By Hector Cantú
CHARLES McCARTY HAS spent a lot of time researching his grandfather’s role in the early days of professional baseball.
From the Editor
Andrew Leonard arrived in the United States from Ireland in 1848 and began playing ball when he was 13. He later became one of the original “Boys of Summer” when he joined the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional baseball team (that’s him standing on far right in image above). Leonard’s contracts from those early days are being offered in Heritage’s Platinum Night Sports Auction scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2016, in New York.
Of course, the documents are important pieces of baseball history. Which is why McCarty was taken aback by another aspect of Leonard’s legacy. When McCarty visited the Boston cemetery where this sports legend rests, McCarty discovered his grandfather had an unmarked grave.
Parting with the family treasures and offering them to collectors isn’t easy. But with the auction, McCarty tells me an important goal is keeping the legacy of his grandfather alive. A big part of that is making sure everyone knows who Leonard is and what he accomplished.
“If anything comes out of this auction,” McCarty says, “my first commitment is getting an appropriate cemetery monument for my grandfather, for this first Boy of Summer. It’s the least I can do to memorialize Andy and his life.”
THIS PAST FALL, The Intelligent Collector took home the Bronze Award for Best Print Magazine at the prestigious Pearl Awards. Winners were selected from nearly 500 entries from leading publishers and marketing agencies worldwide. We’re proud of the honor. But more importantly, we’re delighted that our colleagues believe you, our readers, are receiving a publication that is valuable and relevant to your collecting pursuits.
AS ALWAYS, DROP me a line at HectorC@IntelligentCollector.com to share your stories. I remain interested in your discoveries.