In 1909 the Detroit Tigers won their third straight American League pennant. The Tigers were graced with no less than three top-shelf Hall of Famers: Hughie Jennings, Wahoo Sam Crawford and a young Ty Cobb. These giants of the Deadball Era were backed by a virtual all-star team including Donie Bush, Oscar Stanage, Germany Schaefer and Davy Jones. The Tigers won an impressive 96 games, with their ace George Mullin winning 29 of them for with a league-leading .784 winning percentage. Ty Cobb, in only his third full season, also topped the AL with a .377 average, 107 RBI and 9 homers, earning him his first and only Triple Crown.

     Yet despite this conglomeration of power and talent, the Tigers lost a hard-fought World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates, four games to three. This remarkable ball brings together 9+ members of this team. The ball is of unidentifiable manufacture, and shows much surface wear with several abrasions and medium toning throughout. That said, the visible signatures are of the Tigers best players - Ty Cobb (with a very bold, large signature), Hugh Jennings and Sam Crawford - Hall of Famers all. Other visible signatures are pitchers Bill Donovan and George Mullin, catcher Heinie Beckendorf, Infielder Charley O’Leary, outfielder Matty McIntyre and trainer Harry Tuthill. Pre-1920’s team signed balls are extremely scarce - to find one from a team as legendary as the Ty Cobb-led 1909 Detroit Tigers is simply extraordinary. The ball comes with a full LOA from JSA (Z58618) for the signatures.

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