Event Details
JULIEN’S AUCTIONS IS PROUD TO PRESENT OUR “BASEBALL AND BROADWAY: THE COLLECTION OF NY YANKEES HALL OF FAMER LEFTY GOMEZ AND ACTRESS JUNE O’DEA ONLINE ONLY AUCTION” TAKING PLACE EXCLUSIVELY AT JULIEN’S LIVE, CONCLUDING ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH, 2023.
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Featured in this auction are over 290 lots from the personal collection of Hall of Fame New York Yankees pitcher Vernon Louis “Lefty” Gomez and Broadway actress June O’Dea Gomez.
Included are personal treasures and signed memorabilia such as a baseball signed by approximately 25 Yankees Hall of Famers and a 60-bead salmon coral necklace and earrings gifted to June O’Dea by Lefty.
Additional items also include a group of 92 Hall of Fame plaque cards signed by the variety of Baseball Hall of Fame players over the years, 14K gold necklace owned by June, signed baseballs, and many more.
VERNON LOUIS “LEFTY” GOMEZ & JUNE O’DEA GOMEZ
The “Baseball and Broadway” memorabilia collection of Hall of Fame New York Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez and Broadway actress June O’Dea is a star-studded romp through America’s most glamorous years, with items from their careers, worldwide travels, friends, and teammates like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Composer George Gershwin, Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Dempsey, Novelist James Michener, President Lyndon B. Johnson, and many more.
Vernon “Lefty” Gomez was unbelievably accomplished as a baseball player, humanitarian, humorist, and international ambassador for the game. Well-known for his colorful personality both on and off the mound, Lefty coined the phrase, “I’d rather be lucky than good.” It turns out he was both.
Lefty baffled hitters with his blazing fastball, establishing himself as the New York Yankees ace in the 1930s. He had a brilliant career on the mound. Lefty pitched for the Yankees from 1930 to 1942, earning two Triple Crown pitching titles; he won 20 games four times, led the American League in strikeouts three times, three times in shutouts, and twice in earned run average. His World Series record is among the greatest ever – he won six games and lost none with an ERA of 2.86.
While playing for the Yankees, Lefty won five World Series championships, first in 1932 and then four consecutive titles from 1936 to 1939. He was a 7-time All-Star, who not only won the first All-Star game in 1933, but also had the first RBI base hit in All-Star history. Needless to say, when the lights shined the brightest, Lefty was at his best.
Widely considered the glue of the Yankee clubhouse throughout the 1930s, Lefty was both a ferocious competitor on the field and a prankster in the dugout who kept his teammates on their toes, kept their spirits up, and helped pull them out of slumps. It was Gomez who was there to console Lou Gehrig the day the “Iron Horse” pulled himself from the lineup. He roomed with Joe DiMaggio, creating a life-long friendship, and was at Joe’s side every day of his incredible 56-game hitting streak.
In 1932, Lefty married Broadway actress June O’Dea, who toured on the national stage and starred in George Gershwin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Of Thee I Sing.” The couple travelled the world with the Ruths, Gehrigs and Hillerichs (founder of Louisville Slugger); starting their trip after Lefty and the 1934 MLB All-American All-Star Team completed an 18-game tour of Japan, which heralded the start of professional baseball in that country.
When his baseball career was done, Lefty embarked on a new vocation that was equally profound. Appointed by Secretary of State John Dulles as America’s Goodwill Ambassador and hired by Wilson Sporting Goods as their national corporate spokesman, Lefty logged 100,000 miles per year and touched thousands of lives, speaking not only of his love of baseball but of the importance of honesty, integrity and effort.
Lefty was always active in promoting and advancing the sport of baseball, both nationally and internationally, whether it was touring with the USO to bring comfort to members of the military, promoting baseball throughout Cuba, the Caribbean and Latin America, or demonstrating that color does not matter – only ability – as the first MLB player to manage a mixed-race team. In honor of his life-long legacy, Lefty was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and the “Lefty Gomez Award,” established in 1962, is presented annually by the American Baseball Coaches Association as their most prestigious award.
The auction will start closing in real time and in lot order for live bidding at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, February 27th, 2023.
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