Baseball writers at mid-century asked Connie Mack to select players from each position to form his all-time team. Mack seemed like the perfect man for the job – his 11-year National League playing career started in 1886 then he managed from 1894-1950. He had literally seen it all.
Carstairs Whiskey, which was heavily advertised toward women decided to attract more men by creating an advertisement that included baseball. In the 1940s with the help of sportswriters and advisors, an all-time team was constructed then given Mack’s stamp of approval. Carstairs then produced banners that could be hung in liquor stores or in a den.
In the collection is this handwritten letter written and signed by Connie Mack. The letter is to Jack Lang who at the time was seven years into his career that would span more than a half century as a baseball writer. So respected was Lang that he ascended to the role of secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, a position he held from 1966 until 1988. In that capacity, Lang was responsible for tallying the writers’ votes for elections to the Hall of Fame and calling players who were elected. In all, he called 44 players spanning from Red Ruffing to Willie Stargell.
Mack writes to Lang about the Whiskey company’s all-time team to clarify. “…I did not pick (Pie) Traynor and George Sisler. The sport writers picked the team that you wrote…I did pick George Sisler at one time. I never have picked Traynor at third. I was in favor of Corcoran who was a Buffalo man.”
The letter is written by the 90-year old Mack in his final year of ownership of the Philadelphia Athletics on beautiful team letterhead of the era.
I acquired a small white elephant from the sportswriter of America dinner at the Astor hotel in New York to celebrate the Athletics WS victory over the Giants, it’s rumored to be one of only 5 examples known to exist out of 200 given out. taken from the Barry Halper collection, and in the best condition of all known examples, are there any pictures of that dinner with the elephant shown