The Iron Horse`s Piping Rock and a Snapshot of

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The Iron Horse’s Piping
Rock
and a Snapshot of American Horology in 1928
by Fredric J. Friedberg (CA)
INTRODUCTION
It is a rare pleasure to combine one’s passions in one
endeavor. However, the tale behind a Hamilton Piping
Rock wristwatch that was once owned and used for years
by arguably one of the most admired, respected, and legendary athletic heroes in American sports history represents just that opportunity.
This story, commencing in 1928, represents the confluence of America’s then favorite pastime (baseball), one
of America’s most revered and respected sports figures
(Lou Gehrig), and the start of perhaps the most incredible
design period in United States history (art deco). It also
involves the most famous sports franchise in the world
(The New York Yankees), participating in the then premier sporting event of the year (the World Series) along
with one of the most famous and long-lived American
watch manufacturers (the Hamilton Watch Company).
These subjects interweave all of this author’s passions:
American wristwatch collecting, the fabulous art deco
period, major league baseball, the New York Yankees,
“the Iron Horse” Lou Gehrig, a classic American watch
manufacturer, and the determination of one unique,
highly astute, and ardent watch collector.
But first, as they say, we begin at the beginning. Heinrich Ludwig (“Lou”) Gehrig was born on June 19, 1903,
in New York City’s Yorkville section of Manhattan, the
second child of four born to German immigrants Heinrich and Christina Gehrig and the only one to survive.
His father was a sheet metal worker, but because of bad
health and alcoholism rarely worked. His mother was
required to support her surviving child by working as
a housecleaner and taking in laundry. As a result, Lou
Gehrig was very devoted to his mother; she enabled him
to attend PS 132 in the Washington Heights section of
Manhattan, what was then Commerce High School, and
Columbia University.
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Initially, Gehrig could not play baseball for Columbia
because he had played professional baseball for a minor
league team before he started college. However, he was allowed to play football and was a standout fullback. Later,
he was permitted to play baseball. In fact, on April 18,
1923, the day the original Yankee Stadium first opened,
and while Babe Ruth hit the first home run there, Gehrig,
pitching for Columbia, set a school record by striking out
17 batters. However, Gehrig gained fame as a hitter, not a
pitcher. As a result, the New York Yankees signed him at
the age of 20 to a professional baseball contract in 1923
with a $1,500 bonus.1
With the Yankees, despite playing in the ever-present
shadow of the bigger-than-life Babe Ruth, Gehrig posted
statistics and accomplishments that are impressive even
today. Some of his achievements, noted at the Baseball
Hall of Fame, are the following:
• The first player to hit four home runs in one game on
June 3, 1932.
• Winner of the Triple Crown in 1934 when he led the
American League in batting average (.363), home runs
(49), and runs batted in (RBI) (165).
• Retains the record for the most grand slams in a career, with 23.
• Hit 493 home runs in his career, setting the record
for the most home runs hit by any first baseman in history until a “steroid-enhanced” Mark McGwire hit more.
• Became the only player in history to drive in more
than 500 runs over three consecutive years with RBIs of
174 in 1930, 184 in 1931, and 151 in 1932, for a total of
509.
• His amazing total of 184 RBIs in a single season (1931)
is still unmatched in American League history.
• Set a record by playing in a consecutive game streak
of 2,130 major league baseball games despite 17 hand
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fractures, being hit in the head several times by pitchers, severe back pain, and suffering various other illnesses
and minor injuries. Gehrig earned the nickname “The
Iron Horse” in the process. Gehrig’s record stood until
Cal Ripken Jr. broke it in 1995.
• Became the first professional athlete in sports history
to have his uniform number retired by his ball club.2
In addition, in 1927 Gehrig posted one of the greatest seasons by any batter in major league history. He batted an astronomical .373, with 52 doubles, 18 triples, 47
home runs, 218 total hits, and a then record 175 RBIs.
For his career, Gehrig’s batting average was an impressive .340, with 493 home runs, 2,721 hits, and 1,995 RBIs.
He was selected as an All Star every year from 1933 to
1939. His team won six World Series, and he was twice
voted the American League Most Valuable Player. He was
named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team
and the Major League Baseball All Time Team.3
In the 1928 World Series the New York Yankees played
the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Yankees swept the Cardinals in four games, while Gehrig hit .545, with 4 home
runs and 9 RBIs.
