John J. "the crab" Evers autograhph

[babbs3772]

Hello,
I was digging through a box of stamps that belonged to my Great Grandfather, I remembered that years ago I had seen an envelope.

The envelope is a Base Ball Centennial 1939 first day of issue and I finally found that the signature on the front is John J. Evers. It has the 3 cent centennial stamp on it - it is not addressed as my Great Grandfather had sent for it and had included another envelope to send it in. It is dated Jun 12 1939, the picture on the front of the envelope looks like a baseball, there is a picture of Major - General Abner Doubleday on the left of the ball , in the center a picture of Double Day field and to the right is a picture of The National Base Ball Museum. It is colorful and almost looks like someone used water colors to paint it.

If you have any info you are willing to share I would appreciate it. I am not that knowledgable about base ball history - however since figuring out the signers name I have learned a bit about John Evers.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Hello,
I was digging through a box of stamps that belonged to my Great Grandfather, I remembered that years ago I had seen an envelope.

The envelope is a Base Ball Centennial 1939 first day of issue and I finally found that the signature on the front is John J. Evers. It has the 3 cent centennial stamp on it - it is not addressed as my Great Grandfather had sent for it and had included another envelope to send it in. It is dated Jun 12 1939, the picture on the front of the envelope looks like a baseball, there is a picture of Major - General Abner Doubleday on the left of the ball , in the center a picture of Double Day field and to the right is a picture of The National Base Ball Museum. It is colorful and almost looks like someone used water colors to paint it.

If you have any info you are willing to share I would appreciate it. I am not that knowledgable about base ball history - however since figuring out the signers name I have learned a bit about John Evers.

That sounds like a neat first day cover. They have done several through the years in regards to baseball stamps with Cooperstown as a popular postmark. I've never seen one with Doubleday on it. In case you didn't know, babbs, the Baseball hall of Fame in Cooperstown opened in 1939. Doubleday, the very real Civil War General who myth has it invented the game, is from Cooperstown. Both baseball and Civil War collectors would have an interest in that.
I'll do some digging in the meantime. It's not like today, where cards are produced for the specific purpose of containing autographs, so the Evers autographed cover may be unique.

[babbs3772]

Thank you

Thank you for taking the time to reply, if you have any ideas of where I might post about my "find" on other sites let me know.

It really is a beautiful cover - I am so happy I found it and hadn't lost it in the past 34 years of my life or that it hadn't disapeared in its 67 year life!

[Imapotato]

Johnny Evers lived about 5 blocks from where I live now

[babbs3772]

That's awesome! It put a smile on my face to think people remember him - after finding the cover and finding out who signed it gave me an opportunity to learn about him - I am glad I did - this all may have started an obsession for me! The boyfriend is going to be pretty psyched!

[runningshoes]

Baseball's Sad Lexicon

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,*
Making a Giant hit into a double--
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Who could forget Johnny Evers?

I've been doing some research about him lately for a piece I'm working on.

I have lots of stuff from The Sporting News.

Let me know if you want any of it..it's in PDF format.

[babbs3772]

I read that poem last night when I figured out who the signature belonged to, its a classic for sure.

That would be great if you could send me the info you have, I would appreciate it. Thank you !

[runningshoes]

PM your email address.

You can see what I've written at cubshub.com

The link is called Our Storied Past on theft hand side of the page.

I'll be posting the Tinker to Evers to Chance story there in a couple days.

[flyingdutchdude]

Nice find

I dont specialize in autographs, I have a few, but I mainly specialize in vintage cards 1880s-1930s. I do have a few price guides on autographs though. Here is whats listed for an Evers signature.....

3X5 index card $700, baseball card $1,500, Photo $1,500, Check $3,000, Letter $1,300, single signed ball (SSball) $10,000.

With this info Id est. your item is worth about $1,000, somewhere between a signed 3X5 and a photo.

Nice find. Good luck.

[email protected]