A’s Society Receives "Rare” 1940 Scorecard

Any paper product that survived the weekly scrap drives of World War ll certainly can be classified as being rare. Check any sports collectibles convention, e-bay ads, flea market tables and you will take note that the sellers of these items place a premium price tag regardless of the condition of the publication. The Society’s Museum displays various years of scorecards however, the years before 1945 are not that plentiful and we are grateful for any we receive that can be shared with our visitors and fill in the gaps of missing years. That was the case when 83 year old Richard Parker of Doylestown, Pa recently stopped in one day and asked our sales clerk Joan Searles if the Society would be interested in the donation of a scorecard he had since 1940. It didn’t take Ms Searles too long to answer Mr. Parker with the words, ” by all means” after she had taken one glance at the printed cover “Comiskey Baseball Park, Chicago. Official scorecard Season of Nineteen Forty and the penciled autographs of Connie Mack and Monty Stratton.

16 year old (in 1940) Richard’s dad was employed in Philadelphia by the Sears Roebuck Company and with a group of his co-workers were in Chicago for a tour of the Sears facility and it just so happened that Connie Mack’s Athletics were in town for a series with the White Sox. To the surprise of their eastern employees, Sears had July 31st designated as Sears Roebuck Day at Comiskey Park. Prior to the start of the game the Sears employees were invited on the field and in the clubhouse to meet the players. (Richard says his dad told him that’s when he got the two autographs.

Besides being a rarity caused by the scrap drives of WWll this scorecard can also be listed as a rarity in that the A’s “winning” scorecards in 1940 would only total 54 while their 100 losses would allow them to "capture" their 7th trip to the American League's cellar since 1934 with 3 more 8th place finishes on the horizon in 1941, 1942, and 1943.

A visual look at the box score indicates the final score was A’s 4 runs,6 hits 0 errors, White Sox 3 runs 4 hits 1 error. Winning pitcher Beckmann , losing pitcher Rigney. Athletics favorite Wally Moses saw his 2 run homer in the 3rd inning provide the winning margin while the White Sox duo of Appling and Tresh hit for the distance as well.

Our benefactor Richard Parker retired in 1984 after a 38 year career with United Engineers & Constructors. His retirement allowed him to spend more time with his wife Alliene. As he sat in the Society’s Museum that day he thought back to many of the games he and his dad attended at Shibe Park from their home in the Crestenville section of Philadelphia at 491 Sanger Street and although he was not in Comiskey Park that day in 1940 his dad’s memory of that trip to Chicago was always the subject of discussion whenever Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics were a part of their conversations.

The scorecard is now on display in the Connie Mack showcase in the Society’s Museum. If you want to see an item of baseball nostalgia that survived all those scrap drives, and did not get thrown out by Parker's mother as others claim their mom threw away all their "stuff" then plan a trip to Hatboro and see for yourself showcases of memorabilia that will remind you of a time when baseball was the National Pastime and it really was a game.

Thank you Mr. & Mrs. Richard Parker !!

To learn more about the other autograph, Monty Stratton click here.

Wednesday July 31,1940 Comiskey Park A's vs White Sox

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