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"Master Melvin" makes a heartfelt pitch for your attention with this 1942 handwritten letter. A compact but feared slugger, Mel Ott (d.1958) began belting homers for the New York Giants in 1926 and by the time his playing career ended, he had become the first NL player to pass the 500 home run mark. When manager Bill Terry stepped down after the 1941 season, he named Ott as his replacement and it was in his role as the Giants player-manager that Ott wrote this letter. The fact that this correspondence is written on "Miami Biltmore Hotel" letterhead, indicates that it was created while the Giants were at Spring Training in 1942, a time when the team played their Spring games at Flamingo Park in Miami Beach.
In this letter dated 2/24/42, Ott wrote to a 12 year old fan named Timothy to express his pleasure in reading a poem sent by the youthful fan. Trimmed to approximately 7x5, the letter has been adhered to a backer sheet that was likely taken from a scrapbook. Moderate staining affects most of the left half and typical original period fold lines are noted. While the staining has compromised segments of the writing, the contents are still discernible and read in full as:
"Dear Timothy, I received your poem and believe me I certainly enjoyed it. For a boy of twelve years you surely have a lot of talent. If at anytime during the season you come out to a ball game be sure to come down and say hello. Sincerely, Mel Ott".
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