Need some help.

moblugenes

I have a signed baseball from a spring training camp game in 1941 played by the Yankees in Little Rock, Ark. The whole team plus manager appear to have signed. I inherited it and was told it was worth in the $16-25K range. DiMaggio did sign it. Can that be true? It will be for sale.

JoeBanzai

Great item. I suggest you have it authenticated. I just finished reading a book about Joe D. The clubhouse "guy" (Pete Shehey?) used to sign a lot of stuff for DiMaggio. Items like this can go for thousands of dollars if bidders are confident they are real. How about a scan? Welcome to the boards.

JoeBanzai

moblugenes

No question it is real per an antique dealer here close to me as it is a Rawlings ball with I think a cork center and horse hide leather cover. Plus it belonged to my grandfather. ANY IDEA WHAT THIS MAY BE WORTH? Thanks Joe......Bill

JoeBanzai

I found a 1941 team ball on Naxcom that says it is valued at $6,000.00. I am not doubting the "realness" of your item, but to realize the best prices on items like this you will need to have an "expert" look at it. PSA DNA would be my choice. There are a lot of scammers out there who have ruined it for everyone. Good luck!

JB

Xtrainningscards

Agreed with Joe, U can be assured that a ball of this era, would sell best only if authenticated, yes there are a lot of stories of you knwo for sure its real because of my granfather etc.........but I also know in the early era it was common to pass a ball to be signed, the ball would get signed by a ball boy, and the player would never see it. This is not to mention the questionable autos flooding the market, the high dollar buyers will not buy an auto without certification. I would consider either just getting the certification and then placing the ball with a high minimum on ebay to see if it gets any action. If this doesn't work then contact Sotheby's they may have an idea, I feel the 16-25K is pretty high though, sometimes single signed balls are more desirable then team balls. Joe D autos are fairly common, so even the $6000 seems high to me, but I am not an expert. Geti it certified and start it at $5000 and see what happens.

5STAT

quick.."I'm positive it's real!!!" story

In 1967, Dimaggio and Rose did a USO tour along with other players (Tony C. and Thresh..I believe)....in the Gulf of Tonkin Phillipines. Joe and Pete were on the USS Intrepid and aircraft carrier that my father was on. He was DiMaggios escort/body guard for the trip. I have many many original photos of both Rose and DiMaggio at the helm of the ship...in the galley signing autos...and pics on the flight deck signing autos under the wings of fighter planes.

My fathers favorite momento was a pic of he and Joe arm in arm, both smiling from ear to ear. That picture was only brought out EVERY sinble occasion that my father had the chance. Man, if his wallet didn't fly open atleast 5,000 times showing off that picture...he didn't show it once!!! In 1994, I took a blown up copy of that pic to a show in Atlantic City and had Joe autograph it. He actually remembered my father by name and was thrilled to see the picture. It was framed and matted and given to my father for Father's Day that year.....that was 1 of the 2 times I ever saw my father shed a tear!!

ANYWAYS...I digress...

It was in 67 that DiMaggio himself gave my father a 1967 Yankees Team ball signed by everyone. Mantle on the sweet spot. And yes....this was directly from the Yankees organization. It was another pride and joy of my fathers!!
UNTIL......Nov. 2004 at the Shiner's show in Wilmington, MA I met with PSA/DNA authenticator Jim Spence. I recounted the story and told him the history behind the ball. After paying $100 to authenticate it...he determined that all of the signatures were real...EXCEPT the Mantle, which was deemed probable "club house" signature!!

So...even directly from the Yankees and DiMaggio himself....it's not 100% legit. It's a nice keepsake and along with the slew of pictures and original flyers promoting the USO tour...it makes a great package.

My father passed away in 2001..never knowing the real truth behind the auto's....just as well. We've thought about donating most of the items to the USS Intrepid museum in NYC, but to date still look at the them and can't seem to let the memories go!

moblugenes

Thanks for your help....