Even though the legendary Babe Ruth had been out of baseball for five years in 1940, he was still a household name. His signature was then as it is today, highly sought after. Any single signed Babe Ruth baseball is a highly desirable item, but a ball with such a bold signature commands even greater respect, similar to the respect Ruth was given by opposing pitchers and players during his storied Hall of Fame career. One of those pitchers was Charlie Root, who gave up the home run to Ruth in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series that was remembered as the famous “Called Shot”. Ruth signed this “KING OF THE DIAMOND” stamped baseball with red and blue laces. What’s more, Ruth signed his name on the side panel, which is not very common, and he inscribed “To Viva Root From Babe Ruth Oct 26-1940” in bold black pen. This translates to long live Root, which could have been the Bambino’s way of thanking Charlie Root for giving up his famous home run. So bold is this signature that the experts at Beckett Authentication not only have authenticated his signature, but they’ve also graded it a very high MINT 9. This ball comes with a LOA from Beckett Authentication.

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