Game Used Baseballs

[Shoeless Moe]

Listing a number of my game used baseball finds over the years and hoping others will add theirs as well, so we have a thread showing all.

I know the majority of the NET54-ers are Card guys, but those came off a printing press in some factory. I prefer the artifacts that were used in the actual Game throughout history. The Balls, Bats, Gloves, Hats, Jerseys and Stadium artifacts.

1st up....

Game Used Baseball from the Famous 1917 Timothy Murnane Benefit Game.

Baseball thrown by Babe Ruth as a pitcher for the Red Sox

This game featured the 1917 Red Sox vs a Team of Major League All Stars (Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Tris Speaker, Buck Weaver, Ray Chapman and more!)

Before 1921, it was common for a baseball to be in play for over 100 pitches. Players used the same ball until it started to unravel. Early baseball leagues were very cost-conscious, so fans had to throw back balls that had been hit into the stands. The longer the ball was in play, the softer it became—and hitting a heavily used, softer ball for distance is much more difficult than hitting a new, harder one. The ball itself was softer to begin with, probably making home runs less likely.



About the game itself:

More than 17,000 people gathered at Fenway Park out of respect to his memory and more than $13,000 was contributed to his memorial fund. Entertainment of the highest possible caliber lasted from 2 PM until 5 PM and the only regrettable thing about it was that Murnane was not there to see it. The weather conditions were perfect and it seemed as if the day was made to order for the occasion.

Incidentally, the Red Sox defeated the All-Stars, 2 to 0 in a great game. There were some interesting contests before the game. Mike McNally of the Red Sox equaled the world's record in getting down the first base on a bunt in a time of 3.25 seconds. Ray Chapman was not far behind the record for circling the bases. Joe Jackson made a throw of 396 feet, 8 inches which is pretty close to the best performance on record. Dutch Leonard hit the open end of a barrel, sitting on a box at second base, on his first row from home plate, beating the likes of Duffy Lewis, Ty Cobb, Harry Hooper, Joe Jackson, Sam Agnew, Pinch Thomas, Wally Schang and Walter Johnson couldn't do it in three attempts. Babe Ruth won the fungo hitting contest, hitting the ball 402 ft, 8 inches.

Will Rogers was there with his cow pony and circled the park at top speed, whirling a lariat that had a loop that seemed to be about 30 feet in diameter. Then with Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb riding the horse, Rogers gave a thrilling exhibition of rope work. He finished by coaching third base for the Red Sox in the ballgame.

Hughie Jennings, coached the All-Stars with the assistance of heavyweight champ John L Sullivan. Rabbit Maranville got the crowd going when he squared off in front of John L. and ducked out of the way of his swing.

The game was a gem, Babe Ruth and Rube Foster making the All-Stars look like Bush Leaguers. Three hits were made off the Babe and the one by Cobb was an infield scratch. Nothing like a hit was even close off Foster. Urban Shocker, Howard Ehmke and Walter Johnson did the pitching for the All-Stars and it was reserved for Walter to be charged with the loss of the game.

Shocker was hit for a triple in the first inning, a double in the second, and a single in the third but he always tightened up in the pinches. Ehmke worked for the next three innings and in two of them, got by without being nicked.

In the sixth inning, a base on balls was followed by a fumble by the Rabbit on a hard-hit ball by Duffy Lewis, Tilly Walker then came through with a smashing single to center and it looked as though the Red Sox would finally score. But a great throw by Joe Jackson and a lightning play by Wally Schang at the plate nailed Dick Hoblitzell as he slid wide.

The Red Sox pulled off their batting rally against Johnson in the eighth inning after two were out. Jack Barry started off with a single to left. Hobby hit a sharp bounder over Walter's head, which he had misjudged, letting it go through without a try, thinking Maranville or Chapman would field the ball and make the force play at second base. But the ball was going so fast, it shot between them into center field. Duffy Lewis was next up and what he did to the ball was good enough. He met it squarely on the nose and sent it sailing off the centerfield bleacher wall for a triple, scoring Barry and Hobby to bust up the game.

The All-Stars did not have a right fielder who can play the sun in right field. Jackson, Speaker and Cobb alternated in each of the three outfield positions. While playing in left field during the second inning, Speaker almost spoiled Tilly Walker's double, going up the bank on the run and having the ball fall out of his glove when he fell down.

