STARS OF AMERICAN SPORTS
Baseball signed by 16 stars of baseball (11), basketball (2), football (2) and hockey (1), inscribed by Steve Carlton to "Buffalo Bob"
Baseball inscribed and signed: " To Buffalo Bob/Sincerely/Steve Carlton 32", "Lou Brock", "Luis Aparicio", "Bill Sharman", "Paul Hornung", "George Foster", "Bob Gibson", "Warren Spahn", "Y. A. Tittle", "George Mikan", "Stan Mikita", "Steve Garvey", "Rollie Fingers", "Pete Rose", "Fergie Jenkins" and "Minnie/Minoso". Rawlings Official National League Baseball, William D. White, President. Included are 11 stars of Major League Baseball (seven of whom are in the Hall of Fame): STEVE CARLTON (b. 1944 won four Cy Young awards (1972, 1977, 1980, 1982) while pitching for the Phillies, a record that stood until 1988, when Roger Clemens notched his fifth. In 1972, Carlton won the pitching Triple Crown and became the second National League pitcher to top 300 wins. His #32 was retired by the Phillies in 1989. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994, his first year of eligibility. A six-time All-Star, LOU BROCK (b. 1939) led the league in stolen bases eight times, including an all-time season high of 118 in 1974. At his retirement, his 938 career stolen bases were the highest total in Major League history, a record broken by Ricky Henderson in 1982. In a 19-year Major League career (1961-1979), Brock played in three World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1985. The 1956 American League Rookie of the Year, LUIS APARICIO, born in Venezuela in 1934, played shortstop for the Chicago White Sox (1956-1962, 1968-1970), Baltimore Orioles (1963-1967) and Boston Red Sox (1971-1973). His 506 stolen bases ranked him seventh all-time when he retired, and he holds the lifetime shortstop records for games, double plays, and assists and the AL records for putouts and total chances. He led AL shortstops eight consecutive years in fielding, seven times in assists, four times in putouts, and twice each in total chances per game and double plays. Aparicio was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984. Outfielder GEORGE FOSTER (b. 1948) was an important cog in Cincinnati's Big Red Machine of the 1970s. Foster's three consecutive RBI championships (1976-78) tied a ML record. In 1977, his MVP year, he hit .320 with 149 RBI and 124 runs and blasted 52 HR to become only the seventh NL player to hit 50 or more in a season. He hit three straight homers in a July 14 game that season, and his 31 road homers set the ML record for right-handed batters. In 1978 Foster again led the NL with 40 HR. BOB GIBSON (b. 1935) holds the major league record for lowest Earned Run Average of 1.12 in 1968, the year he was the National League's Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner. He also won the Cy Young Award in 1970. In his 17-year career, all with the St. Louis Cardinals, Gibson won 251 games including 56 shutouts. He was the first pitcher to strike out at least 200 batters in nine seasons, joining, in 1974, Walter Johnson as the only pitchers to strike out at least 3,000 batters in a career. Gibson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1981, his first year of eligibility. He was briefly under contract with the Harlem Globetrotters, but chose baseball instead, much to the regret of Major League hitters. Hall of Famer WARREN SPAHN (1921-2003) won 363 major league games, more games than any lefthander in baseball history. He was the mainstay of the Boston/Milwaukee Braves' pitching staff for two decades. Spahn won 20 games a ML record-tying 13 times, pitched two no-hitters, and led the NL in strikeouts four consecutive years. Here's a striking measure of his value: Spahn had almost the same career won-lost record as the Dodgers' Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale combined! STEVE GARVEY (b. 1948) played an NL-record 1,207 consecutive games. In ten All-Star Games he hit .393, and his slugging average of .955 is the highest of any player with more than 20 at-bats. The winner of four Gold Gloves, Garvey retired with a .996 fielding average. He played on 4 LA Dodger championship teams. Garvey's "Mr. Clean" image during his playing days has been sullied by a bankruptcy resulting from child support paid to several women. In 2011, he was fired from a public relations with the Dodgers for trying to organize a buy-out of the financially troubled franchise. ROLLIE FINGERS (b. 1946) played for the Oakland Athletics (1968 to 1976), San Diego Padres (1977-1980) and Milwaukee Brewers (1981-1985) during his 17-year major league career. Fingers, known for his sharp slider, notched 341 career saves and appeared in 16 World Series games. In 1981, he won both the American League MVP and Cy Young Award. Fingers was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. PETE ROSE (b. 1941) is major league baseball's career leader in hits (4,256), singles, at bats and games played. He had more