Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Winter 2022
Ce lot est fermé pour enchérir. Enchère terminée le
While athletes unexpectedly losing their lives during their career seldomly occurs thankfully, memorial games have been a traditional means to both honour the victim and provide for his family. The earliest known occurrences in North America hail from the 19th century, when baseball players William Smith (1886) and Louis Henke (1885) were honoured. The first example in hockey occurred when superstar and HOF member William “Hod” Stuart perished in a diving accident in the Bay of Quinte on June 23, 1907, shortly after helping the Montreal Wanderers win the Stanley Cup. A benefit game was played at the Montreal Arena on Jan 2, 1908, where 3,800 spectators witnessed the Wanderers defeat an all-star team comprised of players from the ECAHA, including legendary HOFers Percy LeSueur, Frank Patrick and Jack Marshall. The Wanderers were triumphant, with $2,100 raised for Stuart’s wife and two daughters (approx $64,000.00 in 2022 dollars).
This EXCEEDINGLY rare original Hod Stuart Memorial Game program is one of only a few known, and is worthy of any of the world’s best hockey collections. At approx 4” x 6 ½”, the small booklet with silk tie string sports “William Hodgson Stuart” in old English script on the front cover, with “Souvenir of a memorial benefit hockey match played at the Montreal Arena, January second, 1908” on the reverse cover. Upon opening the important keepsake, an image of Stuart in his Wanderers jersey with facsimile signature is present, with seven pages of biographical text. The inside back cover lists his clubs along with the date of his death. Exhibiting a few marks and creases along with some minor staining to the interior pages, the program displays beautifully, and is arguably one of the most important items we have ever offered in regards to the history of both the sport and the All-Star Game. We should further note that sources cite the contest as the first actual “all-star” benefit game for any sport (while other contests have occurred to benefit players including the aforementioned baseball player examples, this contest is seen as the first to feature competing “all-stars”).
By clicking this button, you will IMMEDIATELY bid the amount selected.
By clicking this button, you will submit this amount as your MAXIMUM (absentee) bid. The auction software will place bids on your behalf up to this amount only as it is bid against competitively by other bidder(s).