Babe Ruth signed ball value

[sylbry]

I know someone who is thinking of selling a signed Babe Ruth ball and asked me what it is worth. Truth is I have no idea so I thought I would turn to you guys.

Here are the details. The ball is signed by Ruth, Casey Stengal, and many others but they are not readable. I would rate the two sigs a 2. I don't know what type of ball it is but would assume it is a Harridge ball as Ruth signed it for the owner during a Spring Training game.

The ball is not in the best of shape as the owner played catch with it for years until he realized that was a bad idea.

The authenticity is rock solid. The seller received it directly from Ruth in April 1948. He has a copy of the local newspaper article covering the game and Babe Ruth's attendence. The seller's name is also mentioned in that article.

I have a photo of the ball but it is a poor one. I will upload it later today.

Thanks in advance for your help,
Bryan

[GrayGhost]

Well, that wasnt long before Babe passed. Id say if they r even partly readable, its got some value, but probably not an awful lot. The provenance is nice to have though. I look forward to the pictures.

[sylbry]

Here is the picture. Sorry for the poor quality but this is what I received.

[David Atkatz]

The major problem with this "Ruth" ball is that Ruth never signed it.

[GrayGhost]

Yeah, sad to say, that is not Babe's autograph.

[autograf]

I'm thinking a little game of catch may be in order........

[sylbry]

I am not sure if Babe's auto is in that photo or not. The seller is an elderly man. I mailed him a digital camera to take pictures of the ball. He took photos of the panels and sweet spot but they were so blurry I couldn't see anything in any of the other photos.

I will certainly have him provide better photos if he does intend to sell it. For now, hypothetically speaking, could you throw out a value of where you think an authentic Ruth ball in the above condition would sell for.

He just wants to know what he could get for it. If it is worth it, he will sell it. I probobly will point him to an auction house so they can take care of the authenticity aspect. If the money is not enough, he will hold on to it.

If the ball does turn out to be non-authentic, and based on his history I have no reason to believe it wouldn't be but I will keep an open mind, I certainly won't be the one to tell him. He has spent 60 years believing he owns an authentic Ruth signed ball and I won't be the person to tell a 94 year old man it isn't.

If I do get better photos I will certainly post them here.

Thanks again for your help. It is greatly appreciated.

Bryan

[perezfan]

Better or enhanced photos won't help. It is still an obvious fake. FWIW, the Stengel looks equally bad, if not worse! Sorry for the "older gentleman", but there is little-to-no value here.

[sylbry]

I appreciate all of your comments. I called the potential seller and Ruth is indeed near Stengal so the photo is of Ruth. Is it possible that Ruth's signature deteriorated with his health?

The potential seller was the winning pitcher of that day's game that Ruth attended. He said Ruth signed and handed his wife the ball after she moved bats lying on the ground that were in Ruth's path. (He later had other people sign the ball as well.) The potential seller has an excellent memory and I don't doubt the event happened. Would you forget your encounter with Babe Ruth?

So I don't doubt that at one time he had a Ruth signed ball. But you guys know more on Ruth signatures than I do and I take your opinions seriously. I wonder if the ball was swapped out by someone with a fake somewhere down the road. Just trying to reconcile his memory with the general concensus.

I told the potential seller that I would need more pictures and he said that will be fine.

Any other thoughts/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Bryan

[bigtrain]

Unfortunately, more pictures will not change the opinions here. That is not Ruth's autograph. Sounds like it may well be that someone swiped the original ball from the gentleman. If his eyesight is failing perhaps he didn't notice.

[bigtrain]

Just reviewing all the facts you laid out. The original ball was signed during Ruth's appearance at a spring training game in 1948. Although very ill, Ruth did go to Florida for several weeks during what would have been spring training that year. I presume that your ball owner is talking major league spring training since you presume it is a Harridge ball. The gentleman, (94 now) would have been 33 years old then, obviously not a rookie. You state that he was the winning pitcher that day. Sounds like he had more than a cup of coffee in MLB, would we know his name? Sad story if an elderly major league veteran got ripped off.

[RichardSimon]

I usually don't post opinions on authenticity on Net54, for a variety of good reasons which I won't go into, but that is definitely not Babe Ruth's autograph. His signature did not deteriorate in his old age. No way, no how is that Ruth.

[sylbry]

I appreciate all of your comments. And especially thank you all for preventing me from looking like an idiot trying to sell a fake Babe Ruth signed ball. I just don't know how I am going to break the news to the potential seller.