The 1928 Yankees set a major league record with nine
players on their team who would eventually be elected
to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame: Earle Combs,
Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Babe Ruth, Bill Dickey, Leo Durocher, Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock, and Stan Coveleski.
Manager Miller Huggins and team president Ed Barrow
were also inducted.4
THE HAMILTON WATCH COMPANY
The year 1928 also leads us to the well-known Hamilton Watch Company. Hamilton was established in 1892
when the Keystone Standard Watch Company was forced
into bankruptcy and sold at a sheriff’s sale to a group
of Lancaster, PA, entrepreneurs whose “objective was to
build only watches of the highest quality.” Initially, Hamilton focused on pocket watches, but during World War I
began to produce its first wristwatches, starting in 1917.5
In 1928 Hamilton purchased the Illinois Watch Company.6
Figure 1A. Piping Rock.
The Piping Rock (Figure 1A) is one of three
enamel-bezel
watches
produced by Hamilton;
the Coronado and the
Spur were the other two
(Figures 1B and 1C). The
Piping Rock was very
popular when introduced and, along with
the Meadowbrook, was
the first to use Hamilton’s more efficient
and hardy 979 19-jewel
movement7 (Figure 2).
The Hamilton 979
movement, also first
introduced in 1928, is
described as a “6/0 size
Hunting ¾ Plate Movement, 19 Ruby and Sap- Figure 1B. Coronado.
phire jewels, double
roller escapement, sapphire pallets, Brequet
hairspring, compensation balance, adjusted to
temperature. Finished
with extra fine flute
damasking, with ratchet and winding wheels
highly polished.”8
Figure 1C. Spur.
THE 1928 HAMILTON PIPING ROCK
In July 1928, a few months before the World Series,
Hamilton released for sale one of its most popular and
art deco-style watches. Hamilton’s Catalog described it in
most complimentary terms:
Piping Rock
An ultra-modern strap watch styled by designers of international prominence. The numerals of
gold, set in enamel are a part of the case - not the
dial. 14K yellow or white gold, $125.00. The Piping
Rock is fitted only with the Hamilton 19 jewel, 6/0
size movement No. 979.
Figure 2. No. 979, 19J movement. Figure 3. Meadowbrook.
Hamilton Wristwatches
Released for Sale in 1928
• Hastings
390 • July/August 2013 • NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin
• Meadowbrook
• Piping Rock
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1928 UNITED STATES HISTORY
• Herbert Hoover elected president.
• Gene Tunney TKOs Tom Heeney in 11
for the Heavyweight Boxing title.
• Ty Cobb, baseball Hall of Famer,
got his 4,191th and final career hit.
• Amelia Earhart flew her plane east
across the Atlantic Ocean successfully,
the first female to do so.
• Richard Byrd starts an expedition
to Antarctica; returns in 1930.
• The Academy Awards are handed out
for the first time.
• Wings wins Best Picture.
• Freon invented.
OTHER AMERICAN 1928 DECO WATCHES
When art deco watches came into vogue in 1928, the Illinois Watch
Company, then owned by Hamilton, introduced for sale at least 14 “Deco
styled” wristwatch models: the Beau Brummel, Beau Royale, Beau Brummel/
Viking, Chevalier, Consul, Major, Marquis, Mate, Medalist, Ritz, and Square
Cut Corner Large men’s models and the Berkeley, Del Monte, and Miami
ladies’ wristwatch models.
Some of these models are pictured in the advertisements
shown in Figures 4A, 4B, and
4C. In 1928 Elgin added art
deco wristwatch models for
ladies by world-renowned designer Lucien LeLong of Paris;
these were its “Parisenne line,”
along with the start of its Deco
Legionnaire men’s wristwatches and other interesting men’s
deco watches. Some examples
are pictured in Figures 5A, 5B,
5C, 5D, 5E, 5F, 5G, and 5H.
This same year the Gruen
Watch Company introduced
its innovative Techni-Quadron wristwatches with their
Swiss movement.
1928 FIRSTS
• First United States air-conditioned office
building opens in San Antonio, TX.
