CHUCK CONNORS - AUTOGRAPHED INSCRIBED PHOTOGRAPH - HFSID 254201

CHUCK CONNORS
A signed black and white publicity photograph of the ballplayer-turned-actor in his Chicago Cubs uniform
Photograph inscribed and signed: "To/ Steve-/ All the best to a/ good friend & fan./ Chuck/ Connors". B/w, 8x10. Connors played center for the Boston Celtics in the 1946-1947 season but left early for spring training with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Baseball had always been his first love and for the next several years he played in the minor leagues for Rochester, Norfolk, Newark, Newport News, Mobile, and Montreal. On May 1, 1949, he grounded into a double play in his only at bat for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After just five weeks with the Dodgers, he was sent back to Montreal. After the 1950 season, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs where he played in 66 games (201 AB, 16 runs, 48 hits, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HRs, 18 RBIs, .239 batting average). Chuck Connors (1921-1992) was an American actor and professional athlete. He played in both Major League Baseball (MLB) and in the Basketball Association of America, the predecessor to the NBA. Only 12 people have competed in both leagues. Following his career in sports, he grew into an even more famous celebrity as an actor. His portrayal of single father Lucas McCain in The Rifleman is easily his most recognizable role; the show ran for 168 episodes over five seasons and follows the rancher and his son Mark McCain (portrayed by Johnny Crawford) as they settle in at a new home in North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show aired from 1958-1963. He earned his first screen credit in Pat and Mike in 1952, where he portrayed a police captain. After earning various television and film credits throughout the 1950s, Connors beat out dozens of other actors for the role of Lucas McCain. After The Rifleman ended, he picked up starring roles in television shows Arrest and Trial (1963-1964), Branded(1965-1966), and Cowboy in Africa (1967-1968). When none of these shows achieved the level of success that The Rifleman did, Connors began to focus on the big screen, with roles in Soylent Green (1973) and Airplane II: The Sequel (1982). In a return to television, he had a memorable role in the mini-series Roots (1977) as a plantation owner, one of the many antagonists of the series. The popular actor was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. Chuck Connors' tombstone carries a "Rifleman" photo as well as the logos from his three pro sports teams: the Celtics, the Dodgers, and the Cubs. Fine condition.