Lot # 2391: 1963 Hall of Fame Busts Complete Set In Original Boxes (20)

Presented is a collection of all twenty 1963 Hall of Fame busts packaged in their boxes as originally issued. These attractive display pieces, produced by Sports "Hall of Fame," Inc. (the official licensee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame), feature a white, bust-length image of the respective player rendered in plastic and mounted upon an imitation-wood plastic base. Displayed upon each base is a plaque listing the player's career highlights. Each figure (height: 6 inches) is still in its original packaging, a red, white, and gold box (4 x 3 x 8.5 inches), the reverse of which features portrait images of all twenty offered players in the set: Ruth, DiMaggio, Cobb, Gehrig, Hornsby, Wagner, Traynor, Dickey, W. Johnson, Mathewson, J. Robinson, Greenberg, Sisler, Cochrane, Speaker, Feller, Cronin, Foxx, McGraw, and P. Waner. Although the text on the reverse makes note of "Many More" to come, these twenty were the only ones ever issued. When sold in 1963, each box was covered in cellophane (none of the boxes in this collection have original cellophane intact). All of the busts range from Good to Excellent condition, averaging Very Good, with two lesser (Feller and Sisler, missing bottom panel). This is just the sixth complete set we have offered in the past 22 years. It should be noted that these busts were not all issued at the same time or in the same quantity. Some of these Hall of Fame busts are particularly rare, making sets extremely difficult to assemble. The Hall of Fame busts were originally sold in Cooperstown but apparently were not a particularly successful line. Somehow the entire remaining stock wound up at Manny's Baseball Land, the souvenir store located across the street from Yankee Stadium. The Manny's stock had a very poor distribution, with only six or eight different players represented, and most of the Hall of Fame busts in original boxes that have survived in the hobby today originate from Manny's. This is an exceptionally rare complete set of these attractive display pieces, each still housed in its original retail box. Total: 20 statues. The size/weight of this item requires that there will be an additional shipping charge for this lot.