Lot # 661: 1892 Arthur Irwin Washington Senators Presentation Pocket Watch (Early Baseball Pioneer)

Category: Baseball

Starting Bid: $500.00

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This pocket watch with the attached chain was presented to Arthur Irwin, Manager of the Washington Senators. Irwin went by nicknames; Doc, Sandy, Cutrate or Foxy. Irwin played regularly in the majors for eleven years, with two of those being as a player-manager. He played on the 1884 Providence Grays team, which won the first interleague series to decide the world champions of baseball. In the summer of 1907, Irwin became a scout for the New York Highlanders. In 1909, New York manager George Stallings rented an apartment overlooking Hilltop Park and sent Irwin up to steal signs from the opposing team. Using a system of binoculars and mirrors, Irwin read the signs and flashed them back to Stallings so they could be relayed to the batter. While playing with Providence in 1883, Irwin broke the third and fourth fingers of his left hand. Not wanting to miss any games, he obtained an oversized buckskin driving glove, padded it and sewed the third and fourth fingers together to allow space for bandages. He used the glove even after his fingers healed. John Montgomery Ward of New York soon took the field with a similar glove. By the following season, almost every professional player was using the "Irwin glove.Stamped on the inside of the watch is “892 Washington Senators National League Arthur Irwin” as well as a “STAR DENNISON TRADEMARK” engraving. The watch is in working order and presents beautifully.