Summer Premium and Catalog Auction July 31 & Aug 8
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/31/2015
Presented is the future highlight of any collection and, indeed, the highlight of our collecting hobby: a marvelous Babe Ruth single signed ball.
Babe Ruth’s exploits on and off the baseball diamond remain the stuff of legend after nearly a century’s passing. His towering home runs, his role as savior of the sport following the Black Sox scandal of 1919, his remarkable rapport with his youngest fans, and his robust, good-natured persona ... all of these qualities, and more, come home to the observer at once upon first sight of the boldly penned characters residing on this sphere.
The decisive strokes and confident path of the Ruthian signature never fail to inspire the viewer, and that phenomenon fully holds true in the case of the offered example with its distinctive, black fountain pen characters. The Babe’s scripting properly and majestically fills the exact center of the ball’s sweet spot, its ideal positioning seeming to magnify the treasured autograph and enhance its projection quality.
A touch of patina and a couple of stray marks on the horsehide’s surface (well-removed from interference with Ruth’s penmanship) elevate the appeal of this ball as a medium. These elements serve to remind the onlooker that this ball has been held and admired in the past, and that its perpetual association with the great Ruth transcends the passage of time to delight present and future viewers, as well. The stampings of the American League are faint but noticeable.
This is an outstanding artifact, and a thoroughly significant symbol for posterity of everything that’s special about our National Pastime.
LOA from PSA/DNA.