Opening Day Auction Closing May 9th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/10/2015
Many baseball historians label the 1929-1931 Philadelphia Athletics the greatest team in Major League history. Placing this squad above more well-known teams like the '27 Yankees, the Big Red Machine of the '70's and the Yanks of the 1950's may seem like a tall order, but in fact Connie Mack's A's were a well-balanced dynasty that boasted no less than 6 future Hall of Famers. This gorgeous panorama collects the premier edition of that dynasty who won an astounding 104 games in 1929. Just before the team met the Chicago Cubs in the World Series, Philadelphia photographer J. Bodziak posed the team against the background of legendary Shibe Park, capturing for all eternity the greatest Major League team ever assembled. Connie Mack and 26 of his men stand confident and ready: Lefty Grove, the greatest southpaw in history, Jimmie Foxx who would hit .354 with 33 homers, Al Simmons a .365 slugger with 34 homers and catcher Mickey Cochrane who handled the best pitching staff in the game while batting .331. Other stars on the team include Joe Boley, at the time considered the best shortstop since Honus Wagner, righty George Earnshaw who led the AL with 24 wins that summer and aged veteran Howard Ehmke whose surprise start in Game 1 of the World Series touched off the A's complete dismantling of the Chicago Cubs. This stunning panorama measures an impressive 7 1/2" x 29 3/4" mounted on 1/8" thick illustration board. The left edge of the large print shows some chipping along the side and a 1" piece of the surface image has been torn away slightly affecting the arm of Eddie Collins. No other baseball panorama comes close to matching the beauty or the amount of sheer talent depicted in this one taken in the fall of 1929.