Spring Premier Auction 2017
Wed, May 24, 2017 04:00PM EDT - Fri, Oct 6, 2017 11:00PM EDT
Timed Auction
Lot 141
WILLIE STARGELL'S 1979 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD (STARGELL COLLECTION)
Sold for
$11,395.20
Sold Price includes BP
Bid Increments
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| $5,000 | $500 |
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In 1979 everything fell into place for awe-inspiring Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell. The 39-year-old slugger playing in his 18th major league season had a great year at the plate as he recorded 119 hits including 32 home runs and knocked in 82 runs. He was named the National League’s MVP as the Pirates secured the N.L. East flag. In the playoffs that year “Pops” Stargell caught fire. He first led the Bucs to the N.L. pennant by batting .455 during a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS. He then guided the Pirates to their second World Series title in nine years by hitting .400 (12 hits three home runs and seven RBI) in a four-games-to-three series victory over the A.L. Champion Baltimore Orioles. Not only was Stargell named the league’s MVP but also the NLCS and World Series MVP a trifecta that’s never been accomplished by any other player in MLB history.
The offered trophy here was awarded to Stargell after the season by Sports Illustrated magazine. In 1954 Sports Illustrated began naming an overall athlete of the year. The editors pick their selections male and female from every sport and based it on the athlete’s contributions to the game their performance within their chosen sport and their off field activities. In 1979 Stargell became the seventh MLB player to win the prestigious honor. The trophy which stands 19” tall includes a wooden base (8” wide by 6” high by 8” deep) upon which rests a beautifully engraved gold plaque: “SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR 1979 WILLIE STARGELL FOR SYMBOLIZING IN CHARACTER AND PERFORMANCE THE IDEALS OF SPORTSMANSHIP.” The top of the trophy features a 12” tall clay vase with two handles that is sporting a beautifully painted wraparound Egyptian design complete with male figures competing in sports competitions surrounded by intricate flowing patterns. The trophy has been professionally restored using all of its original parts and weighs twelve pounds. We have found only one other example of this trophy to have ever surfaced in the hobby and that one was issued to Dodger pitcher Johnny Podres.
Letter of Provenance from Margaret Weller-Stargell.
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