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1957 Emmett Kelly Brooklyn Dodgers Contract Signed by Walter O'Malley (JSA)
Displayed is a copy of a January 28, 1957, contract between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Emmett Kelly for the fabled entertaining clown to perform at Dodgers home games in 1957. Brooklyn's National League baseball team was officially called the Dodgers, but along the way, the club picked up another nickname, not official and used in anger, sometimes with love: "The Bums." At New Year's Day dawned in 1957, the Dodgers owner, Walter O'Malley was well into plans to move the Dodgers to Los Angeles, but that didn't stop him from trying to maximize ticket revenue in the upcoming '57 campaign. What could be better for the Dodgers, often portrayed in cartoons as bums, to have the world-famous clown, Emmett Kelly, known for his persona when clowning as a "bum," to attract fans and possibly ward off any anger fans might feel as news of the Dodgers move to Los Angeles gained more credibility. The contract is on two pages of 8.5x11" paper. The contract specifies that "Mr. Emmett Kelly will become a member of the Dodger organization beginning March 1, 1957....He will perform at our spring training camp in Vero Beach.... [and] at all home games of the Dodgers at Ebbets Field and Jersey City." The contract details other duties for Kelly, including performing at some of the Dodgers' minor league facilities. An interesting point is that the Dodgers misspelled Kelly's first name, Emmett, several times by using only one letter "T," and the misspelling is corrected in ink by an unknown hand. Another notation, at the top of the first page, in blue ink from an unknown hand, indicates that the offered document is from a "legal file re Emmett." The contract was sent to Leonard Green, President of Mercury Artists, the agent of Emmett Kelly. O'Malley, Green and Kelly each signed the contract, each using either a steel tipped fountain pen or a ballpoint pen, with O'Malley and Green using blue ink and Kelly writing in green ink. The offering comes with a 3x5" colored post card showing Kelly as "Weary Willie" as he looked when performing for Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus. The multi-signed contract comes with a JSA LOA for the signatures of all three signers, CERT #YY34632.
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