At 92 years young, Monte Irvin is one of baseball's most under utilized resources. A Hall of Famer for almost 40 years, Irvin is a true legend in many sense of the word. I had the opportunity to spend an entire day with him about 3 years ago and he was just the most humble athlete I've met when compared to his accomplishments. Monte spent the entire day talking with everyone who had questions, never refused an autograph and went happily from place to place for about 10 hours, which included multiple stops in the town of Newark.
I think many do not realize that Monte is the last living STAR of the ***** Leagues. He was one of the top players in the ***** Leagues before he came to the majors and can speak clearly on almost anyone else who was a star in the ***** Leagues from the late 1930's on. If not for being a bit rusty after returning from World War II, he would have probably broken the color barrier ahead of Jackie Robinson.
For a very reasonable donation to Lincoln University (his alma mater), Monte happily signed the two items below. One was given out at the annual Judy Johnson night this year in Wilmington, the other is from the 2011 Topps Lineage set. I have quite a few items of Monte's signed in my collection, but being these were both recent releases, I felt it was a good time to send them over to him. Irvin wasn't present at the ceremony in Wilmington, so I do not know how many of these are actually signed.
For a $15 donation to Lincoln University and about 2.5 weeks, the following arrived. He added the inscription without asking.
If folks have a chance, they should write to him now before its too late. Monte is one of the last connections to an era long gone.
I think many do not realize that Monte is the last living STAR of the ***** Leagues. He was one of the top players in the ***** Leagues before he came to the majors and can speak clearly on almost anyone else who was a star in the ***** Leagues from the late 1930's on. If not for being a bit rusty after returning from World War II, he would have probably broken the color barrier ahead of Jackie Robinson.
For a very reasonable donation to Lincoln University (his alma mater), Monte happily signed the two items below. One was given out at the annual Judy Johnson night this year in Wilmington, the other is from the 2011 Topps Lineage set. I have quite a few items of Monte's signed in my collection, but being these were both recent releases, I felt it was a good time to send them over to him. Irvin wasn't present at the ceremony in Wilmington, so I do not know how many of these are actually signed.
For a $15 donation to Lincoln University and about 2.5 weeks, the following arrived. He added the inscription without asking.
If folks have a chance, they should write to him now before its too late. Monte is one of the last connections to an era long gone.
