Lot # 790: 1951 Pacific Coast League Champion Seattle Rainiers Team-Signed Official League Baseball with Rogers Hornsby - Full JSA LOA

Rogers Hornsby took his big baseball brain out west to the Pacific Coast League for a single season, where he directed the AAA Seattle Rainiers to the 1951 league championship. Advanced collectors make a strong move to capture this 1951 Pacific Coast League Champion Seattle Rainiers team-signed baseball.

At the time, the Rainiers competed without MLB affiliation, at the highest level of minor league. League president Clarence "Pants" Rowland battled to make the PCL a major league, but was thwarted by MLB executives, and lack of support from PCL franchises. Still, the PCL was a very competitive league, catering to rapidly growing western cities, at a time when St. Louis marked the western frontier for Major League Baseball play.

This nicely preserved Wilson Official PCL/Rowland baseball retains bold factory labeling stamps. A total of (18) discernible signatures decorate this vintage ball, and all but two of the signers enjoyed time in MLB service. The headliner is manager Rogers Hornsby, and the other notables are Jim Rivera, Al Lyons, Charley Schanz, George Vico, Joe Erautt, and Marv Grissom, who went 20-2, as the team's ace. On a fortunate note, Hornsby's sweet spot signature is the most prominent in terms of size, and among the most potent of all signatures.

The complete list of signers is:

Sweet spot: Marv Grissom, Rogers Hornsby (HOF, manager, d.1963);

North panel: Steve Nagy, Art DelDuca, Jack Albright, Joe Erautt (d.1976);

South panel: Bennie Huffman (coach), Charley Schanz;

East panel: Earl Johnson, Rocky Krsnich, Jim Davis, Al Lyons (d.1965), Bob Hall (d.1983), George Vico;

West panel: Al Garbowski, Wes (Garvin) Hamner, Jim Rivera, Joe Montalvo.

Full LOA from James Spence/JSA.