(LOT 2)
1939 Play Ball #92 Ted Williams Rookie PSA 9 MINT
TEDDY BALLGAME MINT ROOKIE!!!... Memory Lane, is ecstatic to bring you the opportunity to acquire one of the hobby's most important cards. The 1939 Playball #92 Ted Williams Rookie Card graded PSA MINT 9. This superlative specimen is just 1 of 11 cards to have been bestowed this highly sought after grade by PSA, with just one other graded higher. Ted Williams was a complex man, this is fact. There was a part of him that when he felt the home crowd disrespected him, he vowed never to tip his hat of give another curtain call ever again And he didn't. His fishing buddies all loved him. He was smart, funny, a terrific competitor, and a gracious host. No one that ever shared a boat with Ted Williams ever had a bad word to say about him. They adored him.

Williams enlisted in the Marine Corps in May, 1942. But instead of playing ball for some General stateside, he opted for the V-5 program to train as a Naval aviator. Johnny Pesky, Ted's teammate, went to the same aviation training program and said about Williams: "He mastered intricate problems in 15 minutes which took the average cadet 90 minutes." Pesky also added that when Ted took the pilot's payoff test: "He broke all the records in reflexes, coordination, and visual reaction time" and that Williams reflexes, "could make a plane and it's 'pianos' (machine guns) play like a symphony orchestra, and that his reflexes, coordination, and visual reaction, made him a built-in part of the machine." And when Williams spoke of himself, this is what he said "A man has to have goals, for a day, for a lifetime - and that was mine, to have people say, There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived."

When a young Bobby Shantz asked his coach how to pitch Williams, he was told "He has no weakness, won't swing at a bad ball, has the best eyes in the business, and can kill you with one swing. He won't hit anything bad, but don't give him anything good." Big help that was. Yes, Ted Williams was a complex man, but he was admired, and even more important to him, he was respected. Respected by everyone who was lucky enough to play with or against him. Respected by every soldier he served with. Respected by any writer (and disliked by many) that was given the chore to interview him.

Respected (and often despised) by every fan that saw him play, even many in his own ballpark. And most important to Williams himself, respected by his family and friends. My favorite quote about him was said after Williams passed away in 2002, by Dale Petroskey, President of the Baseball Hall of Fame. "Ted's passing signals a sad day, not only for baseball fans, but for every American. He was a cultural icon, a larger-than-life personality. He was great enough to become a Hall of Fame player. He was caring enough to be the first Hall of Famer to call for the inclusion of Negro Leagues stars in Cooperstown. He was brave enough to serve our country as a Marine in not one but two global conflicts. Ted Williams is a hero for all generations." Now, who of you wouldn't want your son or grandson, to grow up to be like Ted Williams The Man.

MIN BID $10,000

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