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Lot # 96: 1917 Hugo Bezdek, Football Hall of Famer "Now Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates" by Charles Conlon

Starting Bid: $25.00

Bids: 10 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Holiday Premier Auction 2017",
which ran from 11/30/2017 12:00 AM to
12/16/2017 8:00 PM



The story of Hugo Bezdek is one of the most interesting in sports and deserves to be told! Born in the Czech Republic, he was one of the top football players in the country at the University of Chicago earning All American honors. After graduation he became the first superstar coach at the University of Oregon, leading them to an undefeated season. That would be enough of a career for most, but Bezdek was not most men. He coached Arkansas and Penn State, was also a successful basketball and baseball coach at several schools, and then he took another step. In 1917 with no experience to his credit, he became the manager of the major league Pittsburgh Pirates! He righted the ship and two of his players (Billy Southworth and Bill McKechnie) became Hall of Famers largely due to what they learned from Bezdek. Couple this with the fact that he also became the only man to ever serve as a coach in both the major leagues and the NFL, this was quite a full life! The offered large image of Bezdek shows the young manager working with his bat and taking some hacks and it was taken by rock star photographer Charles Conlon. A rare image that displays well despite a chip on the bottom and a few light pinholes at the corners. Charles Conlon (1886-1945) was America's first sports photojournalist. In the primitive days of photography, he lugged his camera to the ballpark to capture the heroes of the game in their natural setting and paved the way for a new genre of photography. His work encompassed four decades and he became a true master of his craft. His images range from aging 19th century stars through the golden age of the game and most of the iconic baseball photographs of the early 20th century originate from the camera of Conlon. Due to the nature of his employment, images from Conlon are quite rare to find. We are proud to offer at this time over 400 images from the master himself, Charles Conlon many of which have never been offered to the public before!

Size: 8x10
Designation: Vintage 1
Condition: 2.5/5
Quality: 5/5
Overall Grade: 7.5/10

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