When one ponders the question, who is the toughest autograph to obtain from the 1919 White Sox? 1920 Brooklyn Robins? 1927 Yankees? Easily, the answer would be, Eddie Bennett.
Eddie Bennett (D. 1935 at age 32) was considered the most famous mascot in the world at the time of his death. Bennett grew up in Brooklyn where as a baby, he suffered from a baby carriage accident which left him hunchbacked and stunted his growth. By the time he was an adult, he was considered a dwarf. The tragedy did not end there. In 1918, Bennett’s parents perished in the Flu Epidemic that actually killed 3-5% of the world’s population at the time.
Bennett, at the age of 15, was left destitute and needed a job. He convinced Hap Felsch of the Chicago White Sox (and one of the ring leaders in the 1919 World Series Black Sox scandal) that he had “magical powers” that could bring good luck to everyone that uses him. Felsch liked Eddie’s smile and was superstitious himself.
Hap had a tremendous game that day at the Polo Grounds in Brooklyn and because of this chance meeting, Felsch and teammate Eddie Cicotte (another key figure in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal) convinced manager, Kid Gleason to hire Bennett as the batboy and unofficial mascot. After the World Series, Felsch and Cicotte were thrown out of the game and Eddie joined his hometown Brooklyn team for the 1920 season as their batboy and mascot. Again, it seemed that lightning struck twice, as Brooklyn went on to play in the World Series that year.
After the Robins won the pennant in 1920, Bennett represented the team during the first 3 World Series games, played in Brooklyn (they won game 2 and 3). However, the team didn’t invite Eddie to Cleveland for Game 4 of the World Series. Legend has it that he put a curse on the team and the team went on to lose their next 4 games. Shortly thereafter, he left the team, citing that he didn’t trust anyone with the Brooklyn Robins.
At the age of 18, he became the bat boy for the New York Yankees by personal invitation from owner, Jacob Ruppert. He was thought of as a “Good Luck Charm” by the Bronx Bombers and became a pretty big celebrity in New York. The Yankees learned from Brooklyn’s mistake and took Eddie everywhere with them, including to Florida for spring training. He became one of Babe Ruth’s best friends and manager, Miller Huggins unofficial bench coach.
In 1932, Bennett was hit by a NYC taxi cab. He suffered from major injuries and never fully recovered. To ease his pain, he found solace in alcohol. In 1933, he was forced to retire as the mascot of the Yankees because of his alcohol abuse and ended up dying penniless in a small room on West 84th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at the age of 32 from alcoholism. The Yankees ended up paying for his funeral and the only people to attend his funeral were owner Jacob Ruppert, GM Ed Barrow, and head scout Paul Krichell. A sad ending to such a tragic life that brought a lot of sunshine to baseball fans from all over the country.
For many Yankees collectors and 1919 White Sox collectors, Eddie Bennett is one of the most elusive autographs to attain. When found, his signature is usually found on a team baseball. We’ve literally seen only a handful of his signatures over the past 30 years.
Offered is an original 1920’s International News Service photograph dating from the 1920’s that has been encapsulated as a Type I photograph. The photo has been signed in a white ink and personalized to George Hogg. George Hogg could have been a collector or possibly Bert George Hogg who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1934. This is the first and only Eddie Bennett signed photo that we’ve ever heard of and certainly deserving of the finest baseball autograph collections. It’s mind blowing that this even exists! The photo measures approximately 8” x 10” in size with a small paper loss in the lower less hand corner. Chilling!
Full PSA COA.