• First transatlantic television image
received in Hartsdale, NY.
• Amos and Andy debuts on the radio.
• Mickey Mouse makes his first appearance
in Steamboat Willie.
• Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin.
• Boston Garden officially opens.
• First issue of Time magazine.
• First autogiro (predecessor of the
helicopter) flies in the United States.
• First yo-yo factory opens in
Santa Barbara, CA.
Figure 4A, above.
• Jacob Schick patents the first
electric razor.
Figure 4C, below.
Figure 4B, below.
NEW PRODUCTS RELEASED IN 1928
• Birds Eye frozen vegetables
• Kellogg’s Rice Krispies
• Peter Pan Peanut Butter
• Hallmark greeting cards
• Scotch tape
• Velveeta cheese
• Ida Rosenthal founded Maidenform, the
company that defined bra sizes as A, B,
C, D, etc.
• Gerber’s baby food
• Lay-Z-Boy recliner invented.
PRICES IN 1928
• Loaf of bread−.09¢
• Gallon of milk−.56¢
• Gallon of gas−.21¢
• Average price of a house−$12mo.
• U.S. postage stamp−.01¢
• Average price/troy oz. of gold−$20.66
• Price of a car−$600
• Overalls and shirt−$4
• Package of Razor Blades−.70¢
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Figure 5A. Elgin, Captain Figure 5B. Elgin, Lanvin Figure 5C. Elgin,
Molyneux, 1928.
Pariesiene, 1928.
Louise Boulanger,
1928.
Figure 5F. Elgin, Model
E-12.
Figure 5G. Elgin,
Presentation 212.
Figure 5H. Elgin,
Presentation 213.
ILLINOIS RECTANGULAR 12/0 SIZE,
207 MOVEMENT
In 1928 the Illinois Watch Company advertised for sale
its Medalist model men’s wristwatch with its new rectangular movement. However, it is unclear whether the 207
movement was actually put in use until 1929 or even perhaps as late as 1930. The Illinois Watch Company referred
to its 12/0-size, 17-jewel movement as “America’s first free
training rectangular watch with second hand. The exceptional design and construction permits the use of larger,
stronger, working parts – thus assuring its owner the very
best in strap watch performance.”
Its specifications were: 12/0-size, 17 ruby and sapphire
jewels, raised settings, compensatory balance, double
Figure 6. Illinois 207 (L), Hamilton 401 (R).
Figure 5D. Elgin,
Madame Jenny, 1928.
Figure 5E. Elgin,
Madame Premet, 1928.
ILLINOIS 12/0 SIZE, 207 MOVEMENT MODELS
The Illinois Watch Company ultimately released
21 men’s strap watches using this rectangular movement: • Andover
• Rye*
• Kensington*
• Futura
• Ardsley
Trophy
• Larchmont
• Galahad
• Chesterfield
• Vernon
• Medalist
• Hudson
• Chesterfield Stepped Bezel • Wembley
• No. 250*
• Illinois by
• Finalist
Hamilton
• Richmond 12/0
• Wentworth
• Finalist Deco
• John Alden*
• Rockcliffe
• Westchester**
• Frontenac
• Kenilworth
*Identity Unknown **Reference: The Illinois
Watch: The Life and Times of a Great American
Watch Company, p. 53.
roller escapement, sapphire roller and pallet jewels, polished steel escape wheel, Breguet hairspring, recoil click,
and black enamel lettering. In fact, some historians and
current Hamilton collectors speculate that the existence
of the Illinois rectangular movement was partially the
impetus for Hamilton’s acquisition of Illinois, because
Hamilton supposedly was having difficulty developing its
own rectangular movement. In fact, Hamilton’s first 401
rectangular movement was a version of the Illinois 207
movement, signed Hamilton, with some subtle modifications. Hamilton described its 401 movement as follows:
“19 Ruby and Sapphire jewels with raised gold settings,
double roller escapement, sapphire roller and pallet jewels, polished steel escape wheel, Breguet hairspring, recoil
click, gold center wheel and beautifully polished ratchet
and winding wheels. It was also temperature adjusted.”9
It was used by Hamilton from 1930 to 1933 (Figure 6).
