The poster to Red Sox catcher Lou Criger is signed by Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and others. Watch video
Lou Criger may have saved baseball.
This weekend, you can buy baseball's thank-you note.
A poster signed in 1930 by baseball legends such as Cy Young, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner is up for bid by online auctioneer Love of the Game Auctions based in Warren County.
A poster showing appreciation for former Boston Red Sox catcher Lou Criger -- signed by 49 participants in a 1930 old-timer's game, including Cy Young, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner -- is up for bid by Warren County-based Love of the Game Auctions. Criger is said to have potentially saved baseball by refusing a bribe to throw a game in the first World Series in 1903. (Courtesy photo)"When I was shown the piece, my knees almost buckled," said Al Crisafulli, president of the Great Meadows-area auction house. "The impressive array of names, along with the quality of the signatures, makes it a fantastic piece. However, it's the history of it, of Criger's integrity and the impact it had on the game, that makes it truly special."
Criger was a catcher for the Boston Red Sox, who represented the new American League in the first World Series in 1903. He was allegedly offered $12,000 by a gambler to call "soft pitches" and swing the series in favor of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but refused -- and only told of the offer years later. The Sox won the series.
"Can you imagine what might have happened if Criger had thrown the World Series and been discovered?" Crisafulli said. "Baseball was still relatively new, and the American League was in its infancy. Surely, the World Series would never have taken a foothold. It's entirely possible that with his single, selfless act, Lou Criger saved baseball."
Rare Lou Gehrig bat fetches record $436,000 in local auction
In 1930, the Boston Post held an old-timer's game to benefit a local children's hospital and a pension fund established to help former players. Criger, who was living in Arizona and suffering from tuberculosis, was unable to attend, but some all-time greats were present.
The 20-by-29-inch sign of appreciation to Criger, dated Sept. 8, 1930, reads:
It is signed by 49 attendees, including some rare signatures.
The poster's minimum bid is $10,000. Crissafulli said it is worth five figures for the signatures alone.
The auction house acquired the piece from some of Criger's family in Arizona, who stored it for 85 years.
"It was important to them that the story gets out," Crissafulli said.
The auction concludes Saturday night. Registered bidders can make bids until 9 p.m. at loveofthegameauctions.com. After that, anyone who already bid can continue to place more until no item in the auction gets a bid for 15 minutes.
Other items include photos and a scrapbook from the 1930 old-timer's game, and a 1929 Lou Gehrig game bat.
A 1930 Gehrig bat matched to one held by the Yankees legend in a photo fetched almost $437,000 in a Love of the Game auction last summer.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.