1937 Sinclair Oil Babe Ruth Contest Signed Baseball Yankees

Babe Ruth lived at a time when there were far fewer celebrities drawing the public’s attention than there are today. As a result, businesses and companies wanted to use him to promote whatever it was that they wanted to bring to the public’s attention. The Sinclair people latched on to the Babe to promote a contest in which the two top prizes were a car known as the Nash Eight. There were also 25 radios and 500 Spalding baseballs to be won.

Presented here is one of those Spalding baseballs that survived. The baseball itself is a ONL (Frick) baseball with toning throughout. The north panel features a secretarial autograph of Babe Ruth with the inscription, “Sincerely” in steel tip fountain pen (“8-9”). That panel we must note has an area of blue/black discoloration near the signature (see photos). Overall, a nice piece to compliment a Ruthian collection.