Behold the 1955 Robert Gould 'Statue' of Billy Pierce that probably was made in Asia at the cost of two cents. I am not going to say what I paid but it was somewhat more than two cents.
For comparison sake here he is next to a Pacific Trading Pierce that came the same day.
Yes, it vaguely replicates his pitching form but without the name across the base it could really be almost any lefty pitcher of the era. I mean it's cool to have a relatively rare little do-dad issued during his career but I could have picked up an ungraded '51 Topps Blue Back of him with that $$ and some patience.
On the other hand I did get this for about half of what I've seen on eBay for it before. So there's that.
The statue was issued in conjunction with a trading card back in '55. The cards, which I believe were held to the statue with a rubber band, is crazy expensive. The few I see up for bid or sale go for $300 and up.... way up. Needless to say that's a white whale that I will not be harpooning anytime soon.
For that money you'd think it would at least be attractive.
EDIT: I have found a 2012 auction for contracts that were signed by several Hall of Famers re: the issuance of statues in their likeness in a second series of these, a series that was never produced. The contracts paid the players $100. I still don't have much background on these.
SECOND EDIT:
1955 Robert Gould Statues Checklist:
1 Willie Mays
2 Gus Zernial
3 Red Schoendienst
4 Chico Carrasquel
5 Jim Hegan
6 Curt Simmons
7 Bob Porterfield
8 Jim Busby
9 Don Mueller
10 Ted Kluszewski
11 Ray Boone
12 Smoky Burgess
13 Bob Rush
14 Early Wynn
15 Bill Bruton
16 Gus Bell
17 Jim Finigan
18 Granny Hamner
19 Hank Thompson
20 Joe Coleman
21 Don Newcombe
22 Richie Ashburn
23 Bobby Thomson
24 Sid Gordon
25 Gerry Coleman
26 Ernie Banks
27 Billy Pierce
28 Mel Parnell
You can find them checklisted by team at this site (unofficial).
Is there a checklist available for other Robert Gould statues. I just added a 1959 Hartland T. Williams to my collection. Didn't know if there were any Red Sox Gould statues
ReplyDeleteSure is Mark, and I added it to the post at the bottom. My bad for overlooking that originally.
DeleteLooks like Mel Parnell is the Red Sox' rep.
DeleteThanks for the update. I will have to go in search for the Parnell
DeleteFound a few . The price of the cards is outrageous
DeleteFound one that was painted. What's the deal with those
DeleteThose painted ones were done aftermarket and they might seem more attractive but I'd rather have one as they were issued.
DeleteBoth the statues and the card are HUGE white whales for my Pierce Project. So the fact that you scored one means I hate you. Sorry - I checked the rule book and it clearly states that I am not supposed to like you anymore.
ReplyDeleteLOL... sorry Jeff. The cards are beyond silly price-wise. I saw at least one other Pierce statue on eBay going for what I paid or thereabouts ($35). Close your eyes and pull the trigger.
DeleteVery cool figure. I've never seen these before... but I have a feeling they're probably way too expensive for me to even think about collecting.
ReplyDeleteYup, this is the sort of thing a collector buys just one of. I've looked at the Pierce and the Joe Coleman (Orioles) for awhile. I grabbed the Pierce because it usually costs somewhere north of $60 and I found one (two actually, so I got to choose) for about $35 which is as cheap as any of them go for.
DeleteOne of these days I might get the Coleman, but I'm not worried about it.
But those cards.... mama mia, those are ridiculous.
Wow! Simply beautiful!
ReplyDelete