Grover Cleveland Alexander, Andy High and my Grandfather
 

Hello everyone on Net54. I have been a member here for 3 1/2 years now and I am just now chiming in for the first time. I have read so much here and have learned a lot from many knowledgeable members. I am a St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan and so was my grandfather who died in 1939 when my dad was 12 yrs. old. When my grandmother died in 1972, my dad had an auction company sell all her stuff. I was 15 yrs. old and was helping set up the auction when I found old world series ticket stubs, world series programs, a pennant, a baseball, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. I asked my dad if I could have them and he said "sure". I am 58 yrs. old now and have taken good care of this stuff. I have a good idea now of the value of these ticket stubs and programs. What I don't know is the value of this game used Grover Cleveland Alexander baseball that was fouled off by Andy High and my grandfather caught in the stands at Sportsman Park in St. Louis on August 6, 1927. He documented the ball himself in ink. He wrote all in caps, PITCHED BY "OLD PETE ALEXANDER THE GREAT" SAT. AUG. 6 1927 - FOULED BY ANDY HIGH, BOSTON THIRD BASEMAN RIGHT IN TO YOUR DADDY'S HANDS, YOURS NOW BILLY. It has other writing on the ball that say's "CARDINAL WERE THE WORLD CHAMPIONS IN THE YEAR 1927. I know people are going to want to see pictures and I have some I just have to figure out how to send them here and I will. I have searched for 4 years and found nothing game used by "Old Pete". Does anyone have an idea on value? And by the way, thank you Leon for this forum. It is my favorite website. Brad

Hi Brad:

My understanding is that 'game used' in reference to a specific player refers to personal articles belonging to the player, like a shirt or a glove, not to the ball from a game in which the player participated. The ball would be worth whatever a baseball from that era sells for in the condition stated, no more.

Disagree there are a lot of memorabilia collectors who I think would be interested in the ball as an artifact.

Alexander did pitch that day and High did play that game. With specific details like that I'd believe in the story and would be interested in the ball if for sale.

I think an important factor is the beauty with which the ball is inscribed and the patina of the ball. For me the ball has to look authentic to the experience and moment, and if it does, it should command a premium to a normal ball from the era.

While it could net you some good money, I think the family connection written on the ball would make it more valuable to your family's future generations, and, because the inscription is so specific, it may detract from any price you may get for it.

I would keep the ball.

FYI- Cardinals won over the Yankees in 1926; Yankees beat the Pirates in 1927.

Babe Ruth caught stealing for the final out of the 1926 World Series. Fans were shocked and left with an empty feeling like "it can't be over, it couldn't end like this."

Same feeling we Met fans had in the 2006 NLCS when Carlos Beltran struck out with the bat on his shoulder and the bases loaded.

WAY cool ball. You will likely get a small premium for it. It will be tough to prove the provenance, so the premium will be small. If i owned a ball like that with a similar family history, it would remain in my family.

Thanks for your input guys, I do have family I could hand this ball down to and I probably will, but I would like them to get an idea of how much this ball could be worth so they do take care of it. I have 3 kids with no sentimental value attached to my grandfather or this ball, and if I was to give it to one of them the other two would probably want them to sell the ball and split the money 3 ways. I would have no problem with this because I know it would go to someone who really appreciates baseball memorabilia. Its a cool feeling to know that me, my dad, my grandfather and "Old Pete" all held this ball. I'm the one that is attached to it. My kids would not have the same passion for this ball as me. I've always cherish this ball and thought of my sports loving grandfather that I never met. He saw Babe Ruth's 3 home runs in game 4 of 1926 and was at Soldiers Field in Chicago for the Tunney/Dempsey "long count" fight. I could go on and on and maybe I will later, I just want my kids to know the monetary value of this ball because the sentimental value probably wont be there. I know without pictures yet it is hard to say, but what would your best guess be? Price range?

If it was from a game where something memorable happened, especially in regards to Alexander (win #300, strikeout #2000 something like that), I could see the ball fetching over a thousand dollars. The fact that the provenance suggests that the ball was thrown by Alexander during a major league game, to me, gives it a definite premium over a random ball from that era. Best guess would be $300-500.

Tom C

There is a museum in St Paul, Nebraska (Alexander's hometown) that has some of his game used artifacts that were donated by members of his family. I took pics a long time ago and they are not on this computer or I'd post them.

I was just testing to see if pics of the baseball I described almost ten tears ago will upload for you to see. If they do, I may have learned something.

1926

1927


Cardinals won the world series in 1926... They would remain World Champions until a winner of the 1927 world series was declared... So, on August 6, 1927 the high flying Cardinals were still World Champions.

And Brad, if you're a Cardinals fan then you're already in the upper echelons of the knowledgeable here.

I think it is worth somewhat more than the $300-500 estimate offered above, its a very cool ball with specific provenance to a game and date with a HOF pitcher from a great year of baseball. To me it’s better than the crazy prices paid for photos, this was actually used in a game then.

Not sure if you saw Paul but the $300-$500 estimate was 8 1/2 years ago.

Ah…no i did not!! No wonder….

Cool story and ball!

Thank you! And here is another pic of the ball. Now that I think I know what how to do this I will be sending some more pics of my other items. They are cool too.