HAMILTON 401 RECTANGULAR MOVEMENT MODELS
The Hamilton Watch Company released the following
men’s wristwatches using its 401 rectangular movement:
• Andrews
• Livingston
• Byrd
• Stanley
• Ericsson
• Wilkinson
392 • July/August 2013 • NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin
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THE GRUEN WATCH COMPANY
While Hamilton was introducing its new 979 model
movement in 1928 and Illinois was announcing its new
rectangular 12/0 size, 17-jewel movement, their Ohio
competitor the Gruen Watch Company was introducing
its own new watch and movement, the “Techni-Quadron,” according to Gruen historian Paul Schliesser.
1928 Gruen Techni-Quadron Watches
•
• •
(“for exact time in seconds”)
The famous Techni-Quadron “doctor’s watches” are
so-called because the large seconds dials was handy
for timing a patient’s pulse. These were not sold only
to doctors, however. The watch was advertised as a
timepiece for technicians and “radio and mechanical
engineers” – anyone who needed to measure time in
seconds. The 877 movement, manufactured by Aegler
in Biel, was also used in the Rolex Prince; this unusual
movement gives the watch its distinctive “dual dial” design. Hours and minutes are confined to the upper half
of the dial, while the entire lower dial is dedicated to
seconds. The Techni-Quadron provided a useful alternative to the tiny seconds hands on most watches from
this era, which can be as little as 2mm (one tenth of an
inch) long, and are not practical to use for timing.
The Techni-Quadrons were extremely accurate, and
like other Quadron models did well in European chronometer tests.10
In 1928 Gruen also released several exciting enamelbezel deco-style wristwatches.
*Reference: Gruen Watch Company History, by P. Schliesser.
THE ELGIN NATIONAL
WATCH COMPANY
The Elgin Watch Company (also known as the Elgin
National Watch Company) was the largest United States
watch manufacturer in terms of production. In fact, it is
claimed by Elgin historians that Elgin produced approximately one-half of the total number of higher-quality
pocket watches manufactured in the United States. Total
production over their 100 years of operation reached 60
million watches.11
The company was founded in 1864 in Elgin, IL, as the
National Watch Company, and some of the organizers
were J. C. Adams, P. S. Bartlett, D. G. Currier, Otis Hoyt,
and Charles H. Mason, with financial backing from former Chicago Mayor Benjamin W. Raymond. The factory
for the National Watch Company was completed in 1866,
and the first movement produced in 1867 was an 18-size
B. W. Raymond. In 1874 the company officially changed
its name to the Elgin National Watch Company, and that
name remained until it stopped producing watches in the
early 1960s.
Elgin was not known for making the highest quality
watches, though some of their higher grades were exquisitely made timepieces.12 Together with Waltham Watch
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ELGIN RELEASES IN 1928
• The Premet
• The Madame Lanvin
• The Madame Agnes
• The Captain Molyneux
• The Madame Jenny*
• The Madame Louise
• The Legionnaire (Men’s)
Boulanger
Company, they dominated the huge market for midgrade watches. Elgin watches remain extremely popular
with collectors today because they are plentiful, can be
obtained at reasonable prices, and can be relatively easily repaired because of the large number of watches and
parts available.13
As mentioned above, in 1928, Elgin, with the help
of LeLong, began advertising a dazzling array of ladies’
deco wristwatches, most of which contained dramatic
and daring enameled bezels, in various innovative deco,
geometric designs. The figures in Figure 5 are examples
of these fabulous and collectible watches issued in 1928;
more were released in 1929.
BULOVA WATCH COMPANY
The Bulova Watch
Company, founded in
1875 by Joseph Bulova
and based in New York
just outside of Manhattan, issued several
daring deco-designed
watches in 1928, as
shown in Figures 7A
and 7B.
Figure 7A, right.
Bulova, Geometric
Enamel, 1928. Figure 7B, far right. Bulova, Polychrome
Enamel, 1928.
1928, THE WORLD SERIES, THE NEW
YORK YANKEES, LOU GEHRIG, AND
THE HAMILTON PIPING ROCK
After the New York Yankees swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1928 World Series, according to Hamilton
historian Donald Sauers in Time for America,
“When Jacob Ruppert (the then owner of the New
York Yankees) decided to honor his World Champion
New York Yankees in 1928…he commissioned Hamilton to create a Yankee Watch. The watch chosen
for customization was the Piping Rock, and a special
engraved caseback was designed. It displayed crossed
bats, an American eagle, the date and inscription,
‘YANKEES – WORLD CHAMPIONS.” Each member
of the team was awarded one at a well-publicized ceremony at the beginning of the 1929 season”14 (Figures 8A and 8B).
