A letter signed by Ned Hanlon sold for $54,000 on Sunday night at REA.
Who?
Hanlon was considered by some to be “the father of modern baseball.”
He played for 13 years from 1880 to 1892, but eventually became a Hall of Famer as a manager thanks to five National League pennants in a span of seven years — three with the Baltimore Orioles and two with the Brooklyn Superbas.
Hanlon was famous for inventing all sorts of plays to move the runner closer to home — the “hit-and-run” strategy, along with the squeeze play, the sacrifice bunt and the double steal. He was said to be an incredible judge of talent.
Hanlon’s signature is rare because he retired in 1907, before autograph collecting was popular. His signature was not coveted until 89 years later, when he was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
Hanlon died in 1937.
The letter was written in 1933 to John O’Meara, who collected autographs. The letter was to note he received a picture for him to sign, which would be returned soon.
REA sold this exact letter in 2015. The consignor bought it for $10,800 and netted $33,200 by holding it for a decade.
The sale represents the most ever paid for a Hanlon auto. The previous record came in 2016 when Christie's sold his signed 1897 Orioles contract for $27,500.
Two of Hanlon’s players went on to become the greatest managers: Connie Mack and John McGraw.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.