A program from the first National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1939 signed by all 11 living inductees at the time has sold via Lelands Auctions for just over $315,000. It’s the most ever paid for a program, beating out the $241,500 paid for a 1903 World Series program in 2011.
The Baseball Hall of Fame program is believed to be the only ever signed by all the living inductees present at the event: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb (who signed the program twice), Walter Johnson, Honus Wager, Cy Young, Tris Speaker, Grover Alexander, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, Eddie Collins and Connie Mack. The program is also signed by Hall of Famers Mel Ott, Lefty Grove and Johnny Vander Meer, among others.
The consignor’s parents, who were engaged at the time, attended the ceremony on June 12, 1939. They both purchased a program and tried to obtain as many signatures as they could, and the consignor’s mother obtained the autographs of all the living inductees.
The Baseball Hall of Fame program is believed to be the only ever signed by all eleven living inductees present at the ceremony in 1939. Courtesy of Lelands Auctions
“My mother and her fiancé wanted to collect all the autographs of the living HOF players while at the opening of the HOF,” wrote the consignor, whose name wasn’t disclosed. “She got autographs from all except for Ty Cobb who was late. In fact he missed the famous photograph with all the other inductees.”
The consignor went on to write that his mother waited for Cobb, who agreed to give his autograph only if he could have a kiss.
“She gave him a kiss on the cheek, but as she pulled away, he kissed her,” the consignor wrote. “When signing, he said ‘Well, since I got two kisses, I’ll sign it twice.’ Thus the ‘Double Ty’ signature.”
The program includes a letter of authenticity, verifying the veracity of the signatures, by grader and authenticator Professional Sports Authenticator.