Each recipient had his own name engraved on the side
of the watch. Gehrig’s was engraved “Henry L. Gehrig”
(Figure 9).
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Figure 8A, left. Gehrig watch, front, as it looks today with original
aged crystal and dial.
Figure 8B, right. Gehrig watch, back, that shows some wear from his
actual use of the watch.
On May 2, the next game, Gehrig approached
McCarthy before the game in Detroit against the
Tigers and said, “I’m benching myself, Joe,” telling the Yankees’ skipper that he was doing so
“for the good of the team.”20 McCarthy acquiesced and said that whenever Gehrig wanted to
play again, the position was his. Gehrig himself
took the lineup card out to the shocked umpires
before the game, ending the 14-year consecutive
game streak. Before the game began, the Briggs
Stadium announcer told the fans, “Ladies and
gentlemen, this is the first time Lou Gehrig’s
name will not appear on the Yankee lineup in
2,130 consecutive games.” The Detroit Tigers’
fans gave Gehrig a standing ovation while he
sat on the bench with tears in his eyes. Gehrig
stayed with the Yankees as team captain for the
rest of the season, but never played in another
major league game.21
Figure 9. Gehrig watch, side.
GEHRIG’S DECLINE
A.L.S.
Leaping from 1928 to 1939, we find that “When the
Yankees began their 1939 spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida, it was clear that Gehrig no longer possessed
his once-formidable power… By the end of spring training, Gehrig had not hit a home run.15 Throughout his
career, Gehrig was considered an excellent baserunner,
but as the 1939 season got under way, his coordination
and speed had deteriorated significantly.”16
By the end of April, the first month of the new baseball season, his statistics were the worst of his career, with
only one RBI and an anemic .143 batting average. Fans
and the press openly speculated on Gehrig’s abrupt and
drastic decline. James Kahn, a reporter who wrote often
about Gehrig, observed:
“I think there is something wrong with him. Physically wrong, I mean. I don’t know what it is, but I
am satisfied that it goes far beyond his ball-playing. I
have seen ballplayers ‘go’ overnight, as Gehrig seems
to have done. But they were simply washed up as ballplayers. It’s something deeper than that in this case,
though. I have watched him very closely and this is
what I have seen: I have seen him time a ball perfectly, swing on it as hard as he can, meet it squarely
— and drive a soft, looping fly over the infield. In
other words, for some reason that I do not know, his
old power isn’t there... He is meeting the ball, time
after time, and it isn’t going anywhere.”17
He was indeed meeting the ball, with only one strikeout in 28 at-bats; however, Yankee Manager Joe McCarthy found himself resisting pressure from Yankee management to remove the “Iron Horse” from the lineup.18
On April 30 Gehrig went hitless against the Washington Senators. Gehrig had just played his 2,130th consecutive major league game.19
Because of Gehrig’s rapid deterioration, his wife Eleanor arranged for him to be examined by Dr. Charles William Mayo, at the eponymous Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
MN.22
After six days of extensive testing the diagnosis of
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was confirmed on
June 19, Gehrig’s 36th birthday. The prognosis was dismal: rapidly increasing paralysis, difficulty in swallowing
and speaking, and a life expectancy of less than three
years. Eleanor Gehrig was told that the cause of the ALS
was unknown but it was painless, noncontagious, and
cruel: the motor function of the central nervous system is
destroyed but the mind remains fully aware to the end.23
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“THE LUCKIEST MAN
ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH”
The New York Yankees announced Gehrig’s retirement
and proclaimed July 4, 1939, “Lou Gehrig Appreciation
Day” at Yankee Stadium. Between games of the Independence Day doubleheader special retirement ceremonies
were held at home plate.
