1968 AL All-Stars Multi-Signed Baseball (Mantle’s Last) – COA PSA/DNA

1968 American League All-Stars Signed OAL Baseball (Mantle’s Last) – PSA/DNA

To our memory, this is the first All-Star team signed ball (of any vintage) that we’ve ever offered which was signed by the entirety of that league’s selections (even the guy who was replaced due to injury). There are 30 autographs on the OAL (Cronin) ball and though nearly all of them are immediately legible, we confess that a couple are weak (though all of them are cleanly crisp). They constitute the American League All-Stars of 1968 and we invite the reader to follow the documented record of this roster against the detailing of this ball’s signers. (Bluntly, it’s complete.) Detailed, these include: Joe Azcue, Gary Bell, Bert Campaneris, Rod Carew, Cal Ermer (sweet spot), Bill Freehan, Jim Fregosi, Ken Harrelson, Willie Horton, Frank Howard (weak), Tommy John, Davey Johnson, Duane Josephson, Harmon Killebrew (weak),  Sam McDowell, Denny McLain, Rick Monday, John [Blue Moon] Odom, Tony Oliva, Boog Powell, Brooks Robinson, Jose Santiago, Mayo Smith, Mel Stottlemyre, Luis Tiant, Don Wert, Dick Williams (sweet spot), and Carl Yastrzemski.  Mickey Mantle did sign the ball, but with time the signature no longer is visible.

Darrell Johnson also signed the ball, and though not selected in any official capacity, he was coaching for the Red Sox at the time and therefore specially invited by manager (and imminent Hall of Famer) Dick Williams. Not to be lost in the significance of this ball is that it marked Mantle’s final appearance as an All-Star. Now an elder statesman in the circuit, he was swept into the ’68 Classic on the inertia of his peerless two-decade career.