Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction Spring 2022
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/1/2022
Earning Rookie of the Year honours in each league he participated in during the genesis of his legendary career including the USHL with Omaha, the AHL with Indianapolis, and the NHL with Detroit, Terry Sawchuk retired after two decades of high-level hockey as the NHL shutout king; a record he would hold for almost half a century. Originating from the incomparable autograph collection of E. Robert Hamlyn, we have a photo of the 1948-49 Indianapolis Capitals multi-signed by six including Sawchuk. At 8” x 10” and picturing the full squad in the typical on-ice team pose, the players are all listed along the base, along with the photographer Bass over the bottom right. Along with Sawchuk, the signers include Cliff Simpson, Otto Heller, Don Morrison, Eddie Nicholson and Ed Bruneteau, with each signature ececuted in dark ink. The Sawchuk autograph is flawless, and it stands out beautifully against the darker background. The photo itself exhibits numerous creases including a vertical example that runs the length of the photo from top to bottom. There are also a few notations on the reverse, along with Hamlyn’s address stamped. Sawchuk sadly passed away early, after the conclusion of the 1969-70 season, at the youthful age of 40. A JSA LOA will accompany.
Beginning life as the passion of one youth growing up in Newfoundland during the late-1930s, ER Hamlyn was bitten by the collecting bug as a teenager, and began to seek out the signatures of both contemporary and past hockey stars, with his efforts culminating in the world class collection of signed photos and letters that encompass his incomparable autograph collection, with many unique items and extremely rare signatures making up the vast collection.
Through effective letter writing, first to teams, and then when information was received, directly to the players themselves, Hamlyn would request the addressed parties sign a photo he himself would provide, with the overwhelming majority honoring the enthusiastic collector's wishes. And enamored with the uniforms of both the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans – despite never seeing these teams play in person, Hamlyn had the foresight to seek out the signatures of past retired stars from long forgotten and defunct franchises. The insightful collector also recorded information now invaluable to his collection, with most of the signed letters and photos having dates listed when they were received back signed.
Numerous early Hall of Fame legends make up the one-of-a-kind gathering including signed photos from Dick Irvin, Steamer Maxwell, Frank Patrick, Clint Benedict, Alec Connell, Duke Keats, Frank Foyston, Moose Goheen and others, along with signed letters from Dickie Boon, Harry Hyland, Jack Marshall, Jack Ruttan, Joe Malone, George Hainsworth, Aurele Joliat, Cy Denneny and others. Impossible to duplicate, this is unequivocally the greatest autograph collection that we have handled in our 25 years of service to the collecting community.
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