Obscured for the first four seasons of his remarkable career, Babe Ruth was limited to 121 games, all as a pitcher. Ruth, of course, proceeded to all but “invent” the home run and following his ill-advised sale to the New York Yankees, he tormented his former suitors with 90 home runs and a .337 batting average over 15 seasons. Like locomotives barreling in opposite directions, the Bronx Bombers thrived during the Ruth era, while Boston struggled mightily going a combined 106-224 to those Ruth-led rosters. Here’s a memento from a rare instance in which the rival teams compliantly worked together: a baseball autographed by members of both rosters before a 1932 contest. The lightly toned unofficial orb presents nicely and features black-ink fountain pen scriptings averaging (“7-8”) potency. Includes: Sweet Spot: Ruth (“8” strength with deference to minor surface abrasions); North Panel: Pickering, Michaels, Reder, Combs ("6-7" strength) and Pipgras; South Panel; Allen, Cooke, Chapman, Saltzgaver, Kline and Donohue; West Panel: Allen, Gomez (“7” strength), Murphy, Rhodes, Wells and Gehrig (“6” strength); East Panel: Pennock (“7-8” strength), Jorgens and Fletcher (coach). Full photo LOA from PSA/DNA.
|