Singed Yankees Team Ball - Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig

SRM86

Hey everyone. I was recommended to post here for help.

My grandfather gave me a baseball 30 years ago, when I was a child. Singed by the whole Yankees team. I do not follow baseball at all so not sure what year. But Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig’s signatures are on it.

Can anyone help me figure out if this ball is legit?

It’s signed in pencil. I have scoured the internet and cannot find anything like it.

Thanks!

JMS1223

Almost looks like all the signatures were printed on the ball. Might had been some commemorative team ball they had. Not 100% sure though, just looks that way to me.

CARDSANDCOINS

Probably sold at the all-star game, jimmie foxx, gabby hartnett, charlie gehringer

JBK

Agree with the above.

Would not have been pencil, but rather fountain pen which could have faded. But they almost look printed on.

Also, I don't see any markings on the ball (official league, makers name, etc.) which supports the idea that it was a souvenir ball.

All the big names are on there, though.

burghman

Second auto from the top in the first picture looks like it might be Jackie Robinson... hard to tell since the end of the last name is hidden, but the “Jack.. R” really looks like his signature. If so, that’s more evidence it’s a souvenir ball - Robinson’s Negro League career began in 1945 and Gehrig died in 1941. Sure, Robinson’s auto could have been added later, but they all look too uniform to have been gathered over a significant period of time.

JBK

@burghman said:
Second auto from the top in the first picture looks like it might be Jackie Robinson... hard to tell since the end of the last name is hidden, but the “Jack.. R” really looks like his signature. If so, that’s more evidence it’s a souvenir ball - Robinson’s Negro League career began in 1945 and Gehrig died in 1941. Sure, Robinson’s auto could have been added later, but they all look too uniform to have been gathered over a significant period of time.

I saw that, too. Was not sure of the timing but you have laid out the apparent issue with the timeline.

SRM86

Thanks everyone.

Any value to this at all?

SDSportsFan

I'm seeing:

Jackie Robinson
Hank Greenberg
Ray Schalk
Pie Traynor
Jimmie Foxx
Charlie Gehringer
Babe Ruth
Gabby Hartnett
Lou Gehrig

Due to the wide range of players and years, along with the uniformity of all the signatures, that is almost definitely a facsimile-signed souvenir ball.

Steve

SRM86

Thanks!!

Ironmanfan

may be able to get $35-$50 on eBay for it

IMF

Mo_Mentum

My guess is that it's a stamped, all-time all-star greats, souvenir ball that may have had some of the more faded stamped signatures re-drawn years later but still decades ago, as there's no new ink there; that is, ink that looks less than at least 50-60 years old. Which is right, because that would place an approx. date of this piece to the late 50s, early 60s, around the time that souvenir facsimile signature baseballs were a very popular mail order impulse item, readily available, their ads plentiful, along with the souvenir baseball bat pen and pencil sets in the prolific selection of baseball magazines on the newsracks around that time. Also, look at how some signatures are drawn right through the stitch holes and the trajectory of the track isn't affected. That's because the ink was imprinted prior to assembly, when the cover was stamped as 2 flat panels, or 1 flat panel and then cut into two.

Also, The Ruth and Gehrig are atypical. Definitely not Ruth or Gehrig's tracks, but either copied (not very well) from actual signatures other facsimile tracks that were loosely copied and drawn by artists when placing a signature on the cover of a books or photo. Forgeries of forgeries, so to speak.

291fifth

Value is speculative. Condition is not great so that will cut the price significantly. I'd take what I could get and be happy with that. If you can get $35-50 for it take the money and run!