Early 1950's Roy Campanella Game Used Catcher's Mitt....

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Sold on Feb 22, 2014 for:

$44,812.50 Bid Source: Live: Phone bidder

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A gift from the Hall of Fame backstop to Dodgers teammate Carl Furillo

Early 1950's Roy Campanella Game Used Catcher's Mitt. The sturdy foundation of the great 1950's Brooklyn Bums dynasty delivered still more heartbreak to the borough after the last ever game at Ebbets, paralyzed in a terrible automobile accident just months before the team's Los Angeles debut. But few players in Major League history have compiled as remarkable a trophy case in a long career that Campy earned in just a decade, with one World Championship ring, five National League pennants, and three National League MVP Awards to his credit. Like teammate Sandy Koufax, whose own game used glove from the same source joins Campy's in this Platinum Night auction, a brief career could not derail an official immortalization in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The provided game worn catcher's mitt, just the third example to appear on the hobby's major auction block in the past fifteen years, derives from the personal collection of Campy's teammate Carl Furillo, and dates to the red hot center of the legendary backstop's prime. With National League MVP Awards in 1951, 1953 and 1955, the odds are strong that this personally endorsed Wilson model 2010 mitt played a role in at least one of those honors.

Noted glove expert Denny Esken reports that the mitt remains in original condition with spiral lacing running the thirty-three inches of circumference. The webbing is missing from the pocket, reported to be an alteration executed by Campanella himself. The original "Wilson" tag has been worn away in the course of the glove's lengthy term of use.

Joining Esken's letter is another from the son of Carl Furillo, attesting that Campy had given the mitt to his father during their time together in Brooklyn. Letter of provenance from Carl Furillo, Jr. LOA from Denny Esken.