Well...from what I've researched over the years, the ball point pen was not "common" before 1945, in fact, although the patent dated back to the 1800's (forget the date) the design was not very successful until around 1945 when they were massed produced and available on a wide scale to the public. I really doubt that the "elite" people were all using a product (pre 1945) that was somewhat of a failure.
With that said, could Cy have used a ball point pen...sure he could. Does that example, shakey and all, look like it would be signed by an old man (maybe closer to 1955), well..yes. Does that make that Cy Young signature authentic...not a chance.
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