Lot # 2320: Ivey Wingo Major League Lifetime Silver Pass with Original Presentation Box - Direct Family Provenance!

Lifetime silver pass issued by Major League Baseball to former St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds catcher Ivey Wingo. The pass reads "The National American Major Leagues of Professional Baseball Present This Lifetime Pass to Ivy (sic) Wingo In Appreciation of Long And Meritorious Service." The facsimile signatures of both American League President William Harridge and National League President Ford Frick appear along the base. All of the text is in relief, with the exception of Wingo’s name, which has been engraved. Produced by "Lambert Bros. Jewelers. N. Y." as noted on the reverse. The pass is accompanied by its original presentation box, which has "Lambert Brothers/Jewelers/New York" printed on the lid. Also included with the box is the original presentation card bearing the names of both Frick and Harridge, as well as a second card with just Frick's name printed. Together with a letter of provenance from the Wingo family. Lifetime silver passes are scarce. While we do not know the precise year that the practice of issuing lifetime silver passes ended, it appears to have been in the 1950s (Clem Labine's lifetime pass, issued in 1959 and which REA sold in its April 2015 auction, was not silver). Wingo retired in 1929, and Frick ended his tenure as National League president in 1951, so this pass was issued sometime during that time span. The pass (4.25 x 2.75 inches) has light tarnishing.