The Yankees retired Gehrig’s uniform number “4”;
Gehrig was given many gifts, commemorative plaques,
and trophies. Some came from VIPs; others came from
the stadium’s groundskeepers and janitorial staff. Footage of the ceremonies shows Gehrig being handed various gifts, and immediately setting them down on the
ground, because he no longer had the arm strength to
hold them.24
After the presentations and comments by Babe Ruth,
Gehrig addressed the crowd with his now famous remarks (in part):
“Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today I consider
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myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I
have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have
never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans…
When the New York Giants, a team you would give
your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a
gift—that’s something. When everybody down to
the groundskeepers … remember you with trophies
—that’s something. When you have a wonderful
mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles
with her own daughter—that’s something. When you
have a father and a mother who work all their lives so
that you can have an education and build your body
—it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been
a tower of strength and shown more courage than
you dreamed existed—that’s the finest I know.
So I close in saying that I might have been given a
bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank
you.”25
No one who has seen footage of the newsreel or Gary
Cooper’s famous reenactment of Gehrig’s speech can fail
to be moved by this heartfelt speech filled with humility
and gratitude.
THE WATCH, THE AUCTION,
AND RESULT
In November 2011, 83 years after Lou Gehrig received
his special Yankee Piping Rock commemorative wristwatch in 1929, Heritage Auctions of Dallas, TX, listed the
Iron Horse’s watch for sale. Heritage Auctions wrote:
Any vintage Piping Rock from 1928 is highly collectible, but the rarest of the rare are the 35 Piping Rocks
made to commemorate the World Series Championship that year of the New York Yankees, a squad that
was one of the most legendary lineups (nicknamed
“Murder’s Row”)…and that represented more future
Hall of Famers than any other team in baseball history. On opening day of the 1929 season, 30 watches
were presented to the players of the 1928 squad, one
watch was presented to the owner (Jacob Ruppert),
and one was kept by Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis,
a (former) federal judge who was baseball’s first commissioner… Three watches were kept by Hamilton, but
their current whereabouts are unknown.26
According to Heritage, Will Roseman, a vintage Hamilton expert, had spent years trying to track down these
35 and until recently had only been able to locate four.
The watches for Judge Landis and Waite Hoyt are in the
Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The watch
owned by Jacob Ruppert is in private hands. And Roseman himself is fortunate enough to own the watch that
was presented to Yankee catcher Patrick Collins. But that
leaves 31 unaccounted for, including Babe Ruth’s and Lou
Gehrig’s watches.
Recently, the watch engraved to “Henry L. Gehrig”
was brought to Heritage Auctions to consign along with
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other Gehrig memorabilia by the son of one of the Iron
Horse’s ‘former girlfriends’…”27
THE MYSTERY WOMAN CALLED “RED”
According to Peter Applebome of The New York Times,
The Iron Horse’s Piping Rock involves “a young woman
three years younger than Gehrig, whom he called Red,
a domineering mother, an athlete who was a master on
the field but was filled with discomfort, particularly with
women off the field.”28 “He lived with his parents until
he was 30 and was the ultimate outsider from baseball’s
raucous atmosphere in the 1920s and ’30s.29 Jonathan
Eig’s 2005 Gehrig biography, Luckiest Man, quotes Mike
Gazella, a Yankee infielder: “He was just hopeless. When
a woman would ask him for an autograph, he would
be absolutely paralyzed with embarrassment.”30 Gehrig
struggled with another complication to his attempts at a
social life—his beloved, strong-willed mother, Christina,
who became the gatekeeper for whatever romantic life he
managed to achieve.31 At least twice prospective wives
were vetoed by Mrs. Gehrig.32
According to The New York Times story, exactly where
Ruth Martin fits into this may never be fully known. All
that survives of the relationship is a 1930 Christmas card
signed by Gehrig with an envelope addressed to “Miss
Ruth Martin.” Her only son, Jeffrey Quick, a retired pension and retirement plan consultant, said his mother,
whether out of deference for Gehrig’s privacy, her own
feelings, or some other reason, seldom spoke about any
relationship. She said they met through a mutual acquaintance, and she told a neighbor that Gehrig once
gave her apple blossom flowers, viewed at the time as a
particularly romantic offering.33
Applebome asks if Ruth was one of the potential mates
vetoed by Christina? We’ll never know, but eventually
they went their separate ways.34 At a party the night before the third game of the 1932 World Series, Gehrig met
a worldly, fashionable woman in Chicago named Eleanor
Grace Twitchell. Her relationship with Gehrig’s mother
was chilly from the start, but Gehrig told Lieb: “Mom is
the most wonderful woman in the world. She broke up
some of my earlier romances, and she isn’t going to break
up this one.”35
Applebome reports that on Sept. 29, 1933, after the
relationship almost fell apart when mother and fiancée
argued over some drapes, Gehrig finally broke free and
married in New Rochelle, NY. A year later, on June 23,
1934, also in New Rochelle, Ruth Martin married Herbert
Quick, a salesman at an upscale Fifth Avenue furniture
store.36
Although Gehrig’s relationship with “Red” ended, apparently his mother’s did not.
