Let’s play two! Echoing the enthusiastic sentiments of Ernie Banks, this lot includes a 1960 Banks Hartland Statue and its original cardboard tag. The statue presents beautifully. While there’s slight discoloration atop the statue’s back from a since-removed Cooperstown sticker, the uniform’s “Cubby blue” accents and Banks’ unmistakable number “14” are vivid. The tag, meanwhile, is still attached to its original red string hanger.
The original Hartland box was initially home to San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays, however somewhere along the way, Ernie Banks' name was written instead. With colorful baseball scenes on the sturdy panels, the container presents beautifully. There’s no mistaking the box’s former contents, as Mays’ printed name and facsimile signature appear on the lid, bottom and side panels. The lid is intact though there are period handwritten notations of the change to Ernie Banks.