1903 BOSTON AMERICANS/ROYAL ROOTERS WORLD SERIES REAL PHOTO BUTTON W/HOF'ER CY YOUNG.
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Winning Bid:
$5,575.56
(Includes 18% Buyer's Premium)
Bidding Ended:
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 9:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Wednesday, September 23, 2020 9:00:00 PM)
Item Description
1.75" celluloid button, with fixed horizontal bar pin, one of only two examples known in the hobby. The manufacturer's identity isn't listed for this pin. In 1903, the year of the first modern-day World Series, this early Boston Royal Rooters button was produced to congratulate the Boston Americans ball club on their postseason success vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Americans won the American League pennant with a record of 91-47 under Hall of Fame player/manager Jimmy Collins. This wonderful keepsake pictures 11 members of the Boston team, highlighted by the presence of National Baseball Hall of Fame pitching legend, Cy Young (seated at far left, wearing dark colored jacket) along with numerous members of the Royal Rooters in the background. The Royal Rooters may well be the most significant group of fans in sports. They were the first to accompany their team on road trips, the first to organize and lead crowd cheers, the first to bring a popular music theme into a ballpark setting and the first to sneak homemade signs into a ballpark. They not only hassled opposing teams, they made life miserable for the other team's fans, too, until they disbanded after the 1918 season. The Royal Rooters' leader, a gruff saloon owner named Mike "Nuff Ced" McGreevy, had commissioned the 1903 pin after his beloved Sox beat the Honus Wagner-led Pirates in Game 7 in Pittsburgh. McGreevy hired a Pittsburgh photographer, identified only as D. Rosser, to take the team photo and had planed to display it in his Boston saloon. That establishment, the Third Base Tavern (so named because it was billed as the last stop before home), was the headquarters of the Royal Rooters. But McGreevy was so enamored w/the photo that he had buttons bearing the image made and distributed to his Royal Rooters to wear on the train ride back to Boston for Game 8. Boston won that historic best-of-nine-games playoff series 5-3, although the Pirates had stormed to a 3-1 lead after the first four games. The great Wagner was just one of many Pittsburgh players and fans who complained about the rowdiness of the Royal Rooters after the final game. And, how many groups of fans can boast that the portrait photo of one of their own shares space with the rival team managers on the program/scorecards of the 1903 World Series? None other than the Royal Rooters "Nuff Ced" McGreevy, whose image graced the program covers for the first-ever World Series. So significant are those programs that one of them, neatly scored for the first-ever Series game, once sold for over $80,000 at public auction. The clarity of this magnificent image allows for the identification of Cy Young, previously suspected but unconfirmed until now. Only the most trivial wear. High gloss and Exc. Paul Muchinsky Collection Book Example.
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