Jeffrey Quick, at 69, told The New York Times that his
parents regularly took him to visit the couple he came to
know as Mom and Pop Gehrig, and Christina came to
visit at their house in New Jersey or a vacation cottage on
the Delaware River in Pennsylvania…37
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When Momma Gehrig died in 1954, because she had
such a poor relationship with Gehrig’s widow Eleanor,
and since there were no grandchildren, she left some of
her personal items to “Red,” along with some baseball
items from her son. Most of these items were stored in a
basement cedar chest for decades.38
Ruth Martin Quick (“Red”) died at age 87 in 1995. Jeffrey Quick moved some of the memorabilia to a safe deposit box. He advised The New York Times, “It’s been in a
safe deposit box and a cedar closet,” he said. “No one ever
looks at it. We don’t even look at it. They’re wonderful
sports artifacts. I’d rather turn it loose into the collectible
community.”39
Among these collectibles, six of the most important
baseball items were sold by Heritage Auctions in October 2011, including Gehrig’s Art Deco 1928 World Series
Hamilton Piping Rock wristwatch.
Mr. Quick’s Piping Rock, once owned by the “Pride
of the Yankees” sold at auction for a total sales price of
$167,000, including the buyer’s premium and applicable
taxes. To take the $167,000 purchase price in context, it
would mean adjusted for inflation, the Lou Gehrig Piping
Rock would have sold for $13,245.26 in 1928, clearly a
huge appreciation over a standard Piping Rock’s original
$125 price.
ANONYMOUS BUYER
I was fortunate to connect with the winning bidder
of the Gehrig Piping Rock. Although the buyer wishes to
remain anonymous, the buyer did agree to a brief interview:
Q. Why did you purchase the Lou Gehrig Piping Rock?
A. I am a sports fan and have been interested in American wristwatches for a long time. This watch ties these
two strong interests together.
Q. What was the most appealing aspect of the watch?
A. That it was owned and actually worn by one of the
greatest, if not the most admired sport figure, in sports
history. There is no one that has ever had anything negative to say about Lou Gehrig.
Q. Do you consider this the rarest American watch?
A. I am not an expert on American wristwatches, but
this certainly has to be considered the rarest American
watch owing to its lineage, at least, until the Piping Rock
owned by Babe Ruth surfaces. This one is rare because
there were only 35 of them made and it was owned by
the second most famous New York Yankee ever. I suppose
there could be rarer American watches based on their
own merit, not based on whom they belonged to.
Q. Is it the most valuable American watch?
A. Yes, unless a collector knows of one that has sold for
more than $167,000.
Q. Would you have paid more for this watch?
A. Much higher. I felt I paid under market, but in these
hard times things are tight and it was just the right watch
at the right time. I think the watch will be a million dol396 • July/August 2013 • NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin
lar watch in due time. It’s American history in watches, as
well as American baseball history. Lou Gehrig wore this
watch–it’s just amazing. C’mon, Fred, I let you wear it
and I saw the tears in your eyes!! It’s that emotional when
you hold it, wear it, and touch it.
Q. Would you resell it?
A. My estate can deal with that question when I am
long gone.
Q. Are you a baseball fan?
A. Yes, but prefer golf now.
Q. Are you a Yankee fan?
A. Yes, I am a huge New York Yankees fan. I have tremendous admiration for Lou Gehrig, and I respect the
Yankees’ total commitment to winning. I would love to
get a photo of the watch taken with the current New York
Yankees team.
