Dick Perez: The Diamond King of baseball artists
Most long-time readers of
SCD know the name of Dick Perez as well as they know the names of Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Sandy Koufax. He is arguably the most accomplished baseball artist of all time. When asked several years ago about how many baseball paintings he had done in his lifetime, he responded, “Somewhere between 2 to 3,000.” Many of those paintings have been turned into baseball cards and postcards, thus the familiarity with his name and work by collectors.
Over the years, Perez has been the “Official Artist” of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, the Philadelphia Phillies, and The Roberto Clemente Foundation. Two former Presidents commissioned baseball paintings from him. Ronald Reagan asked for one of Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander, whom he had portrayed in the 1952 film, “The Winning Team.” Bill Clinton had one done of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of
