The 1934 baseball season was one of the greatest ever played, and the pitching performances of St. Louis Cardinals brothers Dizzy and "Daffy" Dean were a big part of the reason why.  While the pair's 49 combined wins is a statistic that is easy to digest, it was the Cardinals' stretch run that saw the Dean brothers lift the entire team onto their backs and carry them to a championship.  In order to finish one game ahead of the New York Giants in the National League, the Cardinals won 18 of their last 23 games.  In the team's last 29 games, a Dean brother pitched in 19, starting 14 and winning 11 with two saves.  Paul Dean pitched two extra-inning complete games and they combined for 11 complete games in September alone.  In a doubleheader against Brooklyn, Dizzy pitched a one-hit shutout in the first game, and Paul followed up with a no hitter, prompting Dizzy's famous quote "If I'd a-known you was gonna throw a no-hitter, I'd a-throwed one too!"  A Dean brother went on to win all four World Series games, each brother responsible for two.  Their performances in 1934 are among the greatest in baseball history.  The Dean Brothers' popularity swelled throughout the season, and endorsements piled up.  Among them was this - an enormous, full-color cardboard display, featuring the Dean Brothers' endorsement of Lorillard's Beech-Nut chewing tobacco.

Its popularity and desirability among collectors of sports advertising displays is almost without parallel; it remains one of the most highly sought-after displays in the entire hobby.  It is also quite rare in any condition.  Similar to the Union-Leader tobacco display we featured in a 2019 auction, this example is not as rare but equally desirable and in many ways more attractive.  The piece is enormous, measuring 31" across at its widest by 42" in height.  This example, though boasting exceptional eye appeal, was once severely damaged and has undergone significant restoration. Most notably, the front of the piece has been removed from its cardboard backing, and remounted on a foamcore backing. Additional restoration has taken place in the form of heavy inpainting throughout, on both the lettering and elsewhere on the piece, covering perhaps more than 30% of the surface.  The process of mounting on foamcore - a strange choice of mounting material, indeed - has served to repair some light tears and creases on the front.  The entire piece has been covered in shrink film to add a layer protection.  Due to the shrink film, however, we are unable to tell how the image area has been mounted onto the foamcore, though we suspect it is permanent.

The Beech Nut and Union-Leader display pieces are among the most desirable advertising display items in the hobby. Since they are particularly large, they were susceptible to damage, and most of the surviving examples have undergone some degree of restoration, in some cases even more substantial than on this piece!  In this case, the work is particularly well-done. Despite the heavy work and significant repairs, the eye appeal is tremendous, making this an outstanding way to obtain an affordable example of one of the most classic examples of vintage baseball advertising art.