In 1963, the Baseball Hall of Fame commissioned a Long Island company named Sports Hall of Fame Inc. to produce miniature replicas of the Hall of Fame busts of 20 players. These replica busts were sold at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and also at major league stadiums. The white, plastic busts were mounted on plastic bases that contained some career highlights of that player. Some of these Hall of Fame busts are extremely scarce today, and are highly sought after by collectors, particularly if found in their original boxes.
Presented are a group of beautiful and very rare pewter replicas of the 1963 Sports Hall of Fame busts. We are proud to be offering this entire collection as individual lots, each of which stands approximately 3″ high and which, for their size, are very heavy (each weighs about 3 lbs). The origin of these busts are unknown, but there are apparently two schools of thought, the more popular of whicih contends that these busts were cast from the original molds in 1963 when the plastic busts were constructed. A second school contends that the pewter busts were molded in the 1980s with the plastic busts used as models.
Each of the busts is a detailed replica of the player, in uniform. Some contain clear lettering on the reverse, indicating the name of the player in question. Others contain lettering that is much less clear, often barely distinguishable. In every case, the busts are in excellent condition, with all facial features apparent and with very little wear but an excellent, vintage-looking patina.
There are very few examples of these having been sold, and admittedly we are basing our assessment of these being made of pewter on those past sales, which described the pieces that way. The majority of recent sales are of these very pieces that we offer you here.
Outstanding display pieces, bookends, or additions to player collections, these busts are very interesting and unusual collectibles, tremendous companion pieces, and very substantial items.
But most importantly, how cool do they look all laid out together like this? Can you identify all the players?