Can somebody tell me if this baseball is what I think it is?

[three0four]

So this might sound really dumb, but as I was going through a bunch of totes of stuff that my grandfather had all kinds of odds and ends thrown into I came across this baseball. There's no telling how long this thing sat in the basement, but honestly it looks like at some point Fido, Lassy, or maybe even Clifford decided it looked like a toy. Which is really kind of depressing because even though at first I didn't think much about it because I don't really have much experience with autographs and sports memorabilia, once I looked up the name that stood out the most, I started piecing together the rest. Now I know this is my first post here and I swear I'm not just trying to get somebody to do the work for me, but I'm guessing there's a couple people here that will be able to tell what this is right away (assuming it's real) without doing all the searching and narrowing down of years that I had to, lol. I'm just kind of curious to see if anybody comes up with the same thing I have. Some of the names are pretty faded, and the one side is kind of rough thanks to Fido, but just in case I bought a little case for it until I know for sure.

Would anybody happen to have an idea what it is I have here?

[three0four]

Ok, so I didn't realize that the 2 pictures of the bad side(s) of the ball didn't post for some reason, let's try that again....

[Bpm0014]

If that is supposed to be Lou Gehrig on the sweet spot, the signature is 100% not real. I can't answer as to the other signatures though, but the Lazzeri looks ok (although I'm no expert on Lazzeri).

[khkco4bls]

I see lazzari Johnny Murphy and red Rolfe I think under that which look fine

[three0four]

Originally Posted by Bpm0014

If that is supposed to be Lou Gehrig on the sweet spot, the signature is 100% not real. I can't answer as to the other signatures though, but the Lazzeri looks ok (although I'm no expert on Lazzeri).

Thanks for responding....sadly I'm not an expert on any of them. Although do you mind if I ask what makes you say its not real? I'm just asking because although it is really faded and rather hard to get a good photo of, to me it almost seems to match some of the examples I can find online. Again, I'm no expert, I just wouldn't want to dismiss something rather important.

It's been really hard to get a photo that seems to show every little detail you can see up close. From the names I've been able to piece together I've narrowed it down to either 1935, 1936, or possibly even 1937 Yankees.

I'm really not trying to doubt anybodies expertise, I just know that it seems almost impossible to get a picture that shows everything you can see looking at it up close.

[Bpm0014]

For starters, his L and G looked nothing like that on (which is on the ball).

[canjond]

Just to ask the question, is the signature on the sweet spot an earlier version of Lefty Gomez, hence why it looks nothing like Gehrig?

[three0four]

Actually, if you look on the second picture in my second post, I think Lefty is on there, right underneath what I could only figure (and I could be crazy wrong about this) is Joe DiMaggio.

[JMEnglish27]

Originally Posted by canjond

Just to ask the question, is the signature on the sweet spot an earlier version of Lefty Gomez, hence why it looks nothing like Gehrig?

That's what I'm thinking.

[JMEnglish27]

Originally Posted by three0four

Actually, if you look on the second picture in my second post, I think Lefty is on there, right underneath what I could only figure (and I could be crazy wrong about this) is Joe DiMaggio.

First letter of that looks like an R to me...

[JMEnglish27]

Question...is it possible that there would be a clubhouse/secretarial signature of Gehrig during this era (presumably 36-37) and that's what's on the sweet spot?

[Butch7999]

Coach John Schulte below Lazzeri and Murphy, no?

[todeen]

+1 I'm in agreement with this.

Originally Posted by three0four

Actually, if you look on the second picture in my second post, I think Lefty is on there, right underneath what I could only figure (and I could be crazy wrong about this) is Joe DiMaggio.

[todeen]

You know I thought about this overnight. If it was me, regardless of net54 opinions, I would send it to a TPA. The signatures are so faint that its hard to make things out clearly. Members helped identify multiple autos, so pay the fee for 3-5 to be authenticated. If the Gehrig turns out to be clubhouse, that's what you were expecting because of net54 opinions. But you could also be nicely surprised. I think the ball is a cool find regardless of authenticity of the Gehrig. And the chew marks don't really bother me either. The original owner obviously valued the ball enough to not throw it away.

[yanks12025]

The Gehrig to me looks the classic clubhouse auto of his

[stewbacca]

What an awesome find. Here is what I see:
Pic 1
1 Jack Saltzgaver
2 Bump Hadley
3
4 Myril Hoag
5
6

Pics 2, 7, 8
1. Lou Gehrig clubhouse???

Pic 3, 4
1
2 Tony Lazzeri
3 Johnny Murphy
4 Johnny Schulte
5 Red Rolfe ??

pic 5, 6
1
2
3

pic 9 American League Logo

Pic 10
1 too faded and dog bites
2
3 Joe Dimaggio
4 Lefty Gomez

based on those names I would put it as 1936 or 37. DiMaggio was 36 and Lazzeri left after 37. Can we figure out the other signatures? Also, different filters on the pictures may help bring out the autographs better. Try playing with the phones/cameras filters. Someone may know which ones are best.

thanks,
Stew

[HexsHeroes]

Originally Posted by yanks12025

The Gehrig to me looks the classic clubhouse auto of his

. . . which appears to me to have either been signed by Lefty Gomez (as per signature on OP's ball),
or that the Gomez signature on OP's ball was also clubhouse signed by same individual (the "L" in Lefty and in Lou are nearly identical).