Lefty O Doule auto
rdeffley
Posts: 85 ✭✭
Back when my dad was in high school, Lefty O Doule visited and signed a baseball for him. Does anyone have any idea what a Lefty O Doule auto goes for?
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PSA has a single signed ball going for $1K: https://www.psacard.com/autographfacts/baseball/lefty-odoul/913
HA auctioned one in 2010 for just under $1200: https://sports.ha.com/itm/autographs/baseballs/1950-s-frank-lefty-o-doul-single-signed-baseball/a/7028-80821.s
Jim
I imagine that it will matter what kind of ball your father used. But in any case, that seems to be a desirable signature.
The one thing that sucks is that the O Doule signature is not the only thing on the ball. The auto itself is authentic and really clean. But I imagine the other writing on the ball will lower value as opposed to it being just a signed ball.
What is the "other writing"?
Generally, single signed balls are more valuable. But, if the other writing is Lefty writing his records and accomplishments, then that adds to the value. On the other hand, if the other writing is someone's grocery list then that hurts it (significantly), as would random unrelated signatures, etc.
When my dad was in high school, he was a really talented pitcher and had multiple no hitters. So he'd keep his own stats on a baseball on various sides. When Lefty appeared at his high school, he liked the idea of a pro pitcher signing his "record ball". Unfortunately since this was the 60's and when he was a teenager, he wasn't thinking in terms of monetary value. LOL It's too bad that my dad didn't get his signature twice on the stats ball and a clean ball!
I feel for my dad because he was apparently a legit prospect. He was even almost drafted by the Cards out of UCLA. But since he also lettered in football as a backup sport, he injured his knee in a football game, and that was all she wrote. But if he'd made it to the big leagues I would have never been born. Real Back to the Future type quandary. Haha
Well, if I were you I'd officially write all that story down. A full backstory to the O'Doule ball won't exactly erase the other writing but it puts it into a different category and makes it a personal memento with a great story, and that would make less of an issue that it has some other stats on it.
I recall once on Antiques Roadshow there was someone who had a child's shoe that was signed by babe Ruth. Who in the world would want that thing? Until they explained the backstory of how the recipient was at a ball game and got it signed by BR. It was seen as a great memento of a personal encounter with BR,
Sometimes the story makes the item more special.