Q. Are you a Lou Gehrig fan?
A. Yes, of course—how can anyone not be?
Q. Do you think that the Babe Ruth Piping Rock would sell
for more?
A. Yes, definitely. There are Babe Ruth’s baseball bats
that have sold in excess of one million dollars. Because
Babe Ruth is, perhaps, the all-time sports icon, anything
associated with him customarily brings much attention
and a high premium at auctions. (See Figure 10.)
Q. Would you try to buy the Babe Ruth Piping Rock if it was
up for auction?
A. Without a doubt, I would pursue it vigorously.
Q. Would you bid on another of the 35 1928 Yankee Piping
Rocks if one were offered for sale?
A. Yes, because there were only 35 made, I would eagerly pursue all of them that became available for sale.
Each is unique in its own way, but their values vary by the
name of the Yankee engraved on the side of the watch.
Q. What is the most valuable Hamilton watch that was not
owned by and/or engraved to a famous person?
A. Through my research, it has to be the Hamilton
Barbizon wristwatch, which sold in 2010 at auction for a
total price of over $45,000 with the buyer’s premium and
sales tax. (See Figure 11.) Although I wouldn’t mind trying to persuade Will Roseman to sell me his Joe DiMaggio Hamilton “Seneca” (engraved to Joe DiMaggio), that’s
a great watch also. Other than these, Elvis’s Hamilton
“Ventura” comes to mind as a valuable American watch.
CONCLUDING NOTE
The NAWCC in March 2012 noted that “celebrity pedigree enhances watch and clock collectability.” “In October 2008 Albert Einstein’s otherwise undistinguished
Longines wristwatch was auctioned at Antiquorum in
New York, bringing an amazing price of $596,000.” See
Figures 12A and 12B.
A “wristwatch, once owned by John F. Kennedy, was
auctioned in 2005 by Guernsey’s for $350,000.”40
These astronomical prices attest to a not-so-latent admiration of important figures and their artifacts. The
www.nawcc.org
© 2013 National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Inc. Reproduction prohibited without written permission.
Figure 11. Hamilton Barbizon.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Figure 10. Babe Ruth (left) and Lou Gehrig (right), with their manager Miller
Huggins in 1929 on break during Yankees spring training in St. Petersburg, FL.
value of an object is often its attachments, rather than
the object itself, as pointed out by Einstein’s inexpensive
watch. It also emphasizes this author’s contention (please
see “The ‘Convict’ Consul and the ‘Undertaker’s’ Consul,” by Fredric J. Friedberg, Watch and Clock Bulletin, No.
396 (March/April 2012): 171) that, contrary to certain
dealers’ opinions, watch inscriptions may increase our
appreciation of the watch itself.
Last, as this historical review
emphasizes, the single threads
of our boyhood dreams and
fancies can, with time, be interwoven together in a tapestry of
continuing fascination.
Figure 12A, left. Einstein watch,
front. Figure 12B, below. Einstein
watch, case back.
www.nawcc.org
I thank Rick Vess and Elliot Abemayor for reviewing and commenting on the article and Bryan Girouard
for the pictures of the Hamilton
wristwatches and the dates on the Elgins, Gruens, and Bulovas.
NOTES
1. Jonathan Eig, Luckiest Man, The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005): 40.
2. www.lougehrig.com.
3. www.lougehrig.com/About/Bio.htm.
4. www.Wikipedia.org/wiki/1928_New_York_
Yankees_Season.
5. Bryan Girouard and Will Rosemann, “The O-Size Wristwatch: Hamilton’s First Wristwatch for Men,” NAWCC Bulletin,
No. 361 (April 2006): 167.
6. Fredric J. Friedberg, The Illinois Watch: The Life and Times
of a Great American Watch Company (Atglen, PA: Schiffer,
2004): 16.
7. www.hamiltonwatch.info.com.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. www.pixelp.com/Gruen/1922.html.
11. www.pocketwatchrepair.com/histories/elgin.html.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Don Sauers, Time for America
(Lititz, PA: Sutter House, 1992): 141.
15. www.lougehrig.com.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php
20. Ray Robinson, Iron Horse (New
York: W. W. Norton Company, 1990):
251-253.
21. Ibid.
NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin • July/August 2013 •
397