Red Sox autographed baseball from 1954?

[BostonFJ40]

I found this ball in my grandmother’s attic almost 30 years ago. I brought it to my father’s house and then forgot about it until yesterday. It is a signed baseball from, I think the 1954 Red Sox. I couldn't believe my Father still had it after all these years. It was tucked away in the bottom drawer of a dresser in spare bedroom. He and my Stepmother had moved two times since I left the ball there and have been at their current house for 25 years.

So can anyone venture a guess what it's worth? I don't have a clue about this stuff.

Original box



Ted Williams
Lou Boudreau



Ted Lepcio
Milt Bolling
Jackie Jensen
Tom Brewer



Mel Parnell
Hal “Skinny” Brown
Billy Goodman
Ellis Kinder



Sam Mele
Del Wilber
Karl Olson
Sam White
Jimmy Piersall



Grady Hatton
Billy Consolo
Russ Kemmerer
Don Lenhardt
Sid Hudson
Mickey Owen
Leo Kiely




Harry Agganis

[sayhey24]

I'll let the autograph experts weigh in on it's value, but the condition is absolutely amazing.

Greg
http://www.baseballbasement.com

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by sayhey24

I'll let the autograph experts weigh in on it's value, but the condition is absolutely amazing.

Greg
http://www.baseballbasement.com

I agree, the condition is super considering its age- nice!

[nebboy]

The 54 Red Sox ball from Heritage Auction that ended mid Nov this year is not even close to as nice as your.
http://sports.ha.com/common/view_ite...2&Lot_No=42047

Nice balll

[perezfan]

Wow... Condition is as good as it gets! I love the uniformity and boldness of the ink.... not to mention the care that each player took in signing it. Has to be the best '54 Red Sox Ball extant!

[whitehse]

Conditionis great but I think the key to that ball is not the Ted Williams auto which is very nice but the Harry Agganes (spelling) auto. He passed away very early in his career (I think he only had 1 season under his belt) and is a very desirable autograph!

Very nice baseball and thanks for letting us see it

[roarfrom34]

nice ball, I also see Don Lenhardt who unfortunately passed away earlier this month

[BostonFJ40]

Thanks for the responses so far. Is it worth having the ball graded by a service like DNA?

[scooter729]

I would definitely recommend getting it authenticated by PSA/DNA or JSA. With many Red Sox team balls from the '50s, the Ted Williams autographs were signed by ballboys, clubhouse attendants, etc.

My guess is the Williams on yours is good, but I'm not an expert on the subject. The Agganis on the reverse sweet spot (is that the term?) is great, and nice and bold!

I'd guess a $400-500 price tag on this if all sigs check out OK, but I could be way off. Good luck with it and let me know if you plan on selling it!

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by scooter729

I would definitely recommend getting it authenticated by PSA/DNA or JSA. With many Red Sox team balls from the '50s, the Ted Williams autographs were signed by ballboys, clubhouse attendants, etc.

My guess is the Williams on yours is good, but I'm not an expert on the subject. The Agganis on the reverse sweet spot (is that the term?) is great, and nice and bold!

I'd guess a $400-500 price tag on this if all sigs check out OK, but I could be way off. Good luck with it and let me know if you plan on selling it!

Hmmm... IMHO the pricetag on this ball in this superb condition could surpass $1,000 in a major auction if you spend the money on the required letter

[scooter729]

To the original poster, is there any connection between your ball and this one that was just posted on eBay? The two balls are surprisingly similar, with many of the signatures in the identical spots, although they are obviously not the same ball.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1954-Boston-Red-...item53e588668c

FWIW, the eBay ball is posted with a $1250 BIN / BO.

[bigfish]

Appears to be the same ball. Amazing condition!

[Joe Hunter]

Definitely not the same ball. The Ebay ball has "1954" above and to the right of William's signature, the other ball does not.

[BostonFJ40]

Very strange.

Not mine, but what a weird coincidence.

[BostonFJ40]

The ball on ebay has the following autographs that my ball does not:
Frank Sullivan
Bill Henry
Charlie Maxwell
Willard Nixon
Tom Hurd

My ball has Billy Consolo.

Now, if I could figure out which game these guys played in and the others di not, I could probably figure out what game the ball was from.

[scooter729]

The fact that both balls have many of the signatures (like the Williams and Agganis, for example) in the identical spots had me assuming that they would've been signed at the same time, like they were all lined up in the locker room for players to sign one day.

But the fact that certain players are on each ball and not on the other would discourage that theory.

Great ball you have, and good luck with it!

[dwilber]

Hi -- just saw this post about your autographed ball. If you still have it I would like to buy it from you. One of the Autographs is from my Father ---

Thanks

Del Wilber Jr

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by scooter729

The fact that both balls have many of the signatures (like the Williams and Agganis, for example) in the identical spots had me assuming that they would've been signed at the same time, like they were all lined up in the locker room for players to sign one day.

But the fact that certain players are on each ball and not on the other would discourage that theory.

Great ball you have, and good luck with it!

It's very common for a player to sign in a favorite spot on a team ball, FWIW...
Nothing unusual about that.

[prewarsports]

If your plan is to consign it or sell it DONT pay to have it authenticated yourself, the auction house will do it. If you want to keep it in the family thats another story. I still wouldn't pay the money as you will get a better opinion on here with the colelctive knowledge than any one of the companies can offer you and have peace of mind in knowing its real and not have to pay a couple hundred bucks or more to have people tell you what you already know.

Different people will offer an alternative opinion for sure but authentication for this item is almost certainly a waste of money unless you are hell-bent on selling it through ebay in which case that would help get top dollar but would be a poor decision as a venue to sell it (again my opinion).

Rhys

[austin316]

hi just have a few questions regarding the ball I can be reached at 978-283-0033, thanks, tony.