Lot # 805: 1968 World Champions Detroit Tigers Scrapbook with Dizzy Dean Auto

The 1968 Detroit Tigers were on a roll and it seemed like they were World Series-bound. Because they hadn’t been there since 1945, a dedicated fan wanted to document each step on the road to the championship, and he put together this 14x11 album that includes page after page of color and b/w photos, and newspaper articles from their season. Al Kaline, Eddie Mathews, Willie Horton, Mickey Lolich, Bill Freehan and Norm Cash are all here. At least half of the slightly brittle pages have come loose from the album.

Of course, the highlight of the season was something no pitcher had done since Dizzy Dean did it in 1934, a 30-win season. One of the pages features the Sports Illustrated cover with Denny McLain’s win number 30. Adjacent in the scrapbook is a photo of McLain meeting the great Dizzy Dean after the game. Hall of Famer “Diz” has applied a ballpoint signature (“8-9”) on his photo with the record-breaking pitcher. No pitcher has done it since, and no one likely will.

Auction LOA from James Spence/JSA.