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 1920 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.

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

By 1920 the lapel style collar has disappeared from the uniform. Note also that the jersey now buttons completely and thus is no longer a pullover style jersey. If you look closely, you'll see that there is a center belt loop, which secured the belt buckle off to one side. Players in the 1st part of the 20th century usually wore the belt buckle to one side so they could prevent injury when sliding into a base.After several sales of the team Sam Breadon becomes the majority stockholder of the Cardinals and in 1919 makes 38 year old Branch Rickey the Vice President and General Manager. These two men slowly and carefully developed the Cards into a competitive team for many years to come.Except for the 1914 Cards who went 81-72, and 1917 when they were 82-70, the period from 1900 to the early 1920's was pretty woeful for the Cards. One bright light was the emergence of Rogers Hornsby as a  gifted batter in this 1920 season he hit .370, then .397 in 1921, .401 in 1922, .384 in 1923, a remarkable .424 in 1924, and .403 in 1925 three .400+ seasons in a 4 year period! Only Ted Williams has hit .400 since then, and that was only once - .406 in 1941. By the time Hornsby retired in 1937 after 23 seasons, his lifetime average was .358 good for 2nd place all time (behind Ty Cobbs .367 lifetime average) and two triple crown titles (1922 and 1925). But even Rogers Hornsby couldn't propel the Cards into the playoffs, and in 1920 they finished 75-79.