Gothamite Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Saw this on the New York Daily News' site:Gehrig's cap up for sale next monthDuring a 1939 visit to the Mayo Clinic, where he was diagnosed with the disease that would kill him, Lou Gehrig presented one of his doctors with a gift - a game-worn Yankees cap.It was a typical gesture by the gracious Gehrig, "The Iron Horse" surrendering his wool cap to Dr. Paul O'Leary. The rare vintage hat with its familiar interlocking "NY" is now going on the auction block.The cap, worn by Gehrig during his 2,130 consecutive-game streak, comes with a presale estimate of $125,000 - more than triple his top annual salary of $39,000 during his Yankees career.The hat was most likely presented to O'Leary during the 1939 visit when Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. O'Leary continued to treat Gehrig afterward, with the two exchanging letters about his condition."You don't need me to tell you that game-worn Gehrig items are extremely hard to come by, and we are proud to offer this relic from one of the all-time Yankee greats," said Lelands.com Chairman Joshua Evans.The Internet bidding on the hat begins May 6 and runs through June 6 at Lelands.com.The cap, with a hard brim and a nicely worn look, was made by A.G. Spalding & Bros., according to the auction house. It is embroidered inside with the Yankee great's name and hat size: "7 1/8 L. Gehrig."Gehrig, a two-time American League MVP, delivered the most memorable speech in stadium history after he was diagnosed with ALS, which is now also called Lou Gehrig's Disease."Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth," the dying Gehrig told a sold-out crowd on July 4, 1939.Gehrig had ended his consecutive games played streak just two months earlier; he was dead less than two years later.Nothing Earth-shaking there, nice little story but ultimately pretty standard for Lou.What I found really interesting is the photo that accompanied it:It's an early variation on the classic Yankee cap - white grommets! Not present in the classic photos. Anybody seen one of these before? The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totc Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Once, on David Wells' head. I have a feeling that photo is a bit photoshopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 old baseball cap? I have a ton of these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chazberg Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Totally photoshopped. The bill's all muddy and pixelated. charles-noerenberg.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallWonk Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Totally photoshopped. The bill's all muddy and pixelated.Specifics, please. One would expect the bill of an old game-worn ballcap to be muddy. Literally. And since the pixelation looks exactly like it would look if the photo were saved as a gif file at some point, the pixelation also does not indicate to me any evidence of photo-falsification. I can tell you, if I were Photoshopping a cap to look old, the resulting picture would look a lot better than this. So, beyond obvious elements of the photo that do not in fact point to photo-falsification, what specific things do you see that lead you to believe the photo has been falsified? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCE Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 The cotton thread became blanched over time--the wool retained its color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 Interesting theory, but I'm not sure that it fits.I have (or actually, have had) older caps than this in my collection. The cotton thread hasn't faded any more quickly than the wool fabric, some of which fades notoriously.Assuming for a minute that the picture is an accurate representation, the white grommets are too even to be the product of fading alone, accounting for the strong color of the wool.But as I said, it's still an interesting theory. We'll get a much better look at it when it goes up for auction - Lelands is great with pictures. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BallWonk Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Is there a button on the top of that cap? Another purely speculative hypothesis could be that the cap aged badly, or had fraying thread, and at some point the owner had the grommets re-embroidered as a "repair" job. I've seen more misguided restoration work on more valuable items. Pure speculation, but it's possible to do such a thing. And I have no trouble imagining a seamstress looking at the white embroidery of the NY logo and choosing white thread to re-embroider the grommets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 That's a really interesting idea. Plausible.Doesn't look like there's a button on the cap - we'll see next month. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCE Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 There are so many variables: storage in light/darkness as well as many different dyes. I've seen many caps with faded eyelets and stitches (including a Padres cap that's only about 15 years old) but I've never any of which the wool panels are evenly faded (only some which have blanched areas caused by sweat).Till I see a photo of a Yankee wearing a blue cap with white eyelets I'm going to remain skeptical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted April 11, 2008 Author Share Posted April 11, 2008 Also could be interesting if they include a pic of the inside.... The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artmanc3po Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 I had a Reds New Era gamer in the early 90s that had faded stitches within about two years. Not only did they fade to white, they eventually even started to break down. Only one I've ever had for which that has happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted April 14, 2008 Author Share Posted April 14, 2008 That's odd.The first photo is up, though not much more help.From this one, it looks like the stitches are fine and just the grommets are white. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haesn Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I have a picture a of 1930's Yankees cap with a greyish/white stitching on the bill of the hat and eyelets. I also have some other pictures including a 30's Gehrig cap that is navy with faded eylets. http://flickr.com/photos/25759218@N08/2415235049/ and http://flickr.com/photos/25759218@N08/2416053926/ (this one is Gehrigs hat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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