Auction Item Details
Lot 61
LOADING IMAGES
Lot Number: 61
Description: Rare Babe Ruth and Charlie Root auto. baseball. Clean light cream color Worth "Official League" ball signed on the sweet spot by Babe Ruth and on the adjoining side panel by Charlie Root. Both signatures remain very bold with Ruth rating 8/9 out of 10 and the Root rating 10 out of 10. Panel above the Ruth signature has a small area where faint vestiges of ink are present which may possibly have been a notation or name. October 1, 1932 remains today one of the more storied dates in baseball history. On that date the New York Yankees were playing the Chicago Cubs in Game #3 of the 1932 World Series in Chicago. The Yankees had already won the first two games of the Series and were tied 4-4 with the Cubs going into the fifth inning. Babe Ruth came to bat that inning and according to period news and film accounts was enduring an enormous amount of heckling from the Wrigley faithful. It was at this point that Ruth gestured towards the outfield bleachers and then promptly crushed the next pitch from Cubs pitcher Charlie Root into the center field bleachers. Based on interviews and numerous writings Root had always denied that Ruth had "called" his home run. The offered ball is to our knowledge the first example documented to exist with the signatures of both men. The ball was obtained by a boy in Billings, Montana during an appearance by Ruth in 1947. At that time Charlie Root lived in Billings and was in fact coaching the Billings Mustangs baseball team. Notable rarity in spectacular original condition grade. Includes letter of provenance from recipient, xerox copies of 1947 Billings newspaper w/Ruth trip article, and LOA from PSA/DNA J.Spence-S.Grad: NM
Estimated Price: ($10,000.00-$15,000.00)
Sold for Price: Login or Register
