most interesting 1950s Umpire autographed ball

[Copa7]

So I went to a reputable antique sale and purchased a lot if autographed baseballs. All were on Official MLB balls. Although none had certification, I've seen enough to know the range of quality.

Some were personalized and a majority were Yankees (antique business is in New York)

However, one ball stood out because it had a date and apparently came from an American League umpire.

First, here are some facts:

The ball is correct for a Reach Company Official A. L. Baseball (William Harridge)

The 5 signatures are Larry Nap, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Enos Slaughter and Bill Skowron.

Larry Napp was a MLB umpire from 1951 to 1974.

The ball has the date of August 5, 1957

Napp umpired in Don Larsen's perfect WS game. This game included Mantle, Berra and Slaughter.

Napp umpired in the All Star Game July 9th 1957. This game included Mantle, Berra and Skowron.

Napp umpired a double header on July 21, 1957 (closest date to inscription). That game included all 4 of these players.

Napp was a native of Brooklyn, NY.

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Now the strange part is that the signatures are not like the contemporary ones that the players used
Up into the 1980s.

However, strangely, the signatures are very much like the facsimiles on these players 1959 Topps cards. Especially, William "Moose" Skowron Jr. As a complete name. The famed looped Mantle is like his signature on his '52 and '59. Early comparison show the circle over the "i " in Mickey.

While these may be a club house signatures, it makes less sense as who would fake an umpire signature, and why would he get club house sits when he had such access?

[Copa7]

[Copa7]

[Copa7]

[packs]

I'm thinking maybe this is an example of someone trying to juice up a baseball for whoever Jeffrey was. I bet the umpire sig is legit and the others were added to make Jeffrey happier about the ball.

[Michael B]

I would agree completely with Packs. I cannot always recognize 'slowly drawn' signatures, but that is definitely the case for the three ballplayer signatures. Look at all the starts and stops in Berra and Slaughter.

[Copa7]

Some took time to make them look like their oldest signatures. Jeff was a lucky person in 1957.

[tha-rock]

I agree with packs. The Napp looks good. The others are horrible fakes. Whoever Jeffrey was, he might not have known who Larry Napp was, but he would have known Mantle, Berra, Slaughter and Skowron. Someone just wanted to make Jeffrey feel better about the ball.