High Grade 1939 Lou Gehrig Single Signed Official A.L. Baseball- NEAR MINT 7 Signature - (PSA/DNA & JSA)

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/30/2016

Know as the Iron Horse and the original holder of baseball’s all-time consecutive games played streak, Lou Gehrig was arguably the anchor behind the great New York Yankee teams of the late 1920s and 1930s. Before he succumbed to the disease in 1941 that would bear his name, Gehrig finished his career with a hefty .340 batting average, 2,721 hits, 423 home runs, winner of six World Series titles and played in 2,130 consecutive games until that streak was broken in 1995 by Cal Ripken Jr. By 1939, a declining Gehrig forced himself out of the lineup following the April 30th game against the Washington Senators. With his condition worsening, Gehrig and his wife Eleanor ultimately sought the council of the Mayo Clinic and specifically Charles William Mayo and after days of testing, was determined to have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) – Gehrig never played baseball again. Offered is an extremely rare baseball signed by Gehrig in 1939. This Official American League William Harridge baseball was manufactured by Reach and dated to 1939, no later than July 11th of that year. Many of these type of baseballs were signed at the All-Star Game that was held at Yankee Stadium, just one week after Gehrig’s famous July 4th “Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth” speech from his sudden retirement. Gehrig served as honorary American League captain during that event. Gehrig’s signature on this ball is boldly written in black fountain tip pen on the sweet spot, which is rare in itself given that he typically signed baseballs on the side panel. The President/League stamping is faded, but still readable and the baseball, given its age, has minor toning throughout. The red laces are in excellent condition. This baseball comes with a full LOA from PSA/DNA (AA05827) dated March 2016, who have given a grade of “7” for the signature and a “5” for the baseball, with an overall grade of “6”. Also included with this impeccable baseball is a full LOA from JSA (X91149).