A half-century before the Dodgers and Giants moved from New York to California, the ole’ Pacific Coast League provided the only pro ball for baseball fans on the West Coast to enjoy. Two of the greatest players of all-time, Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, got their start in the PCL during its heydays of the 1930s (Double-A at that time), while several others also went on to have Hall of Fame careers in the majors. At first, the only way to collect cards of your favorite PCL players was through packages of the popular Zee-Nut candy snack, which began releasing trading cards back in 1911. Zee-Nut issues lasted until 1938, but there were few, if any, other options for PCL collectors until San Francisco-based retailer, Pebble Beach Clothiers, released a special 1935 postcard set featuring five PCL players, two PCL managers, and three other popular Bay Area sports figures.

The Bay’s three PCL teams – San Francisco Seals, Oakland Oaks, and San Francisco Mission Reds – were represented, highlighted by 20-year-old Joe DiMaggio along with his Seals teammates Lefty O’Doul and Walter Mails. Mission Reds manager Gabby Street and three Oaks – Leroy Anton, Wee Ludolph, and manager Ossie Vitt – also made the short checklist. What each had in common is they were all native to the San Francisco Bay Area. Rounding out the group were: Maurice “Clipper” Smith and Slip Madigan, each of whom played football at Notre Dame and became local college coaches; and Ernie Smith, longtime radio voice of the S.F. Seals and sponsor of this promotion. Each card measured 3½ inches-by-5½ inches and featured a black-and-white, sepia-toned image of the subject on the front with a typical looking postcard back. A letter from Ernie Smith dated May 4, 1935, accompanied them offering “personally signed pictures” in exchange for a band from a Pebble Beach necktie. It was, quite possibly, the hobby’s earliest autograph redemption program.

Presented here is a wonderful set of this rarely seen pre-war release, a group of eight newly discovered postcards from the original collector’s family. Our consignor’s father redeemed them in the mid-late 1930s with autographs in bold blue or black ink. Seven have been dual-graded by PSA and PSA/DNA – none more important than Joltin’ Joe.

These postcards rarely surface, and when they do it’s usually a solo unicorn without a trace to its origin. Only once has a complete signed set come to the market (split into two lots: DiMaggio solo and the others as a group), and that was 2017. To our knowledge, this is the second most comprehensive set ever offered. In 2017, we sold a DiMaggio PSA/DNA 10 Auto (card ungraded) for $32,230. In 2023, a dual-graded DiMaggio (PSA 3 / DNA 10) sold for $84,000.

This DiMaggio earned a PSA GD 2 and perfect PSA/DNA 10 Auto. grade, with Joe’s striking blue fountain ink signature ideally placed across his Seals pinstriped pants. The Yankee Clipper was one season away from beginning his MLB career in New York when this card was issued in ’35. His image was snapped in 1933 when he hit safely in 61 straight games for the Seals – five more than his MLB record 56-game hit streak with the Yanks in 1941. Of the five DiMaggios in PSA’s pop report (all signed), only two have a superior card grade, but we know there’s no autograph better than this one. Here are the six other grades:

Lefty O’Doul – PSA GD 2, PSA/DNA 9 (one of two ever graded). O’Doul started out as a southpaw pitcher for the Seals and spent a few seasons (1919-23) with the Yankees and Red Sox as a reliever. Arm problems forced Lefty to transition to the outfield and he became one of the best hitters in the majors. He won two NL batting titles (.398 with Phils in 1929 and .368 for Dodgers in 1932) and finished with a .349 lifetime MLB average, then returned to the Seals in ’35 for five more years.

Walter Mails – PSA VG+ 3.5, PSA/DNA 8 (one of three ever graded). Known as “Duster” for his propensity to throw brushback pitches, Mails played seven seasons in the majors, his best years in Cleveland (1920-22) where he pitched 15-2/3 scoreless innings in the 1920 World Series including a shutout in Game 6 for the champion Indians. Mails nicknamed himself “The Great” after that season. He went 14-8 in 1921 before bouncing back and forth between the PCL and MLB. He pitched 14 PCL seasons with a 173-171 record. In 1935 at age 40, he went 3-1 for the Seals. A total character, Mails once asked an umpire to throw him out of a game so he could meet his date.

Leroy Anton – PSA VG-EX 4, PSA/DNA 9 (none higher, pop 2; one of three ever graded). Better known as Roy, he played 13 years in minors, primarily as first baseman for Oakland Oaks (1928-36) where he batted over .300 seven straight seasons.

Willie “Wee” Ludolph – PSA VG-EX 4, PSA/DNA 9 (one of three ever graded). “Wee Willie” pitched in minors from 1921-37 and had a brief call-up with Detroit Tigers 1924. In 13 PCL seasons, mostly with Oaks, he compiled a 156-129 record.

Oscar Vitt – PSA VG-EX 4, PSA/DNA 9 (one of three ever graded). Vitt played mostly third base in majors from 1912-21. He was teammate of Ty Cobb in Detroit and Babe Ruth in Boston. One of the best bunters and toughest to strike out in his prime, Ossie was once plunked by Walter Johnson in the head and knocked unconscious. His managerial career began in 1925. He skippered the Hollywood Stars (1926-34) to two PCL pennants before taking over for Oaks in 1935. He also managed the Cleveland Indians from 1938-40.

Maurice J. “Clipper” Smith – PSA VG-EX 4, PSA/DNA 9 (one of three ever graded). After playing football at Notre Dame (1917-20) under Knute Rockne, Clipper became a head coach at the college level for 30 years. His spent seven years at Santa Clara (1929-35) where led the Broncos to six straight winning seasons before an even better run at Villanova (1936-42) where he went 41-17-3 including back-to-back undefeated campaigns in 1937 and ’38.

The eighth signed card of this collection is Gabby Street, a backup catcher for five teams in the majors (1904-12) who played minor-league ball until 1928 at age 45. He then managed the St. Louis Cardinals (1929-33), winning a World Series in ’31, before skippering the PCL’s Mission Reds (1934-45) and the AL’s St. Louis Browns in 1938. According to PSA, the postcard is authentic; however, PSA/DNA has deemed the autograph secretarial. There is clearly a mistake as the only dual-graded Gabby Street in PSA’s pop report shows the exact same autograph style (see HA listing from May 2017). Maybe his wife signed for him both times. I guess only Gabby Street, who died in 1951, knows the real answer. The only cards missing to make this set complete are Ernie Smith and Slip Madigan. A detailed letter of provenance accompanies this lot from the original source’s son.

PSA Pop Report: https://www.psacard.com/pop/baseball-cards/1935/pebble-beach-clothiers/134360