Babe Ruth Auction to Benefit Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/6/2016
A very scarce team signed ball – recalling the calm immediately preceding the storm of Yankee greatness – is presented. This OAL (Johnson) sphere holds the signatures of eight highly noteworthy team members on its off-white surface. Flamboyantly occupying the sweet spot is the robust black-ink signature of "Babe" Ruth. Elsewhere around the sphere are ink scriptings placed by Everett Scott, Joe Dugan, Chas. O'Leary (coach), M.J. Huggins (Manager), Bob Meusel, Wally Pipp and Steve O'Neill. (Three lines of additional penmanship in an unconfirmed hand, reading, "Al E Lang - Pres Florida - State League," appear beneath Huggins' signature on a side panel.) Although often recalled as a mere footnote to Lou Gehrig's spectacular career, first baseman Wally Pipp posted a solid career. The first-ever Bronx Bomber to pace the league in home runs, Pipp did so in back-to-back campaigns, delivering 12 and 9 in 1916 and 1917, respectively. While Pipp's replacement was to endure far longer than anyone else at that juncture, it was Pipp, himself, who had played in more games than any other Yankee during the foregoing 11-year stretch (1915-1925). But 1925 was the season when Gehrig took the reins and didn't look back. The red-and-blue-stitched, mildly soiled ball carries bold manufacturer's stampings, with one small notation in ink on the reverse-side sweet spot and another on a side panel. Accompanied by a "Babe Ruth Special" 1962 Topps card (#137) depicting Ruth and Manager Huggins. LOA from PSA/DNA. Goldin Auctions will be donating 5% of the winning bid price of this lot and all lots in this auction to the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum.