Hello,
I am brand new to your forum so please excuse any errors made on this, my first post.
I recently found this autographed team/trophy ball at a flea market. I've found autographed team balls in the past and can usually deduce the team/year through my own research but this one is really giving me trouble and I'm hoping you can help.
The ball is stamped South Atlantic League and has red and blue stitching.
There is a pristine version of this same (unsigned ball) on this website. Decades ago someone drilled a hole into the bottom of the ball and screwed it to a Bakelite trophy base. The ball is very yellowed and smoke stained and the signatures are all but illegible. The league stamp is also hard to read, but even if it were sharper, I still couldn't read the name of the Sally president whose signature is replicated there. So here are my questions:
1. Do you recognize the facsimile signature of the South Atlantic League president? With that name hopefully I can figure out the tenure of his presidency and narrow down the ball's window.
2. Do you recognize any of the signatures here? Here are some of the names as they appear to me (I'm just guessing here and hoping you recognize a similar name to what I'm interpreting):
- Jerry Timms
- Jim Graines
- Mike (or Mitch) Stuart
- Nick Williams
- Charlie R------
- Harold (or Harry or Harvey) K------
- Ed Blount
- "dick" -------
- Alf K-------
- Harvey Johnston
- Eddie Rice (or Rowe)
Also it looks like the words "Green Bj Romeo ----" are printed near the bottom, along with other words I can't make out.
3. Can you point me toward an online database/article that has detailed info on pre-war South Atlantic League teams and rosters?
This ball was found in eastern Georgia and presumably came from an estate in the region. I would guess it was signed by a Sally team in Georgia or the Carolinas sometime in the 1930s or early 1940s. I'd be happy to upload better/different photos if you're interested, too.
Thank you for your time. Any help you could give me would be very appreciated!