Lot # 1002: 1963 The Sporting News The “M” Boys by Ray Gotto Comic Illustration Production Proof with Mays & McCovey

The San Francisco Giants renowned slugging tandem Willie Mays and Willie McCovey got a nice publicity boost, from this 1963 The Sporting News The “M” Boys illustration proof by Ray Gotto. Sized at approximately 15” x 19”, this original production piece reports in excellent condition, with the only detraction being some light staining on the right edge and top-right corner. There are also editorial notations written on the top and bottom margins, and traces of white-out along the the top of the artwork area, which testify to authentic nature of this panel.

Artist Gotto was famed for two syndicated baseball related comic strips, “Ozark Ike”, and “Cotton Woods”. He also did illustration work for The Sporting News, including the offered piece, and he's credited with creating the New York Mets logo. Gotto has left easily traced clues to the date of this work, including a reference to the Giants 1962 NL pennant win, which came at the expense of the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best of three playoff tie-breaker series.

This panel is titled “The “M” Boys (West Coast Edition)" at top-left, and one of the captions below reads “The Original M-Boys Mantle and Maris, Have Been Handicapped By Injuries This Year”, with the Yankees stars depicted in bandages, holding crutches. Maris was limited to 90 games in 1963, and Mantle’s situation was even more dire, as he was only able to take the field in 65 games that season. There’s also a comedic scene with Mays making off with a bag of “$eries Loot” at top-right, with Dodgers owner O’Malley in pursuit. The dominant images of Mays and McCovey are accompanied by captions of praise, and the final scene at bottom-right is a pitcher’s nightmare, with the realization that Cepeda follows the M Boys in the batting order.

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