George Sisler
n.p., ca. 1967
"Gorgeous George" Sisler Inscribes Photo to Tom Eakin
Signed photograph

GEORGE SISLER, Photograph Signed, to "Tom Eakin," n.d. (ca. 1967), n.p. 1 p., 8" x 10". Silhouette black-and-white photograph; blue ink inscription and signature; matted with metal plate on matte with Sisler's statistics and awards; very good.

Sisler signed this silhouette photograph of himself in a St. Louis Browns uniform for Cy Young Centennial Chairman Tom Eakin.

Inscription
My good friend Tom Eakin National Chairman Cy Young Centennial
My very best wishes
George Sisler

Historical Background
The Cy Young Centennial took place in mid-July 1967 in Tuscarawas County, in east-central Ohio, the birthplace of legendary Major League Baseball pitcher Denton True "Cy" Young (1867-1955).

The three-day event featured a Cleveland Indians baseball clinic at Tuscora Park on Thursday, July 13. A golf outing began the day on July 14, followed by a luncheon, and another baseball clinic conducted by Robert M. "Lefty" Groves, who played for the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox in the 1940s and 1950s. After an "Old Timer's Game" at Tuscora Park, there was a banquet at the Elks' Hall, where head football coach Woody Hayes of Ohio State University served as toastmaster, and Waite C. Hoyt, who played with the New York Yankees in the 1920s, served as the main speaker. On Saturday, July 15, there was a morning parade in Newcomerstown, followed by a Cy Young Memorial Service, and then a Centennial Parade in nearby New Philadelphia.

George Sisler (1893-1973) was born in Ohio to a schoolteacher and coal mine supervisor. He played baseball, basketball, and football in high school in Akron, but he focused on baseball, and local newspapers dubbed the handsome player "Gorgeous George." He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan and played on the college team as a pitcher and outfielder, though he occasionally suffered from a sore arm. He helped the Wolverines win the 1914 college baseball national championship. He graduated in the summer of 1915 with a degree in mechanical engineering and joined the St. Louis Browns, where he led the team in batting average, hits, and slugging percentage, though he also led American League first basemen in errors. In 1918, he enlisted in the army and joined a Chemical Warfare Service unit and was preparing to go to Europe when the war ended. In 1922, he and Ty Cobb battled for the batting title, and he scored a .420 batting average and was named the AL's Most Valuable Player that year. Vision troubles sidelined Sisler in 1923, but he returned in 1924 as a player-manager. At the end of the 1927 season, he was traded to the Washington Senators, where he played a few games before the Senators sold his contract in May 1928 to the Boston Braves, where he remained through the 1930 season. In 1931 and 1932, he played for minor league teams in New York and Texas but retired permanently in 1932. In his sixteen years in the major leagues, he had a .340 lifetime batting average. In 1939, he was one of the first players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In the 1930s, he owned an interest in a sporting goods company in St. Louis. From the 1940s to the 1960s, he served various teams as a talent scout and batting coach.

Thomas C. Eakin (1933-2020) was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Dennison University in 1956, and then spent two years in the Army at a missile base in Cleveland. He worked in insurance and publishing before beginning a sports promotion company that worked with high schools and colleges. He served on the national committee for the Cy Young Centennial in Newcomerstown, Ohio, in 1967. He used his baseball memorabilia and artifacts as the basis for the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which operated from 1975 to 1995 in Newcomerstown, Springfield, and Toledo. He was noted for his philanthropic efforts and was the recipient of numerous awards.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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8" x 10"