Babe Ruth Signed Baseball Yankees – COA JSA

Behind every Ruth signed ball there’s an interesting, often compelling, story, and nearly all those accounts are lost to history. Fleeting happenstances, chance encounters, or ardently pursued quests for that priceless, brief exchange with the Babe – one remembered forever in the autograph. It’s a near certainty that there was a heart-pounding anticipation as the request was advanced, and the “hero among all champions” stopped to acknowledge. Eyes meet, and the friendly palm opens to welcome the baseball, one until now with no particular distinction.

“I’ll sign that ball for ya, son”.

Such a scenario is, of course, just an imprecise reverie. For this particular signing, it may well have been more involved. The authenticator JSA notes that the ball has some other writings. These writings on two panels show the provenance of who was there – when and where it was signed. The ball itself features the William Harridge stampings which are visible. But we opine that it probably served duty before it was autographed and there is some minor peeling, as the Ruthian signature seems undamaged by routine play. Atypically, this Babe Ruth signature was placed on a side panel, and it essentially traverses that panel, seam-to-seam. The instrument was a fountain pen, and the only minor distraction is a little bit of indentation with the pen overall a “6-7”-quality autograph.

Authentication: JSA Full Letter