LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 May Signature Sports Collectibles #709  / 

19502

1931 Tour Japan Team Signed Baseball with Gehrig

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop / Sports - Autographs (Original) Start Price:4,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD
1931 Tour Japan Team Signed Baseball with Gehrig
<B>1931 Tour of Japan Team Signed Baseball with Gehrig.</B></I> Far scarcer than team balls from the more widely recognized 1934 Tour are those from the trip across the Pacific three years earlier, featuring a smaller (but still star-studded) cast of diamond icons. Presented is one of the finest specimens we've encountered from that limited supply, boasting seventeen bold black fountain pen signatures on an "Official Six University League of Tokyo" baseball. Most noteworthy is an 8/10 offering from the great Lou Gehrig, who would make the trip again in '34. He's joined by fellow Hall of Famers Cochrane (5/10), Simmons (8/10), Grove (8/10), Frisch (9/10), Kelly (3/10) and Maranville (8/10). 1924 World Series hero Muddy Ruel (7/10) is here as well. The balance of signatures average a solid 7/10, with only a single deviation from that impressive theme. A large inscription in an unknown hand fills a side panel, and reads, "To our good Friend Fred Goodman, All Stars touring Japan '1931.'" A light coating of shellac has provided an amber tone, but has served its duty of autograph preservation admirably. As a memento documenting a key step in the globalization of the sport of baseball, this sphere carries tremendous historical importance, and should garner significant bidding accordingly. <I>LOA from PSA/DNA. LOA from James Spence Authentication.</B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Balls, Pucks, etc., Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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