In the summer of 1952, Faisal bin Ghazi bin Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali, teenage heir to the throne of Iraq, embarked on an official visit to the United States. In less than a year the young man would be crowned King Faisal II, and this American trip was the future monarch’s first foray into international diplomacy. Faisal II met with President Harry S. Truman and Secretary of State Dean Acheson, but also took time to pal around with actors James Mason and Deborah Kerr. And of course, no trip to America in 1952 was complete without a visit to Ebbets Field. The Dodgers were in the midst of a tough pennant race, but Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella made time to meet with the future King.

To mark this unique meeting, the three have signed this 1952-1957 Spalding Official National League ball in black pen. Campanella has signed below the Spalding label and Robinson and Faisal have signed on a side panel. Shortly after signing this ball, Faisal returned to Iraq where he reigned for less than five years before he and his extended family were executed in what became known as the 14 July Revolution. A truly unique signed ball that brings together two of the game’s greatest African-American legends and a young king whose murder in part caused the destabilization of the modern Middle East. This item comes with a LOA from JSA (Z78979) and a LOA from PSA/DNA (AE09265).

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