This beautifully framed piece features an original piece of watercolor artwork glass-framed in an attractive two inch wide black resin frame with a double mat. The outer dimensions of the framed piece are approximately 17” wide x 24.5” high, although the exact size will vary according to the size of the original piece of art.

At the core of the framed piece is the actual piece of original artwork as painted by the artist on textured 100% rag, water-marked watercolor paper. In many cases the original artwork has handwritten notes in pencil from the artist (be sure to “See the actual artwork without the frame” elsewhere in this website). Simply put, this is beautiful, one-of-a-kind artwork.

The outer mat is a rich textured black acid-free mat with a decorative inset white v-groove, while the inner mat is a complimentary colored acid-free mat reflecting one of the team’s primary colors. The website image of this framed piece shows the mat color that we suggest (Red), but since each piece is custom framed, we are happy to use whatever color mat you wish (depending on availability) – our standard mat colors are:

Light Blue / Dark Blue / Brown / Maroon (close to brown) / White / Silver / Gold / Yellow (bright yellow) / Green (dark green) / Orange / Purple / Red (bright red, somewhat close to PMS 186)

Beneath the artwork is a silver plate with black text describing the original artwork. The text for this piece will read:

This original, one-of-a-kind watercolor painting of the 1942 St. Louis Cardinals uniform is the original artwork that was used in the creation of this St. Louis Cardinals uniform evolution print and tens of thousands of other St. Louis Cardinals products that have been sold across North America. This original piece of art was painted by artist Nola McConnan for Maple Leaf Productions Ltd. 1942 was a World Series winning season for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Beneath the silver plate is a 3” x 9” reproduction of a well known, best-selling print that celebrates the history of the team. The print beautifully illustrates the chronological evolution of the team’s uniform and shows you how the original art was used in the creation of this print. If you look closely, you will see that the print features the actual artwork being offered for sale. The 3” x 9” print looks like this:

The piece is framed with an extremely high quality framing glass. We have used this glass style for many years with excellent results. We package every piece very carefully in a double layer of bubble wrap and a rigid double-wall cardboard package to avoid breakage at any point during the shipping process, but if damage does occur, we will gladly repair, replace or refund. Please note that all of our products come with a 90 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Each framed piece also comes with a two page letter signed by Scott Sillcox describing the history behind the art. If there was an extra-special story about your piece of art, that story will be included in the letter. When you receive your framed piece, you should find the letter lightly attached to the front of the framed piece.

If you have any questions, at any time, about the actual artwork or about any of the artist’s handwritten notes on the artwork, I would love to tell you about them. Simply email me, Scott Sillcox, at scott@heritagesportsart.com and I will tell you everything I can about your original piece of art. The artists and I spent well over ten years of our lives creating these pieces of original artwork, and in many cases there are stories I can tell you about your actual piece of artwork that might add an extra element of interest in your one-of-a-kind purchase.

Please note that all reproduction rights for this original work are retained in perpetuity by Major League Baseball unless specifically stated otherwise in writing by MLB. For further information, please contact Heritage Sports Art at questions@heritagesportsart.com .

 

History

During the 40's, 50's and 60's many teams used zippered jerseys instead of the more traditional button front jerseys, while a handful of teams wore them well into the 70's and even the 80's. The Reds, Yankees and Athletics were the only 3 pre-1977 teams that never wore zippers. The 1937 Cubs were the first team to wear a zippered jersey, and as far we can tell the 1988 Phillies were the last to wear one.The first year the Cardinals wore a zippered jersey was 1939. Notice how the red trim on this road uniform has changed to become a much more prominent design element on this 1942 home jersey, even around the belt tunnel. For those of you that havent heard of this expression before, a belt tunnel is really just a 6-8 wide belt loop.December 1941 to November 1945, America goes to war, and the question is raised, should able-bodied athletes of baseball be fighting for their country rather than playing baseball? Baseball Commissioner Landis asked President Franklin D. Roosevelt what to do - here is part of Roosevelt's reply:I honestly feel it would be best for the country to keep baseball going. There will be fewer people unemployed and everybody will work longer hours and harder than ever before Here is another way of looking at it - if 300 teams use 5,000 or 6,000 players, these players are a definite recreational asset to at least 20,000,000 of their fellow citizens - and that in my judgment is thoroughly worthwhile.Wartime sleeve patches were worn by all levels of professional baseball teams between 1942 and 1945. A Health patch (seen here) was worn during the 1942 season, part of a war-time health and fitness awareness campaign, and from 1943-1945 a Stars and Stripes was worn.Towards the end of the season the Cards trailed the Brooklyn Dodgers by 10 games, then went on to win 43 of their last 51 games to finish with a 106-48 record and pass the Dodgers for the NL Pennant (the Dodgers finished 2 games back at 104-50). The 1942 Cardinals team is considered to be one of the best ever, featuring among others Enos Slaughter, rookie and NL MVP Stan Musial, and pitcher Mort Cooper, who went 22 and 7 with a 1.77 ERA.The Cards faced the 103-51 Yankees, led by Dimaggio, Gordon, Rizutto and Dickey. After losing the first game in the World Series, the Cards storm back to win four in a row, to collect their fourth World Series Championship (1926, 1931, 1934 and 1942).It should be noted that the 1942-44 Cardinals have to be considered one of the best baseball teams in history - they are one of only 4 teams in baseball history to win 100 games three years in a row. In 1942 they went 106-48; in 1943 they went 105-49 (they went on to lose 4 games to 1 to the Yanks); and in 1944 they also went 105-49 (they beat their stadium sharing AL counterparts the Browns 4 games to 2 in the only Stadium Series ever played). The three other teams to win 100 games three years running were the 1929-31 Philadelphia As, the 1969-71 Orioles and the 1997-99 Braves.Thus in the 21 years from 1926 to 1946, the Cards made it to the Series 9 times (1926, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1942-1944, 1946) and won it all 6 times (1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946). Much of the credit has to go to Branch Rickey, the crafty general manager of the Cards during this period of time he is credited with having one of the most extensive minor league systems ever assembled it's been said that at their peak the Cards had more than 30 farm teams, a far cry from today's 3 or 4 farm teams per major league club.