1942 NEGRO LEAGUE "NEW YORK BLACK YANKEES VS. BIRMINGHAM BLACK BARONS" BUTTON "CONTESTANT" VARIETY.
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Winning Bid:
$428.34
(Includes 18% Buyer's Premium)
Bidding Ended:
Monday, May 20, 2024 9:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Monday, May 20, 2024 9:00:00 PM)
Item Description
One of few known examples. 2.5". Marked "St. Louis Button Co." on the curl. In our Sept. 2020 auction we sold the Paul Muchinsky Collection Book Example of this button, in NM condition, for $1,583. However, that version did not have the "Contestant" overprint in red like the one we are offering here has. The tin back is totally rusted. Front has all over and obvious age spotting/staning. Despite the extensive wear, front retains a very glossy appearance. Just Good overall. But in this case, rarity trumps condition. Paul Muchinsky Collection.
On a warm Saturday afternoon in May, with the nation's list of war dead growing as the country battled in two theaters of war, the baseball fans of St Louis were given a rare treat. For the second consecutive year, big league black baseball came to town and put on a show at Sportsman's Park. The New York Black Yankees defeated the Birmingham Black Barons, 8-4. Dan Bankhead, who would later play with the Brooklyn Dodgers, appeared in relief in the game for the Black Barons. Such was the scene, with more than 11,000 spectators present, on the first Decoration Day of World War II. Local fans had another reason to cheer the game thanks to the fact that the Black Yankees fielded three players from St. Louis: Gene Smith, Leslie "Chin" Green, and Dan Wilson. The Black Barons had only one player from St. Louis on their roster, outfielder, Bill Bradford. One local writer noted that the Black Barons were "shopping around for more after seeing what three could do." Before the marquee game, fans were treated to a beauty pageant with the title of Miss Midwest on the line. There was also a patriotic display with a boys and girls drum and bugle corps demonstration. As Normal "Tweed" Webb of the St. Louis Argus noted, "even in the midst of the baseball spectacle, the war was not forgotten."
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