DATE: 1950s ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Type 3 - Second or later-generation photo, printed from a duplicate negative or wire photo process, within about 2 years of when it was shot TEAM: Cleveland Indians SUBJECTS: Hank Greenberg, Early Wynn, Bill Veeck, Ray Narleski APPROXIMATE SIZE: 7-5/8"x10" and 8-1/8"x10" NUMBER OF PHOTOS: 3 COMMENTS / CONDITION: This is one of a large accumulation of vintage sports photographs, slides and negatives that we will be listing over the coming months. Wear on these, if any, is mostly confined to minor corner and edge wear, but see scans for further details including condition. We do not deal in stock images or modern reprints, and all scans shown are of the actual vintage photograph, slide or negative being sold. If you have any questions about a particular piece, please ask before the auction ends. BIO: Henry Benjamin Greenberg (Hammerin' Hank) was born in New York, NY and died in 1986 in Beverly Hills, CA. He played major league baseball from 1930 to 1947 as 1st baseman and outfielder for the Detroit Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates, appeared in the 1934, 1935, 1940 and 1945 World Series, was selected 5 times as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956. He was the American League MVP in 1935 and 1940. Greenberg was the first Jewish baseball superstar in American professional sports. He garnered national attention in 1934 when he refused to play baseball on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, even though the Tigers were in the middle of a pennant race. The Detroit draft board initially classified Greenberg as 4F for "flat feet." Rumors that he had bribed the board, and concern that he would be likened to Jack Dempsey, who received negative publicity for failure to serve in World War I, led Greenberg to be reexamined, and he was found fit to serve. Although drafted in 1940, he was honorably discharged after the United States Congress released men aged 28 years and older from service, being released on December 5, 1941, two days before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Greenberg re-enlisted and volunteered for service in the United States Army Air Forces. He graduated from Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a first lieutenant. He eventually served overseas in the China-Burma-India Theater, scouting locations for B-29 bases. In Greenberg's first game back after being discharged, he homered on July 1, 1945. That year, he set the major league record with 11 multi-homer games. Greenberg retired from the field to become the Cleveland Indians' farm system director and two years later, their general manager and part-owner along with Bill Veeck. During his tenure, he assembled more African American players than any other team executive in the Majors. Greenberg's contributions in finding and developing talent contributed to that team's successes through the 1950s, though Bill James wrote that Greenberg should also be given partial credit for the Indians' late 1950s collapse due to questionable personnel decisions. When Veeck sold his interest, Greenberg remained as general manager and part-owner until 1957. He was the mastermind behind a move to Minneapolis for the Indians, but that was vetoed by the rest of ownership at the last minute. Greenberg was furious and sold his share soon afterwards. In 1961, the American League announced plans to put a team in Los Angeles. Greenberg immediately became the favorite to become the new team's first owner, and persuaded Veeck, who had sold off his majority interest in the White Sox due to poor health, to join him as his partner. However, when Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley got word of these developments, he threatened to scuttle the whole deal by invoking his exclusive rights to operate a major league team in Southern California. In truth, O'Malley wanted no part of having to compete against an expansion team owned by a master promoter such as Veeck, even if he was only a minority partner. Greenberg wouldn't budge, and pulled out of the running for what became the Los Angeles Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). He later became a successful investment banker, briefly returning to baseball as a minority partner with Veeck when he repurchased the White Sox in 1975. Greenberg married Caral Gimbel (of the New York department store family) on February 18, 1946, three days after signing a $60,000 contract with the Tigers. Their son Glenn runs a $4 billion dollar hedge fund called Chieftain Capital. Their son Glenn runs a $4 billion dollar hedge fund called Chieftain Capital. Their son Stephen played 5 years in the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers organization. In 1995, Steve Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network with Brian Bedol, which was purchased by ESPN and became ESPN Classic. He was also the Chairman of CSTV, the first cable network devoted exclusively to college sports, which was purchased by CBS in 2006. Early (Jr.) Wynn (Gus) was born in 1920 in Hartford, AL and died in 1999 in Venice, FL. He played major league baseball from 1939 to 1963 as pitcher for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox, appeared in the 1954 and 1959 World Series, was selected 6 times as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Wynn won the Cy Young Award in 1959 as well as being the American League Pitcher of the Year and Major League Player of the Year that year. Wynn was a five time 20-game winner and won exactly 300 games in his major league career. Wynn was one of the few players to play in four different decades (his career spanned from 1939 to 1963). He was very tough, and it was said he would brush back his grandma if it would help him win a game. Another story was that instead of wasting four balls to intentionally walk a hitter, he considered just drilling him. After his playing career ended, Wynn was pitching coach for the Indians and Minnesota Twins. He was a broadcaster for the expansion Toronto Blue Jays for five years , and in 1982 and 1983, he was a radio and television broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox. William Louis, (Jr.) Veeck was born in 1914 in Chicago, IL and died in 1986 in Chicago, IL. One of baseball's most colorful characters, Bill Veeck was an owner of several major league clubs. Between 1947 and 1964, the only non-Yankee teams to win the AL pennant were the 1948 Indians (owned by Veeck), the 1954 Indians (built by Veeck), and the 1959 White Sox (owned by Veeck). Bill's father, Bill Veeck Sr. had been a Chicago sportswriter who became General Manager of the Cubs. Prior to becoming a major league owner, he was the owner of the American Association's Milwaukee Brewers. In 1942 he was named Minor League Executive of the Year. He owned the Cleveland Indians from 1946 until 1949 and his club won the World Series in 1948. During Veeck's ownership, Larry Doby joined the Indians and became the first African-American player in the American League. Veeck also signed the legendary Negro League pitching star Satchel Paige. After selling the Indians, he bought the St. Louis Browns and became known for his promotional stunts, which included using midget Eddie Gaedel as a pinch hitter. He later owned the Chicago White Sox for two separate stints (1958-1961 and 1975-1981), and saw them reach the World Series in 1959. Five years after his death, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Raymond Edmond Narleski was born in 1928 in Camden, NJ and died in 2012 in Clementon, NJ. He played major league baseball from 1954 to 1959 as pitcher for the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers, appeared in the 1954 World Series, and was selected twice as an All-Star. After baseball Narleski returned to his native New Jersey and worked as a body mechanic for H. A. DeHart Trucks. The Narleski clan was a three generation family in pro baseball. Ray's father, Bill Narleski, was an infielder with the Boston Red Sox in 1929-30. Two of Ray's sons played in the minor leagues. One of the sons, Steve, a pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization in the early 1980s, reached AAA but never got the call to the majors, preventing the Narleskis from becoming the first three generation major league family. SKU: XP12028
Item: XP12028
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