than 200 hits in a season ten times. Nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", the 17-time All-Star during a 24-year major league career (1963-1986) went on to manage the Cincinnati Reds (1984-1989), the team with which he had starred in four of his six World Series appearances. Allegations of betting on baseball led to Rose's suspension from baseball in 1989; consequently, his name has never appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot. Many fans support his reinstatement and/or election to the Hall. Starting pitcher FERGUSON JENKINS (born in Canada in 1942) won 284 games, including 6 consecutive seasons with the Chicago Cubs in which he won 20 or more games while striking out 200 or more. National League Cy Young winner in 1971, he led the league in wins twice, made the All-Star team twice, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991. On May 1, 1951, in a game against the Yankees, young Cuban speedster MINNIE MINOSO (1922-2015) became the first black player to don a White Sox uniform. Minoso finished his rookie year as the AL leader in stolen bases (31) and triples (14); his .326 batting average was second only to Ferris Fain's .344, and his 112 runs fell one short of Dom DiMaggio's league-leading 113. Minoso was TSN's Rookie of the Year. He led the AL in stolen bases again in 1952 and 1953 and in triples in 1954, and tied for the league lead in steals in 1956 and in doubles in 1957. He would do whatever was necessary to get on base, including getting in the way of fastballs. In 16 AL seasons, he set the league record by being hit by a pitch 189 times. Minoso, only the second Major Leaguer to play in five decades (1940s-1980s), began in the Negro Leagues and later played in the Mexican League. Also signing are two basketball, two football and one hockey great, each of whom is a Hall of Fame member. BILL SHARMAN (1926-2013) was one of the first NBA guards to push his goal percentage above .400 in a season. Playing primarily with the Boston Celtics over his 11-season career, Sharman was on four championship Celtic teams. He was voted to the All-NBA First or Second Teams seven times and he played in eight NBA All-Star games and led the NBA seven years in free throw percentage. He was a successful coach in three professional leagues (the American Basketball League, the American Basketball Association and the NBA). He was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976 as a player and in 2004 as a coach, one of only three men chosen in both categories. GEORGE MIKAN, Jr. (1924-2005) was the NBA's first superstar. Mikan, who played at DePaul University from 1941-1946, led the nation in scoring and was named National Player of the Year in 1946. Playing on the Minneapolis Lakers from 1947-1956, Mikan led the team to six league championships, and he played in the first four All-Star games (beginning in 1951), winning the MVP title in 1953. Known for wearing his round eyeglasses on the court, Mikan was nicknamed "the Harold Lloyd of basketball". Over his career, he led the league in scoring six times (1946-1952) and in rebounds once (1953), and Mikan racked up 11,764 points over nine seasons (then a record). He later became the first Commissioner of the American Basketball Association. He entered the Basketball Hall of Fame in1959. Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Yelberton Abraham "Y. A." TITTLE (b. 1926) played his college ball at Louisiana State, where he was MVP of the 1947 Cotton Bowl. He spent his pro career as quarterback for the AAFC/NFL Baltimore Colts (1947-1950), San Francisco 49ers (1951-1960) and New York Giants (1961-1964), leading the Giants to divisional titles in 1961, 1962 and 1963. (An NFL championship eluded him, however.) A 7-time Pro Bowl selection, Tittle set a record with 36 touchdown passes in 1963, a mark which stood for over two decades until Dan Marino broke it in 1984. Tittle's 1962 mark of 7 touchdowns in one game has been tied by 7 other players, but never broken. The 1956 Heisman Trophy winner, two-time MVP PAUL HORNUNG (b. 1935) helped the Green Bay Packers win four NFL championships. He was a multi-talented clutch player, and was at his best inside the 20-yard line. Hornung was NFL Player of the Year (1960-1961) and led NFL scorers for three years with a record 176 points in 1960. His career stats include 3,711 yards rushing, 130 receptions and 760 points. Hornung tallied a record 19 points in the 1961 NFL title game. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. Slovak-Canadian STAN MIKITA (b. 1940) is generally regarded as the best hocket center of the 1960s, a decade in which he led the league in scoring four times. In 1966-1967 he tied Bobby Hull's record for most points in a season (a record now held by Wayne Gretzky). Mikita, who played his entire NHL career with the Black Hawks (1958-1980), entered the Hall of Fame in 1983.Lightly toned at "Lou Brock". Fine condition.