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1954 Hank Aaron Signed Milwaukee Braves Rookie Player's Contract. ...
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$54,000.00
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Description
One of the post-war game's most important documents!
1954 Hank Aaron Signed Milwaukee Braves Rookie Player's
Contract. When Hank Aaron took his first of 715 steps to pass
Babe Ruth's fabled career home run record with an April 23, 1954
blast at St. Louis' Sportsman's Park, the landmark 1896 Plessy vs.
Ferguson Supreme Court ruling institutionalizing racial segregation
was still the law of the land. Though the historic Brown vs. Board
of Education would overturn the decision just four weeks later, the
former star of the Negro American League's Indianapolis Clowns
would find that neither the Court nor Jackie Robinson could pave a
smooth road toward his eventual baseball immortality. Aaron had
been the top producer for the Braves' Jacksonville affiliate in the
segregated Deep South in 1953, where he "led the league in
everything but hotel accommodations" as one journalist quipped, but
his legacy would remain one of brilliance in the face of adversity
throughout his Major League career as well.Intriguingly, Aaron's Big League debut in 1954 had come at the expense of another home run hero, former Giants star Bobby Thomson who broke an ankle sliding into second during that year's spring training schedule. The twenty-year old Aaron would win the competition to succeed the 1951 pennant-winner in left field and would appear in 122 games in 1954, batting .280 and clubbing thirteen home runs. It was the only season of his service to the Braves franchise his long ball output would dip below twenty. On September 5, 1954, Aaron ironically suffered the same injury as his predecessor, a broken ankle putting an end to his rookie campaign.
Presented is the document that would eventually deliver a new inhabitant of Babe Ruth's throne just four days short of its twentieth anniversary. The April 12, 1954 date of the provided covenant finds the future Home Run King just twenty-four hours short of his debut, an Opening Day loss at Cincinnati. Overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation, Aaron would go zero-for-five as starting left fielder.
Aaron provides a rare and quite distinctly different (compared to common exemplars) "Henry L. Aaron" signature on page three, penning the address of his humble Mobile, Alabama home in the same 10/10 black fountain pen ink below. Legendary Braves general manager John Quinn signs for the team, and Warren Giles for the National League. Page one sets the salary at six thousand dollars ($6,000), about $57,000 in today's money. A National League filing stamp appears on the fourth and final page.
Condition is outstanding, with original storage folds quite literally the only issue bearing mention. A monumentally important piece from the man whose bat recorded more total bases and runs batted in than any other man's in baseball history. Full LOA from PSA/DNA.
Auction Info
2020 August 29 - 30 Summer Platinum Night Sports Collectibles Catalog Auction - Dallas #50029 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
August, 2020
29th-30th
Saturday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 18
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,841
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
20% of the successful bid per lot.
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