Signed 1926-29 Exhibits Walter Johnson PSA Poor 1, Auto 8....

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Signed 1926-29 Exhibits Walter Johnson PSA Poor 1, Auto 8. We've all heard the old joke about the long-suffering franchise which the Big Train represented for the entirety of his twenty-one-season Hall of Fame playing career: "Washington: First in war, first in peace, and last in the American League." But this 1925 Exhibit finds the inaugural class Hall of Famer standing tall as a defending World Champion, and en route to another Junior Circuit pennant.

The flame-throwing right-hander is captured in the slow, lazy wind-up that preceded his legendary fastball, and while a tack hole lingers nearby, as do four rounded corners, the image area remains mercifully free of any condition distractions. The same can be said for the black fountain pen autograph that clearly dates to Johnson's active duty, as his post-playing career signatures changed quite noticeably.

Like the Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth signed Exhibits likewise on offer in this auction, the offered card derives from a collection of dozens of signed Exhibits assembled by an intrepid pre-war collector and purchased by our consignor's father nearly fifty years ago. The subjects range from legends to relative nobodies, with many representing the solitary known autographed specimens, as this Johnson is. The balance of that collection will appear in a Heritage auction this summer. Encapsulated by PSA, Poor 1 Auto 8.