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Charles Stoneham bought the Giants for $1 million in 1919 and owned the club until he died in 1938. His son Horace Stoneham assumed the reigns upon Charles death and owned the club until 1976. The elder Stoneham’s grandson, Charles “Chub” Feeney was intimately involved with the Giants as well.

After graduating from Dartmouth serving in the military during World War II, Feeney joined the Giants front office 1946. Soon he was promoted to Vice President and served as de facto head of baseball operations. During his time with the Giants, Feeney assembled teams that won three pennants and a World Series championship.

Feeney left the team to assume the the National League presidency in 1970. It was in this capacity that he wrote the above letter to Hall of Fame center fielder Max Carey.

Written just months into his tenure as NL Chief, Feeney invites 10-time stolen base champ Carey to the 1970 induction day ceremonies. That year, former MVP Lou Boudreau, Murderers’ Row leadoff hitter Earle Combs, 210-game winner Jesse Haines, and former commissioner Ford Frick received their plaques.

In addition to the ceremony itself, there was an NL-only affair. Feeney writes in part, “We are inviting members of the National League who are Hall of Famers to a Stag Dinner…”.

A staunch supporter of the Senior Circuit, Feeney resisted the designated hitter throughout his term. During his reign the National League won 15 of 17 All Star games against the American League.

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After a successful run of three NL pennants and a World Champ in the Giants front office, Chub Feeney took over as president of the National League. For the next 17 years Feeney faithfully served the National League.

As the NL chief, Feeney signed player correspondence including contracts. In this capacity Feeney signed the contract above. Dated February 2, 1971, the document is Dodger pitcher Joe Moeller’s final Major League as a big league pitchers.

Moeller, the youngest starting pitcher in the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers earned $24,000. A veteran of 13 professional seasons, Moeller won 105 games. All eight of his big league seasons were in Los Angeles.

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Contracts provide an outstanding way for collectors to gain signatures. On this page, the autographs of three men can be found. Dodger pitcher Joe Moeller has signed the document. This was the final big league contract of Moeller’s career. After retiring as a player, Moeller remained in the game as a member of the Dodgers’ speaker’s bureau and later as the advance scout for the Montreal Expos and the Florida Marlins.

Dodger General Manager Al Campanis signs represented the club as its vice president. Below Campanis’ signature is that of National League president Chub Fenney.

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Back before interleague play, players and executives took great pride in their individual leagues. The NL, formed in 1876 was called the “Senior Circuit”. For decades the Junior Circuit American League felt it was in the shadow of it’s older brother, the NL.

During Chub Feeney’s reign as NL president, his league dominated All Star competition. Serving as the league’s chief from 1970-1986, Feeney saw his league beat the AL all but two times.

Shown here is Feeney’s invitation to Hank Aaron to the 1972 Mid Summer Classic in Atlanta. Winners of 8 straight from 1963-1970, the NL dropped the ’71 contest.

In ’72 the NL got back on track, beating the AL 4-3. Aaron did his part, swatting a two-run homer off of that year’s Cy Young Award winner Gaylord Perry.

It was a memorable hit for Aaron who was selected to an MLB-record 25 All Star Games. If was the last of two All Star Game homers for Aaron and it came in front of his hometown Braves fans.

The game also marked the first of 11 straight NL wins.

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Major League Baseball’s first All Star Game was played in 1933. Played on July 6 at Comiskey Park, it was part of the 1933 Chicago’s centennial celebration during the World’s Fair.

Babe Ruth hit the game’s first home run in the third inning. Twenty of the 36 players on the roster ended up in the Hall of Fame.

At the 1973 Mid Summer Classic, Major League Baseball invited all surviving players of the ’33 contest to the 40th anniversary celebration. Hall of Famers Earl Averill, Joe Cronin, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Grove, Carl Hubbell and Lefty Gomez attended.

