicious Cracker Jack!