Babe Ruth 100th Anniversary Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/12/2014
Two months before his once sturdy body would succumb to the ravages of cancer, Babe Ruth made one of the final public appearances of his career. Sponsored by the Ford Motor Co. Ruth had traveled to the small town of Spencer, Iowa, in mid-June 1948 where he presented a trophy to the winning team of a local tournament. Only a few days earlier, the adoring public saw the gaunt and frail Ruth take his last appearance at Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948, where the iconic Nat Fein “Babe Bows Out” image was taken. (An original Nat Fein copy of that historic photograph is a separate lot in this auction). Even though he likely knew the end was near, and his body was failing him, the Babe couldn’t disappoint a full legion of children, especially baseball playing children! His frail body channeled the energy of his one-time mentor Brother Mathias, leader of the orphanage Ruth once attended as a boy to give him the strength to make that trophy presentation. Upon his arrival, the local newspaper announced, "Sponsoring Ruth's only appearance in Iowa is the American Legion, Spencer Baseball, Inc., the Chamber of Commerce, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the Clay County Fair Association. Ruth is being brought to Iowa by the Ford Motor Co., by whom he is employed in the interests of Junior League Baseball."
After Ruth made his scheduled appearance, he went to the local Ford dealership owned by John Hart, who was also President of the Spencer Baseball, Inc., a sponsor of that day. Ruth sat and signed several dozen baseballs, chatting with the local residents. Hart would save a small quantity of these signed baseballs, which were placed in a safe deposit box for over six decades. This is one of those last Ruth appearance baseballs, and we would be hard pressed to find a better Babe Ruth signed ball from this signing. The crispy-clean near perfect white OAL Harridge ball has bold stampings that have a touch of bleed ( which is mentioned in the PSA letter) , and was graded by PSA/DNA as NM-MT 8. However, the bold, blue fountain pen “Babe Ruth” signature placed over the sweet spot is a near flawless MINT 9 graded specimen, showing zero affects from the stricken Ruth. In all, this signed Babe Ruth baseball registers and overall PSA NM-MT+ 8.5 grade by PSA/DNA. The full PSA/DNA LOA accompanies, cert number T09558. Also, a full LOA from JSA, cert number XX78677.
Any single signed Babe Ruth baseball is a highly desirable item, but a ball this clean with such a bold signatures commands even greater respect, similar to the respect Ruth was given by opposing pitchers and players during his storied Hall of Fame career. Add in the fact this ball was the best conditioned ball originating from the sponsor of Ruth’s final public signing session lends itself to world class status within our hobby. PSA/DNA Graded NM-MT+ 8.5.