Lot # 1569: 1969 New York Jets Payroll Check to Mike D'Amato Signed by Weeb Ewbank & Mike D'Amato

Hall of Fame coach "Weeb" Ewbank paid big dividends for many teams, at many levels. He also paid the bills while employed by the New York Jets, including this signed check made to defensive back Mike D'Amato. As an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns from 1949-1953, Ewbank was a member of AAFC and NFL championship squads. The winning continued during his career as a head coach, when he led the Baltimore Colts to back-to-back NFL championships in 1958 and 1959. A decade later, he was at the helm of the New York Jets when the they won the 1968 AFL championship, and Super Bowl III. Ewbank also put dominant winning percentages on his resume at the high school and college levels, and he even coached a U.S. Navy military team with Paul Brown during WWII. D'Amato was on the Jets Super Bowl champion team, in his one and only season as a pro football player. Ewbank has signed on the front of the offered 8/23/69 Jets payroll check, which was made to D'Amato for a "Travel Allowance" in the amount of $100. D'Amato has endorsed the check on the back, and both his and Ewbank's signatures are pleasing examples.

Auction LOA from James Spence/JSA.