Pencil signature, "Lou Gehrig,” on an off-white 3.25 x 2 sheet. Archivally matted and framed with a photo of Gehrig in his Yankees uniform to an overall size of 14.75 x 19. In fine condition, with faint soiling. Accompanied by a detailed letter of provenance from the son of the original recipient, which reads: "During the 1930’s, my grandparents, Frances and William Sears, ran a small hotel during the summer in Hampton Beach, N.H. Once the season was over, they would pack up their two children (William and Dorothy) and head down to St. Petersburg where they worked at the Washington Hotel. My grandfather worked as a bartender at the hotel restaurant.
My mother, Dorothy, would frequent her dad at work to get what was then a special treat—an ice-cold Coca-Cola. One time, when she went in for her daily treat, her dad said 'That gentlemen sitting over there is Lou Gehrig. Why don’t you go ask for his autograph?' Thinking nothing of it, my mother went over, asked for his autograph, and came back with autograph in hand. The people in the restaurant were amazed that she succeeded. Apparently, Lou Gehrig did not give out autographs—especially while eating lunch. But maybe he had a soft spot for daring young girls.
My mother didn’t really remember the extent of their conversation other than Lou 'was really nice.' She was '11 or 12' when this happened. She was born in 1921 which would make the meeting in 1932 or 1933. She kept the autograph throughout the years and gave it me in the 1980’s. She came out to visit during the early 1990’s and decided to make sure the autograph didn’t deteriorate. She had purchased a picture of Lou in a shop in Cooperstown and had the picture and autograph vacuum-mounted behind museum glass. My mother, Dorothy Sears Murphy, passed away in 2001.
The ironic part: My mother loved baseball and was a die-hard Red Sox fan. She was one of the many young women who would swoon over Ted Williams. I remain a die-hard Red Sox fan and idolized Carl Yastrzemski as a child. Naturally, the Yankees have been our nemesis over the years and there was lots of bad talk about those 'Damn Yankees.' With one exception: my mother always put in the rule for Lou Gehrig. Nothing bad could be said about him. I guess he made quite an impression on a precocious young girl looking for an autograph."
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