This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/17/2021
The offered archive of Paul Popovich contains more than XX items from the former Cub, Dodger and Pirate utility infielder, with myriad photographs, team playbooks, Major League contracts, Major League Player documents, signed baseballs and other ephemera. Including his minor league years, Popovich played 15 years in pro baseball. He worked his way through the Chicago Cubs farm system for five seasons after leaving West Virginia University, where he played college baseball and basketball (where he was a teammate of Jerry West) for the Mountaineers in 1959 and 1960. He spent time in seven different seasons with the big league Cubbies, distinguishing himself in their historic, if ultimately disappointing, season in 1969, where he earned the nickname "Superscrub" for great play as a utility infielder. He hit his first major league home run for the Dodgers in 1968, and he also saw the postseason in 1974 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he went 3 for 5 in their NLCS loss to the Dodgers.
The collection includes:
- Popovich's Dodgers/Cubs team suitcase with Cubs sticker with "Paul Popovich," Paul's Dodger number "26" and a luggage tag sticker from the "Los Angeles Dodgers-Japan-1966" tour. This tag and the remnants of the number "24" indicate this suitcase previously belonged to Dodger Manager Walter Alston! Alston was the only Dodger to ever wear the #24 after he took the helm in 1954--the Dodgers retired the number on June 5, 1977. The suitcase measures 25 x 19 x 8 1/2 inches and shows signed of very heavy use, but it remains in working condition. Excellent condition.;
- 1969 "CUB POWER" souvenir t-shirt, still sealed, size "M";
- 1969 CUB POWER" LP with Team Photos on cover and players listed on album label;
- 31 photos, including June 29, 1969 oversized 11 x 14 inch shot of Paul ready to tag out Cardinal Mike Shannon at 2nd base, plus 8 x 10 inch photos of Paul's career from college (1960 WVU Basketball team photo with Jerry West), his Army duty, his minor league career and his major league career with the Cubs and Dodgers;
- Two 1969 Chicago Cubs "Fire-King Ware" Souvenir glass mugs;
- Two Chicago Cubs "United Airlines" Luggage tags "Paul Popovich";
- Three "Chicago Cubs System of Defensive Plays" Manuals, 1961, 1962 and 1963;
- Four golf balls, with two "Dodgers" custom balls;
- September 5, 1968, Topps Chewing Gum letter and invoice to Paul Popovich for his RCA color TV set in exchange for his Topps baseball card fees;
- Paul's Minor League and Major League contracts group of 10 contracts including his first pro contract for the "San Antonio Community Baseball Club" of the Texas League signed on June 17, 1960, plus nine others with their envelopes from the various Cubs-related minor league teams. Not all are signed copies;
- Six "Major League Players Association" and "Association of Professional Ball Players of America" ID cards, plus Paul Popovich Fan Club membership card;
- Major League Baseball Players Association documents and publications, 11 pieces, including 1967 life insurance policy, 1967 MLBPA Benefit Plan booklet, 1967 MLBPA Constitution and By-Laws booklet and others;
- Eight "Official Roster Books, Cubs 1960, 1967 (2), 1971, 1972, 1973, Pirates 1975, plus 1970 "Baseball Blue Book" (rules);
- 1966 Tacoma Cubs Pictorial Yearbook, plus two loose Popovich promotional photos;
- 1969 scrapbook with 10 Cubs portraits clipped from Chicago Today newspaper magazine insert;
- Scrapbook with 20+ clippings from Paul's collegiate baseball career;
- Four early to mid 1960's minor league team signed baseballs, names unidentified; and
- Several trophies in various states of disrepair or missing the baseballs to which they refer.
With all the paperwork and other loose ephemera, there are over 100 pieces in this extensive archive with many interesting artifacts from Major League baseball history and the career of Paul Popovich.