(LOT 113)
Possibly "Unique" Tim Keefe Full Page Letter Written Entirely In His Hand & Signed "T.J. Keefe" Includes Articles of Agreement Amendment for Selling Alcoholic Beverages at the Ball Park Premises (Full PSA/DNA LOA)
Our January 1890 Players' League Winter Auction offered some of the rarest 19th century baseball Hall of Fame autographs including documents signed by Tim Keefe, John Montgomery Ward and Buck Ewing. With regard to Keefe, we specifically noted that there would be several other Keefe signatures offered in our upcoming 2018 auctions. While we have sold several Keefe signed invoices in excess of five-figures, little did we realize that an additional Keefe signed document would emerge from our consignor's attic this past summer. Indeed, while going through a vigorous "Spring clean-up", the owner of the remarkable Players' League find, unearthed additional documents, with one of them being an absolutely unfathomable full-page letter written and signed entirely in Keefe's hand! Before the Players' League find, locating a Tim Keefe autograph was a nearly impossible task, substantiated by the fact that only a couple of his hallowed scripts had been previously known. The previous sold documents, while spectacular to day the least, simply included Keefe's signature on Brotherhood Park construction related invoices (tied to his position as treasurer of the Players League). This document remarkably stands, to the best of our knowledge, the SOLE hand written and signed Tim Keefe letter; dated April 18, 1890 and inscribed on stationery from the historic Hotel Vendome previously situated at Broadway & 41st Street in New York City.

Addressed to Judge Bacon, the letter relates to leased bar privileges for George A. Seeley and George M. Rappelwea, specifically stating only union-based beer and employees will be utilized. Interestingly enough, the original Articles of Agreement document sold in our 2018 winter auction stipulated no alcoholic beverages would be sold at the ballparks. That said, we have also included in this lot a one-page Articles Agreement Amendment also issued on April 18, 1890 that provides the exclusive right and privilege to keep and maintain a bar upon the lands and premises. We can only assume that due to revenue related concerns, the Players' League Board of Directors (which included Keefe) ultimately decided that the sale of alcoholic beverage would be a critical additional revenue stream required by this upstart league. As previously stated, this museum worthy document quite possibly stands as the only known Tim Keefe letter extant, and includes some negligible vertical and horizontal mailing folds. Amazingly, the bold black fountain pen ink has retained a majority of its original strength, with the entire letter listed as follows: "NY April 18, "90 Judge Bacon Dear Sir, The parties who have leased the bar privilege are George A. Seeley & George M. Rappelwea. Mr. James Eveiark the Brewer will go on the bond or be responsible for them. Please insert a clause in the contract whereby the above firm will sell nothing but Union Beer also that none but Union help will be employed. 157 Broadway - Yours Respectfully, T. J. Keefe" (Note: 157 Broadway was the address for Keefe's BASE BALL SUPPLIES - SPORTING GOODS STORE titled KEEFE & BECANNON).

Regarding Mr. Bacon, it makes perfect sense Keefe would be addressing him since Bacon was a major attorney representing the Player's League. A very interesting individual, Bacon was an attorney by training but served as a Democrat representative to the Forty-Ninth and Fiftieth U.S. Congress, serving from December 6, 1886 until March 3, 1889. He lost re-election to the Fifty-First Congress but was reelected to the Fifty-Second Congress from March 4, 1891 until March 3, 1893. During the later stint, Bacon served as Chairman of The Banking and Currency Committee. When not in Congress, Bacon actively pursued his law practice, and was a formidable attorney utilized throughout the Players' League development. Until the emergence of this historic offering, every advanced 19th century baseball autograph collector was well aware of the "assumed" impossible task for capturing a Tim Keefe hand-written and signed letter. Simply stated, such an artifact did not exist! The legendary Keefe still stands as one of our National Pastime's greatest pitchers ever supported by his 342 lifetime wins and scintillating 2.63 lifetime E.R.A. Nicknamed "Sir Timothy" and "Smiling Tim", those 343 victories place him 10th on baseball's all-time list, and along with Kid Nichols, he is arguably considered the finest of all 19th century pitchers. The right-handed hurler's seemingly "rubber arm" enabled him to once to win both games of a doubleheader in 1883, including a one-hitter in the morning and a two-hitter in the afternoon!

As an irrefutable testament to his unparalleled durability, of his 594 career starts, 554 of a staggering 93% resulted in complete games, a far cry from 21st century pitchers who now seem fortunate to toss 7 innings. His greatest season was arguably in 1888 when he claimed pitching's "Triple Crown", winning 35 games, striking out 335 batters and posting a microscopic 1.74 E.R.A. Multiple times he achieved 40 wins or better, and he arguably had the finest change-up of all 19th century twirlers. Like Buck Ewing, his major league career commenced with the Troy Haymakers in 1880, moved on to the New York Metropolitans in 1883, and joined the New York Gothams (Giants) in 1885. He would spend virtually the remainder of his playing days with the New York Giants, save his single 1890 Player's League stint with the likewise New York Giants Players' League based club, and a final fling with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1891 thru 1893 where he ended his stellar career. It is therefore no surprise that many elite enthusiasts relentlessly seek Tim Keefe's elusive autograph. Courtesy of this world-class discovery that "dream" is now a reality, with his "one of a kind" signed T.J. Keefe letter standing tall as one of our National Pastime's most extraordinary finds. Even more impressive is the fact that it has defied "Father Time", retaining a majority of its original imposing ink quality over the past 128 years. One of the previous Tim Keefe autographs on a Brotherhood Park construction invoice sold for $18,000 while only sufficing as a single signature, and NOT part of a FULL HAND-WRITTEN KEEFE LETTER. In lieu of its unique rarity and Players' League historical content, we cannot even begin to estimate what such a noteworthy letter is truly worth, so we will defer to the sophisticated 19th century collector to ultimately determine its accurate value! - FULL PSA/DNA LOA

MIN BID $7,500
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