Mixed-media illustration combines watercolor, pastel and ink to illustrate an odd scene whereby a pitcher delivers a brushback pitch while a would-be attacker races at him, raised baseball bat in hand.  The scene unfolds in front of a crowded grandstand, the 26" x 23" piece produced directly onto an illustration board, and framed by a cardboard matte.  Underneath the matte, written in red ink, is "For Men Only - July - Pages 38-39 - Three Strikes."

For Men Only was a pulp magazine that began its run in 1954. Initially a digest-sized publication, it was published by the New York company Magazine Management, which was known for its men's adventure magazines, many of which were risqué.  Eventually, Magazine Management began adding comic books to the mix, founding the company Atlas Comics, which eventually became Marvel Comics. For Men Only, in its early incarnations, employed young, New York-based writers, so eventually many of its writers became well-known later in life. Donald Bain, Bruce Jay Friedman, Martin Cruz Smith, and Mario Puzo, at one time or another, wrote for the publication.  By the 1970s, For Men Only because a full-color, full-sized magazine, eschewing much of the pulp stories of the 1950s and becoming a pornographic magazine, a reason many of its writers used pseudonyms. We are unable to find definitive information about the artist, suggesting Brian David may, too, be a pseudonym. The publication's run ended in 1977.

We traced this illustration to the July, 1974 issue, likely accompanied by the story "Three Strikes - And You're Dead!" billed as the "Incredible true story of an assassin and a baseball star." As a family auction, we'll spare you the cover (it's available elsewhere online), and chose not to do further research into the content of the story, though in this case we would've been being honest in saying "we just bought it for the article."