Winter Auction 2015 closing February 7
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/8/2015
Out of the 20 Yankees who signed this ball in 1931, almost half of them went on to the Hall of Fame! Powered by veterans Ruth, Gehrig and Combs, the '31 club won 94 games but still finished a distant 2nd, 13.5 games behind the A's. The Yankees were in the midst of a transition between the Murder's Row team of the 1920's and the Lefty Gomez/Red Ruffing driven team of the mid 1930's that would win an unprecedented 4 straight World Championships. The orange and blue stitched Spalding Babe Ruth Home Run Special baseball captures the best of both those dynasties. The ball itself is creamy white with just light wear. All signatures are in crisp black fountain pen and show great against the cream leather. Of course the Babe has signed the sweet spot in his beautiful, bold script (8-9/10). Fellow Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig (8/10), Earle Combs (5/10), Bill Dickey (7/10), Tony Lazzeri (7/10), Lefty Gomez 7/10), Joe Sewell (8/10), Red Ruffing (8/10) and Herb Pennock (7/10). The other 11 Yanks - Art Jorgens, Lyn Lary, Ben Chapman, Hank Johnson, Sam Byrd, Myril Hoag, Jimmie Reese, George Pipgrass, Dusty Cooke, Jim Weaver and Dusty Rhodes - grade between 4/10 to 9/10, most being on the higher end. Letter of Authenticity from JSA.