Babe Ruth is most identified with the 1927 season, the one in which he hit the record 60 home runs - but, his earlier seasons were arguably even more spectacular. Beginning in 1920 when he was traded to New York, the Babe put on a hitting display like no man before him. In those five years Ruth his 235 of his eventual 714 home runs, batted a majestic .370 and led the league in slugging five times. He won a single MVP in 1923, but that is only because at this time players were ineligible to win the award in consecutive seasons.

      The Babe's signature on this 1920-24 Spalding ball makes this a very early single-signed Ruth ball. At this point in his career Ruth was still signing "Babe" with quotation marks around it, something he dropped as he became the most famous athlete in the world. The 1920-1924 Spalding Official National League ball has been beautifully signed by Ruth right on the sweet spot. The black fountain pen ink has faded slightly to a deep brown. The ball has a light coat of shellack and some of this has chipped off in small spots. The ball shows toning from age and some turf scuffs throughout, none affecting the Babe’s signature. The south panel shows evidence of light cleaning but JSA has determined that no other signatures have been removed. This Babe Ruth signed baseball comes with a full LOA from JSA (X36037).

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