November 6, 2024: Fall Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/6/2025
With New York City at the epicenter of the Baseball Universe in the 1950s it only made sense that the legendary figures from the Bronx and Brooklyn would command more than their share of advertising interest, and this unique lot offers a spectacular glimpse of Gotham star power. With spiffy timepieces bearing the name and likeness of The Babe and pitched by Joe D and a heavy-duty Timex being pummeled by The Mick, the classic black-and-white (mostly) ads touted thousands of products bearing the imprimatur of a host of great stars of the 1950s and even earlier. Here’s the lineup: 1) Magazine advertisement for The Official Babe Ruth Wrist Watch, 13 ½-by-3 inches, pitched by Joe DiMaggio and is yours for a mere $7.95 – Ex-Mt-Plus condition; 2) 1955 advertisement, 13-by-5 ½ inches, with Mickey plugging a swell Universal Pour-Easy Vacuum Bottle, 13-by-5 ½ inches, which is just adspeak for a thermos-style contraption, plus a mail-in offer for a Mickey Mantle Autographed Baseball for just a buck – Near-Mint; 3) 1955 advertisement, 12 ½-by-5 inches, for Mayo Spruce Underwear, with images of Mantle batting right handed and another showing him dancing with a puppy – Near-Mint; 4) Full-page advertisement for Timex, 18-by-10 ½ inches, with Mantle driving a home run with a Timex strapped to the barrel of the bat, proving, of course, that it “Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking,” – Ex-Mt; 5) 1959 full-page advertisement, 18-by-10 ½ inches, with orange spot color, pitching “Fresh Oranges From Florida,” – Near-Mint; 6) 1962 Post Cereal full-page advertisement, 13 ½-by-10 ½ inches, with The Chairman of the Board, Whitey Ford, coming up with the pitch for the Post Cereal Baseball Cards, with images shown of all 12 varieties that offer the treasures on the back of the box, even Grape Nuts – Very Good; and 7) 1949 front cover (and reverse) of the Dec. 21 issue of The Sporting News, 15 ½-by-10 ½ inches, with Chesterfield Cigarettes commanding center stage, with former major-league hurler Hod Ellerbee doing the tobacco pitching, “Then a big-league ballplayer, now a big-league tobacco grower,” and on the reverse a more politically correct advertisement with Hillerich & Bradsby’s Louisville Slugger folks congratulating the National League’s 1949 Batting Champion – Jackie Robinson, and Home Run King – Ralph Kiner.
1949-59 Vintage Baseball Advertising With Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio, Ford and … Ellerbee? (7)
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