Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Spring 2019
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/18/2019
One of the all-time most beloved of all Toronto Maple Leafs, King Clancy spent over four decades with the Blue and White, first as a player, and later as both coach and team executive. We have an original media photo of the King, with this image significant as it’s the first to picture the legendary superstar in his Leafs finery. At approx 5” x 8” and possibly unique, Clancy is shown in his Toronto wool sweater, with an affixed caption on the reverse dated “10-30-30” that states the blueliner is pictured “wearing the uniform of the Maple Leafs for the first time”. A four-time NHL all-star and three-time Stanley Cup champion, Clancy would be the all-time leading scorer for defenceman upon his retirement in 1936, with Hall of Fame enshrinement occurring in 1958.
Traded to Toronto on Oct 11th 1930 after a 40-point season with Ottawa, the photo’s caption mentions that the $40,000.00 (just over $600,000.00 in 2019 dollars) paid for the iconic defender was the highest price ever paid for an NHLer up until that time (it’s believed to have actually been $35,000.00 plus two players). It has also been written about by Stan Fischler that Smythe first purchased a race horse – cheaply - then proceeded to race and bet on his purchase at 107-1 odds, and when the horse actually won, used the winnings to buy Clancy from the Senators! The photo exhibits some creasing and corner wear along with trimmed borders, with the top left corner clipped off. The reverse has the aforementioned affixed and dated caption, with “Frank King Clancy” also handwritten, with a later use date of “Jan 27 1964” stamped. With toning and paper residue, the historic photo displays well overall.
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