Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction June 2016
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/15/2016
Nice big collection of Jack Adams’ photos and memorabilia features some 45 vintage photos and a variety of keepsakes and mementos from the hockey icons legendary career as coach and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. Adams’ 1940 “Admiral of the Flagship Fleet” certificate signed by American Airlines president C.R. Smith is included along with mementos from the Red Wings’ 1938 European Tour with the Montreal Canadiens, featuring the passenger manifest for their ocean liner voyage across the Atlantic. Adams’ nameplate from his desk and some fascinating photos are among the items to be discovered here.
Please note that many of the items have handwritten numbers on them.
Included in this lot are:
Vintage Adams photo postcard measures 5 1/2" x 3 1/4";
Wonderful portrait photo of Jack Adams early in his coaching and managing career, measures 8x10 with Adams photographed from the side with a fedora and top coat;
Two (2) Adams on-ice portraits by photographer Albert E. Backlund with Jack on skates and wearing different coach’s sweaters;
Colorized Adams photo portrait displayed in a gold-colored metal frame; photo measures approximately 12” x 9”;
Adams and fellow HOFers Marty Barry, Herbie Lewis, Syd Howe and Ebbie Goodfellow are among the 1937-38 Red Wings dressed in street clothes in two (2) team photos with Red Wings v. Montreal Canadiens sign in background for an exhibition game during their European tour in late April and early May of 1938. “Sussex Daily News” is stamped on the rear of both photos, which makes it likely that the photo was taken in Brighton, England, where three of the nine games were played during the tour, which also included three games each in London (Earl’s Court) and Paris.
Jack Adams’ wife, Helen, is pictured in a 7 3/4" x 6” photo portrait that is signed on its matte by photographer Charles Aylett and mounted in a Birks sterling silver art deco frame that measures 11 1/2" x 8 1/2". (There are some moisture stains at the bottom center and right of the image, and the upper right.);
A framed photo of Jack and an unidentified man, who has dedicated his signature to Jack;
A framed tribute to “Mr. and Mrs. Jack Adams” from the congregation of St. Patrick’s Catholic church in Napanee, Ontario;
Some 36 vintage photos, mostly 8x10 prints and many of Adams and/or Mrs. Adams;
Jack Adams’ 1918 certificate of marriage to his wife, Helen Trimble, measures 5 1/2" x 2 3/4", handwritten with the names of both husband and wife, two witnesses, and the Roman Catholic priest, dated “1st day of Nov 1918” in Hamilton, Ontario, stamped with seal of St. Patrick’s Church in Hamilton;
Jack Adams’ “Admiral of the Flagship Fleet” bears the hockey icon’s name in black ink calligraphy, and is dated September 24, 1940 and signed “CR Smith” in light blue fountain pen ink by Cyrus Rowlett “C.R.” Smith, the president of American Airlines. This prized early commercial aviation document issued by American Airlines exhibits various marks and light stains from handling and displays to roughly 10 3/4" x 8 1/4" as mounted in a vintage 12” x 9 1/4" wood frame. Smith (September 9, 1899 – April 4, 1990) was the CEO of American Airlines from 1934 to 1968 and from 1973 to 1974. He was also the wartime deputy commander of the Air Transport Command, and United States Secretary of Commerce for a brief period under President Lyndon B. Johnson. He is regarded as one of the titans of U.S. airline history;
Detroit International Regatta 1962 Spirit of Detroit Award of Participation copper plaque presented to Jack Adams measures 4 3/4" x 4 1/8”;
Adams’ desk nameplate has his full name spelled out in blank ink calligraphy on a piece of white carboard stapled on both ends to the triangular-shaped piece of wood. There are a few marks to the nameplate and the top right corner is torn off;
Adams’ Red Wings plaque displays “John James (Jack) Adams” on the engraved silver-colored plate of a 9” x 6” wood plaque that indicates the years he was “Coach 1928-47” and “General Manager 1928-62” of Detroit’s NHL franchise, originally named the Cougars and Falcons before ultimately finding its greatest success as the Red Wings. Text on the plaque details Adams’ achievements that include 12 NHL regular season titles, including a record seven in a row from 1949-55, and seven Stanley Cup championships;
Elegant vintage portrait photo of Mrs. Adams, a studio 8x6 portrait print matted and signed in pencil by Toronto photographer Charles Aylett displayed in a 14” x 11 1/2" cardboard folder from Aylett’s studio with his Yonge Street address on the cover;
Adams is among the various hockey legends who embarked in Halifax, Nova Scotia in a “List of Cabin & Tourist Passengers” manifest booklet from the Cunard White Star ocean liner R.M.S. Ausonia’s voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The ship departed New York on April 7, 1938, with a port of call in Halifax before setting sail for Plymouth, England. Adams, Larry Aurie, Marty Barry, Toe Blake, Mud Bruneteau, Wilf Cude, Johnny Gagnot, Ebbie Goodfellow, Cecil Hart, Pit Lepine, Carl Liscombe, Georges Mantha, Babe Siebert, Normie Smith and Doug Young are among the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens players listed as “Embarking at Halifax” within the pages of the booklet. A “Passenger List Corrections” insert page lists Mrs. Adams, Hec Kilrea, Walter Buswell and Syd Howe as
Jack Adams and his wife are pictured along with others at their dinner table in a vintage 6x8 photo displayed within a cardboard framein the centerfold of a “Souvenir Photo” of “A Memorable Evening” cardboard jacket from the Elmwood Casino Windsor and the Barclay Hotel Toronto;
Plymouth Community Cultural Center Dedication program from December 1972 with Mrs. Jack Adams listed as special guest;
Optimist Club of West Detroit Certificate of Appreciation presented to Jack Adams dated November 14, 1967;
Rotary Club of Rochester, Michigan Certificate of Appreciation presented to Jack Adams dated August 12, 1965;
City of Detroit letter of gratitude to Jack Adams dated February 9, 1967 for skate donations;
Various vintage newspaper clippings and copies, some with early illustrations of Adams and Red Wings players;
Engraved silver-colored plaque that reads “To Jack and Helen Adams, Jack Adams Testimonial Dinner, October 8, 1962, Michigan Federation of Race Tracks” and measures 2 1/2" x 6”;
Five powerboat racing buttons;
“This Car Made Especially for Jack Adams” is engraved on a 3” x 1” silver-colored plaque;
Four (4) vintage Detroit sports stars 7x5 photos with facsimile autographs, including Tigers HOF second baseman Charlie Gehringer, Michigan Wolverines and Detroit Lions football star Chuck Bernard, and Red Wings HOFer Herbie Lewis.
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