Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2018
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/6/2018
The last surviving player that suited up for the NHL’s fabled Pittsburgh Pirates, Harold Darragh would also appear for the Philadelphia Quakers during their lone year of NHL competition in 1930-31. The Ottawa native would split his season in The City of Brotherly Love with Beantown, dressing for 24 games for the Bruins before being claimed off waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 8th, 1931. The Leafs at the time were a formidable opponent for any club, featuring eight future HOFers and coming off a franchise-best season in 1930-31, the blue and white – led by captain Hap Day - would finish 2nd in the Canadian Division at the conclusion of the 1931-32 regular season, with the first 24 home games ever played at the newly-constructed Maple Leafs Gardens concluded. A pair of two-game, total goal playoff series would follow, with Toronto getting past both the Black Hawks and Maroons before a victorious showdown in Manhattan with the Blue Shirts to claim the 1932 Stanley Cup, the first in franchise history as the Maple Leafs!
Despite the constant handling of some of the absolute rarest and most valuable uniforms in the entire discipline of hockey collecting, we here at Classic Auctions were speechless at the survival of the offered garment, with this exceedingly scarce Toronto Maple Leafs wool sweater originally worn by Darragh during the Stanley Cup championship season of 1931-32, and amazingly, it’s been photo-matched! Utilizing the Maple Leafs moniker for just a mere five seasons before the offered treasure was produced and worn, no labeling remains, with the antique sweater measuring out across the reverse to a modern size 44. Thankfully lacking the ostentatious complexity and over-designed aesthetics commonplace with modern uniforms, attention on our specimen has been focused singularly on the principal identifier, the intricately detailed and instantly recognizable maple leaf team crest. Constructed of thick felt finished in Leafs’ blue with white accent threading, “Toronto Maple Leafs” has been appliqued, with the crest layered over a white felt base. “16” appears over verso in matching blue-over-white layered felt, with a single inventory number placed within the left cuff.
Displaying brilliantly with all material remaining supple and exhibiting a certain period charm associated with Depression-era construction and simplicity, the team crest and reverse numbers retain their vibrancy with rich blue colouration, with the central letters over the crest showing some minor bleeding of the blue background. Both the crest and verso numbers remain tightly affixed, with just a few minor stains visible throughout the off-white body, including beneath the team crest and to the right of the reverse numbers. A few small holes are also present, with diminutive team repairs situated over the reverse, lower front and left sleeve. Photo-matched to a Leafs team photo taken in April of 1932 shortly after being crowned Stanley Cup champions, the offered sweater most likely witnessed playoffs use including in the finals, with the particular angled placement of the team crest along with the appliqued lettering perfectly matching the team photo. The noticeable shape along the bottom of the “R” in “Toronto” as well as the thinner circumference of the second “T” both match, along with the size, shape and placement of the remaining letters.
Arguably the most desirable and salient Toronto Maple Leafs example in the entire hobby, this specimen’s status is further augmented by the fact that according to our knowledge, it serves as the EARLIEST GAME-WORN TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS SWEATER TO HAVE EVER HIT THE AUCTION BLOCK. Hailing from the glory days of both the Maple Leafs and our national sport, the thought of Harold Darragh wearing this very sweater while the fledgling Leafs were in pursuit of Lord Stanley’s hardware is mesmerizing. An LOA from Classic Auctions will accompany, and please take note that this item may be subject to a silent reserve.
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