Did the AH state that it was used in the game? I would lean more towards what Ken suggested, that it was done as a memento commemorating the event, but not necessarily coming from the actual game. To me, it looks a little too clean to have been game-used (and yes, I realize it could not have been
hit in the game, but he didn't throw any pitches in the dirt either...?) Even in the best of cases, without solid provenance (and sometimes even with), these kinds of things are impossible to prove years down the road.
BTW, the dates I gave were from Brandon Grunbaum's ball guide. If you contact him at
info@historyofthebaseball.com, he may be able to offer better insight as to why those dates are given for when the ball was produced.