Ted Williams Stikes Out at Auction
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Late baseball great anything but splendid under the gavel
Ted Williams, the late professional baseball
hall-of-famer, came to be known early in his career as the Splendid Splinter, a moniker derived from the way his then lithe frame seemed to wrap around the bat and ball when he was hitting, which he did well and often. He would go on to become iconic not merely for his play and icey relationship with the press but also for his patriotism and heroism. The keen eye-sight which helped him hit .400 in the magical autumn of '41 would also help him as a fighter pilot in World War II and in Korea.
Some have said that John Wayne, who did not serve in either war, spent his career acting out what the Red Sox great did in real life.
With all of that mojo going for him, you'd think an auction of the late slugger's possessions would be a home run. Well, think again. It was more like a bloop single.
The Boston Herald reported today that an auction "which hawked a bizarre array of items from the slugger's former home with ex-wife Dolores Wettach Williams" may well have been a strike-out. Many of the items sold for pretty much what they might otherwise have without the Ted Williams connection.
"More than 200 antique and sports memorabilia collectors swarmed rural West Swanzey, N.H., to bid on furniture and mementos from the living estate of Wettach Williams, the baseball giant's third wife. The couple spent their brief marriage from 1967 to 1973 in Putney, Vt., while he managed the Washington Senators and Texas Rangers," reported the paper.
Perhaps what accounts for the dismal showing is the fact that most of what was on the block was not career related. A pair of African cape buffalo hoof ashtrays, souvenirs from a 1972 safari, fetched a mere $120 - which auctioneers Knotty Pine Antiques projected as their market value, according to the paper. A cape buffalo's mounted head, an item otherwise valued at $600-$800, went for $550. An equally valued sable antelope sold for $500.
"Frankly, I expected these to go for much more," Brad Seidel, a Waltham sports memorabilia dealer, told the paper as he was "hovering over the buffalo after the auction."
"You would have figured there would have been two rabid Ted Williams fans who would have bid through the roof."
One of the auctioneers, John Pappas, may have figured out why the hunting trophies didn't bring in the big bucks, however.
"We had hoped Ted's name would have brought some higher values. But a lot of these guys like to shoot and mount their own stuff."
That's something about which Williams, an avid outdoorsman, might have approved.
(AP Photo/Ted Sande)
Ted Williams, the late professional baseball
hall-of-famer, came to be known early in his career as the Splendid Splinter, a moniker derived from the way his then lithe frame seemed to wrap around the bat and ball when he was hitting, which he did well and often. He would go on to become iconic not merely for his play and icey relationship with the press but also for his patriotism and heroism. The keen eye-sight which helped him hit .400 in the magical autumn of '41 would also help him as a fighter pilot in World War II and in Korea.
Some have said that John Wayne, who did not serve in either war, spent his career acting out what the Red Sox great did in real life.
With all of that mojo going for him, you'd think an auction of the late slugger's possessions would be a home run. Well, think again. It was more like a bloop single.
The Boston Herald reported today that an auction "which hawked a bizarre array of items from the slugger's former home with ex-wife Dolores Wettach Williams" may well have been a strike-out. Many of the items sold for pretty much what they might otherwise have without the Ted Williams connection.
"More than 200 antique and sports memorabilia collectors swarmed rural West Swanzey, N.H., to bid on furniture and mementos from the living estate of Wettach Williams, the baseball giant's third wife. The couple spent their brief marriage from 1967 to 1973 in Putney, Vt., while he managed the Washington Senators and Texas Rangers," reported the paper.
Perhaps what accounts for the dismal showing is the fact that most of what was on the block was not career related. A pair of African cape buffalo hoof ashtrays, souvenirs from a 1972 safari, fetched a mere $120 - which auctioneers Knotty Pine Antiques projected as their market value, according to the paper. A cape buffalo's mounted head, an item otherwise valued at $600-$800, went for $550. An equally valued sable antelope sold for $500.
"Frankly, I expected these to go for much more," Brad Seidel, a Waltham sports memorabilia dealer, told the paper as he was "hovering over the buffalo after the auction."
"You would have figured there would have been two rabid Ted Williams fans who would have bid through the roof."
One of the auctioneers, John Pappas, may have figured out why the hunting trophies didn't bring in the big bucks, however.
"We had hoped Ted's name would have brought some higher values. But a lot of these guys like to shoot and mount their own stuff."
That's something about which Williams, an avid outdoorsman, might have approved.
(AP Photo/Ted Sande)
posted by Chris and Frank at 11:40 PM
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