Vintage Chicago White Sox Team Baseball Autograph Year ID
niceties55
Posts: 13 ✭
While cleaning up my parent's house (they are moving) I found this old baseball. This used to be sitting on my grandma's shelf. My dad said that it was probably signed by the 1930s/1940s Chicago White Sox MLB team.
I was just wondering if anyone knew exactly what year this is/who signed this baseball?
EDIT (UPDATE): I did ask more history behind this ball. Apparently my great-grandfather managed a famous country club in Chicago in the 30s/40s. Lots of famous people came (including the White Sox and he got their autos.
Thanks!
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Comments
I see Luke Appling.
Ted Lyons, too.
Might be some good ones on there.
I think you're missing a panel. Where's the photo of the "sweet spot"?
I think I can make out these names on the first picture:
Ted Lyons
Monty Stranton
Charles Comiskey
Second Picture:
Taffy Wright
Thornton Lee
Ken Silvestri
Luke Appling
Third Picture:
Moose Solters
Larry Rosenthal (maybe)
Bob Kennedy
Ed Wiiland
Last picture. So this could be a 1940 ball.
John Rigney
Bill Dietrich
Pete Appleton
Joe Kuhel
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Monty Stratton was with the White Sox from 1934-1938. He lost a leg in a hunting accident in November 1938. He spent the next two years (1939-1940) as a White Sox coach. Stratton was also the subject of the 1949 movie "The Stratton Story", starring James Stewart and June Allyson.
Ken Silvestri was with the White Sox from 1939-1951.
Pete Appleton was on the White Sox from 1940-1942.
So, it does look like the ball is probably from 1940.
Steve
Under Pete Appleton, is Herold "Muddy" Ruel (he was a coach)
Below Charles Comiskey, is "Mule" Haas (he was also a coach)
Under Larry Rosenthal, is Eric McNair (with the White Sox only in 1939-1940)
Steve
That is a great movie in case anyone is interested in that story.
I might be wrong, but I believe he still had his leg but lost use of it in the accident but it was still there in a brace of some kind.
A great story of perseverance, like one-armed Pete Gray.
It is fairly easy to research balls like this because there is so much detailed information on the web about baseball. Start by looking up the name of a more obscure player and see what years he was on the team. Check the roster for that year and the years immediately before and after. Don't forget about spring training signings. The rosters can change from spring training to regular season.
I once had a ball that I assumed was a Chicago White Sox ball for 40 years. When I decided to sell it on eBay I researched the ball and found out to my surprise that it was actually a Philadelphia Athletics ball that had been signed in spring training. The key item was a Nelson Fox signature. Fox had played with the Athletics that year in spring training but was traded to the Chicago White Sox for the regular season!
So would you say that this ball has multiple years on it? Charles Comiskey died in 1931, Appling started in 1930 and some of the players seemed to have started in the 1940s.
You bring up a great point we all missed about Comiskey.
I've looked at Charlie Comiskey's signatures, and the one on the ball is not a match to him. It also doesn't match his grandson Charles Comiskey II (who was born in 1925), nor does it seem to match his widow's signature (if she had signed as "Mrs. Charles Comiskey).
So, upon further review, I don't know who that signature is from.
Everyone elso on the ball, however, was with the White Sox together only in 1940, as that was Eric McNair's last year, and Pete Appleton's first year with the team. Everyone else on the ball was also on the 1940 White Sox.
So basically, what appears to be "Charles Comiskey" looks like an anomaly.
Steve
Is there a place I can send it in to see what the signature says or who signed it?
You can spend a ton of money to have it authenticated, but I think they expect you to know who the signature is that you want authenticated.
Hou have good guesses of most of them. Now I'd do some searching on the internet to see of the sigs match up
For any that aren't identified yet (incl that comisky one), post more close ups.
I still think you're missing one picture here, though. You showed the narrow panel with the printed logo but bit the other narrow panel. That is often where the best sigs go.
Sorry I am not at the house so I had to get someone else take the photos of these. Here is a closeup of Charles Comiskey.
I did ask more history behind this ball. Apparently my great-grandfather managed a famous country club in Chicago in the 30s/40s. Lots of famous people came (including the White Sox and he got their autos.
Another possibility:
The ball may have been autographed by Charles Comiskey and then autographed by the 1940 team much later. Who is the league president mentioned on the ball? What years was he president?
Still wondering who signed the sweet spot. That may break the case wide open.
It is really hard to see, but here are a few photos of the sweet spot!
Thx but that's the printed panel. There should be a blank panel on the opposite side of the ball. (Unless both had printing back then.)
Consider the spot in the last picture, the ball's "North Pole". We're looking for a picture of the ball's "South Pole".
Steve