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Rare 1915 Jim O'Rourke Signed Handwritten Letter (PSA)
<p>One-page handwritten letter, dated April 22, 1915, signed by nineteenth-century Hall of Famer Jim O'Rourke. PSA has encapsulated the letter and certified the signature as "Authentic." Jim O'Rourke's signature is one of the most elusive of all Hall of Fame players. This is the first example we have offered in the past twenty-two years and we know of just a few others. Handwritten letters are rarer still, with the offered example one of only two we have seen. In his letter, on "The Eastern Association of Base Ball Clubs" letterhead, O'Rourke, in his official capacity as president of the league, informs Lewis Tetreault of his release. In full: "Dear Sir: You are unconditionally released from the New Britain BBC by authority of Yours Truly Jas. H. O'Rourke, Pres. Eastern Asso." Both the text and signature have been scripted in black fountain pen and grade 8/10 overall. The letter (8.5x10.75"), which displays one horizontal and two vertical mailing folds, remains in Excellent condition. </p><p>This letter originates directly from the family of Lewis Tetreault and is accompanied by Tetreault's 1915 New Britain BBC contract, dated January 22, 1915, and the original mailing envelope for the contract. The contract (8.5x14") has been signed in black fountain pen (7/10) by the team president only. Excellent condition overall. The envelope (9x4") is badly torn and in Poor condition. (A collection of Tetreault's baseball equipment appears as a separate lot in this auction.)</p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"Orator Jim" O'Rourke was one of the game's top hitters during organized baseball's early years and he holds the distinction of recording the first hit in National League history in 1876. A key member of the New York Giants' 1888 and 1889 World Championship clubs, O'Rourke spent much of his adult life in organized baseball, as a player, coach, umpire, and minor-league executive. O'Rourke played in the National Association, National League, and Player's League during his nineteen-year career, winning one batting title (1884) and retiring in 1893 with a .310 lifetime average. In 1904, as a fifty-three-year-old coach with the New York Giants, he was coaxed out of retirement to play in one game, and in doing so became the oldest player in Major League history to play a full game, as a catcher no less. O'Rourke died in 1919 at the age of sixty-eight and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1945. That twenty-six year gap between his death and Hall of Fame induction is one of the main reasons for the scarcity of his signature today. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a significant Hall of Famer signature that is absent from even many of the most advanced baseball autograph collections.</span></p>
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