| |
 |
|
The Inquisition By
Willard Mullin Original
Art |
|
|
Item Details |
-
CIRCA
- July 31, 1951
-
ARTIST -
Willard Mullin
-
MEDIA TYPE
- India ink and
conté crayon on
heavyweight paper
-
SIZE
- 7
1/8"
x 10 5/8"
-
PRICE GUIDE
-
$350.00.-$500.00
Excellent condition
Information
Provided by:
Keymancollectibles.com
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Willard
Mullin was a sports cartoonist, most
famous for his creation of the
"Brooklyn Bum" the personification of
the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team.
Mullin was often commissioned to draw
cover illustrations for yearbooks of
the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants,
and the New York Mets. He was widely
syndicated, with his cartoons appearing
daily in the New York World Telegram &
Sun, in addition to numerous other
papers of the Scripps-Howard chain, and
in The Sporting News.
This original Willard Mullin artwork was used in publication by newspapers
owned by the Scripps-Howard Chain, such
as El Paso Herald-Post, and The
Knoxville News-Sentinel. "The
Inquisition" cartoon published on July
31, 1951 addresses hearings on three
bills involving professional baseball.
The House of Representatives committee
on monopolies, investigated baseball's
anti-trust laws, and possible infringer
of inter-state commerce regulations. In
a landmark 1922 case, the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that professional baseball
was neither interstate nor commerce,
and therefore not subject to federal
antitrust laws.
The hearings. which lasted many months, explored every phase of the
professional game, from the much
debated reserve clause to the price of
hot dogs and beer in our ball parks. Baseball had gone into the
hearing with the support of a lobby of
some 20,000,000 American fans.
The Baseball Reserve Clause
Congressional Committee "Inquisition"
refers to the congressional inquiries
and debates surrounding the reserve
clause in Major League Baseball (MLB).
This clause, which bound players to
their teams for life unless traded or
released, was a central point of
contention for decades. Congressional
committees, particularly the House
Judiciary Committee under Rep. Emanuel Celler, held hearings and investigated
the reserve clause and its impact on
players' rights and the fairness of
baseball's antitrust exemption.
The back of the artwork has instructions which read "Please Rush - to
engraving room 5th floor World Telegram
& Sun 125 Barclay St. NYC - Please Do
Not Crush" In 1951, 125 Barclay Street
in New York City was the headquarters
of the New York World-Telegram and The
Sun newspaper. The "engraving room"
refers to a department within the
newspaper's headquarters. Newspapers
would have had engraving facilities for
preparing images for printing in the
mid-20th century. The artwork would
then be sent out by wire, across the
country for publication. Another
Willard Mullin piece from 1949, noted
"Western Union" on the back.
|
|
| |
|
The Inquisition By
Willard Mullin Original Art |
 |
 |
|
El Paso Herald-Post |
The Knoxville
News-Sentinel |
|
|
|
KEYMAN COLLECTIBLES
RELATED RESOURCES |
|
|
|