In the collection is Chub Feeney’s letter inviting Hank Aaron the game. Aaron played a big part in it. His single in the third inning off of Minnesota’s Bert Blyleven put the NL ahead 2-1. It also saddled Blyleven with the loss in the 7-1 contest.

Aaron was selected to an MLB-record 25 All Star Games. The RBI safety off of Blyleven was his final RBI in the Mid Summer Classic.

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This letter dated July 18, 1975 is written by Chub Feeney to Bill Madlock. In his role of National League president Feeney congratulates Madlock on his performance in the All Star Game.

In the 9th inning of the contest Madlock came up with the bases loaded in a 3-3 tie. His two-run single gave the National League the victory. That year Madlock went on to win the first of his four batting titles.

Feeney writes, “You were great, really great and I think National League fans everywhere were as thrilled as I when you knocked in those winning runs for us. What a memorable night for you and a proud one for me to have you represent the National League.”

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When there was such a position as league president one of their duties was to award season passes to the game’s dignitaries. When Lee MacPhail was the American League president in 1979, the first person to whom he awarded a season pass was his National League counterpart Chub Feeney.

That pass is in the collection. Two aspects about the pass jump out immediately. First is the “001” demarcation at the top right corner of the pass. Hundreds of passes are issued each season; in 1979, this was the first.

The other part of interest is that the pass is made out to “Charles S. Feeney and Party”. Most lifetime passes and season passes are made out for the bearer and one. This one, however appears to be valid for any number of people in the Feeney party.

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An outstanding companion piece to the American League pass above is this National League pass from the same season. Not only did Chub Feeney receive the first AL pass issued in 1979, he also made certain that the first NL pass was likewise issued to himself.

With both passes, Feeney could attend any Major League game in ’79. Like the AL pass, this one is numbered “001” and issued to “Charles S. Feeney and Party”. Note Feeney’s facsimile signature on the bottom right of the pass he issued to himself.

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The New York chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America created the William J. Slocum Award in 1930. It recognizes those with a long and meritorious service to baseball.

Since its inception, the award has been bestowed upon some of the greatest players and most influential people in the history of the game. Among the recipients are New York baseball men Babe Ruth, John McGraw, Mel Ott, Casey Stengel, and Willie Mays. More than 50 members of the Hall of Fame have received it.

The Slocum Award has special meaning to Chub Feeney. In 1955 his uncle Horace Stoneham received it for his time as the owner of the New York Giants. Twenty-five years later Feeney himself earned the honor. In 2018 Feeney’s daughter Kate was posthumously given the Slocum.

In the collection is the William J. Slocum Award the New York scribes bestowed upon legendary Dodger announcer Vin Scully.

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Shown here is Bill Madlock‘s lifetime pass to a regular-season big league games. Notice the facsimile signature of National League president Chub Feeney in the bottom right corner of the image.

When Madlock reached ten years of service time he earned this pass to free baseball. The signature of Hall of Fame executive Lee MacPhail appears on the lower left corner. He served as the American League chief from 1973-1984.

Feeney served held down the National League’s stop position from 1970-1986.

CooperstownExpert.com features the largest privately-held collection of lifetime passes. Examples dating back to the 1930s including solid gold varieties can be seen by clicking here.

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The Reds brought Pete Rose home from Montreal in a trade on August 17, 1984. Cincinnati immediately install Rose as the team’s player/manager.

Rose penciled himself in the lineup as he worked to surpass Ty Cobb’s record for career hits. Once the Reds acquired Rose, congratulatory correspondence poured in. Shown here is such As the boss of the Senior Circuit, Chub Feeney took it upon himself to congratulate NL players on their accomplishments. The image above is one such example.

The telegram is to Pete Rose at Riverfront Stadium on the day the Reds summoned him from Montreal. It reads, “DEAR PETE, CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING NAMED PALYER-MANAGER FOR THE REDS. BEST OF LUCK, AND ALL GOOD WISHES. REGARDS, CHUB FENNEY”.