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between McAlpin and Al Spalding to bring the Reds back to the National League • 2/20/1891 handwritten letter documenting one of the private transfers from a C.A. Weidenfeller to J. Walter Spalding (Al Spalding’s brother), which suggests that Spalding was formalizing the return of Cincinnati before the March, 1891 announcement that the Reds would return to the National League • 2/21/1891 notarized letter from John Addison, J.W. Spalding, J.W. Murdoch, and N.F. Feffer appointing Edward Talcott as their attorney regarding their acquisition of the Reds, signed by each of the four as well as the notary. • 2/28/1891 letter signed by McAlpin, Robinson and an illegible third party • Six 1891 demand letters sent to various parties from Cincinnati law firm, and an additional piece of legal correspondence • Three additional court documents and agreements regarding the unwinding and restructuring of the transaction The key here, however, are the two handwritten contracts, the very documents that paved the way for the Reds’ incorporation into the
Players’ League – one of the game’s long-forgotten dramas. The contracts shed some light on the value of a baseball franchise in its early days – the purchase price of $40,000, adjusted for inflation, is just $1.425 million today – a paltry sum in comparison with the $1.7 billion reportedly paid for the 77-85 Tampa Bay Rays just a few months ago. Even more interesting is the informality of the documents – two agreements, handwritten on lined paper, casually signed by the Reds’ owner. These documents, of course, are museum-quality, historically significant, and critical to understanding the early development of the business of baseball. These documents remain in remarkable condition, each legible and sturdy with limited wear related to folding for mailing, as well as light aging. Stored away for more than a century, they were part of a large find of documents relating to the Players’ League from nearly a decade ago. Perhaps overlooked in the excitement of the find, these represent a very important period in baseball history, where one of the game’s great franchises was stabilized and strengthened, becoming a fixture in the National League for more than 130 years. An archive of true historical significance. MINIMUM BID: $15,000
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