The big crowd was rooting hard for the Red Sox to win, but they were always ready to applaud the players on the opposing team, Johnson and Cobb being the favorites. Maranville only had two chances, but in practice he gave the crowd a thrill with some trick fielding.


As noted earlier balls back then were used the entire game thus I fully believe this ball was pitched by Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson, and hit by Shoeless Joe and Cobb, among others. No way of ever knowing for certain but with the facts in place its highly likely.

This ball ended up being sold at Goldin Auctions for $4287.50

https://goldinauctions.com/LotDetail...entoryid=29585

[Shoeless Moe]

Very happy & lucky to find this out there. A rare game used baseball from game 21 of DiMaggio's 56 Game Hitting Streak.

Seller "Recently found at an estate in NW Michigan from a Glen Lake cottage built in the 1930's is a Game Baseball from a New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers game played on June 5th 1941." and no reason to doubt the story, as seller is from Michigan and no history of baseball items, but a good long time seller.

Love when the ball is found in the home state of the home team or player. I think that adds to it. Also the ink is vintage and the Reach (faded but visible) stamping matches up to a 1941 A.L. Ball.

Guessing from what the original attendee of this game in '41 wrote on the ball was this could be a foul ball off Frankie "The Crow" Crosetti's bat pitched by Hall of Famer Harold "Hal" Newhouser, who the person wrote Harold as he was only 20 years old and maybe didn't go by Hal just yet. No real other reason to note Crosetti on the ball who went 0-4.

DiMaggio's only hit in this game (to keep the streak alive) was a triple in the 6th inning, Crosetti batted 2 batters later and flied out. Was this the ball DiMaggio tripled with then Crosetti knocked it out of play? I wish, but who knows.

Also, when I was looking at the box score I noticed Bill Dickey wasn't in the lineup this game which I found odd since he was their starting catcher. But researching it more, Dickey and Joe McCarthy were not at this game in Detroit because they were attending Lou Gehrig's funeral. Dickey being Gehrig's roommate when they played together.

I had the case made for the ball. I could only find 2 other balls from his Streak that have come to auction. So I feel this is a pretty rare significant find.


Sold at Heritage for $1320.00

[Shoeless Moe]

Any Al Simmons fans out there? Philadelphia Athletics fans? Game Used baseball collectors? Collectors of the unique? Anybody Polish?

Official American League Baseball with the inscription from some lucky fan:

"Ball tossed into crowd by Al Simmons"

Also has the date "May 2, 1930"

Period ink

Detroit Tigers played the defending and soon to be repeat World Champion Philly Athletics. Hall of Famer Al Simmons 1930 year would be his personal best batting .381


MUST MUST Read on Mr Simmons:

“I wish I had nine players named Al Simmons,” Hall of Fame manager Connie Mack said.

https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/simmons-al

https://baseballhall.org/discover/in...aded-to-boston

SI not included just taken from internet

Very neat relic from the hands of Al Simmons!

(I had the holder made for it)


Sold here in the BST $225

[Shoeless Moe]

RARE 1927 Reach Official American League Ball - Ban Johnson, President. (One Year Only Version).

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.....

In addition to being a rare baseball from the greatest time in baseball history, this ball has ties to the GREATEST TEAM in history, the 1927 Yankees!

On the other side of the ball reads "Compliments of Urban Shocker" 1927 Yankees - Pitcher.

How many people can say they own a piece of the '27 Yankees???

Guessing this ball was tossed to a fan after a game by the Yankee pitcher Urban Shocker (who would die the following year). The fan luckily documented it on the ball, so no mystery here. A ball used by MURDERERS ROW, possibly thrown, fielded, or hit by Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig, and definitely tossed by starting pitcher Urban Shocker!


SOLD this summer (2020) on Ebay $1025.00

[Shoeless Moe]

I found this on Ebay for $89, here is the write-up and sale when I consigned it to Heritage Auctions (better pix of it there too):

1917 World Series Game Used Baseball--The Final Out? Ancient sphere was discovered at an estate auction near York, Pennsylvania, not far from the town of Reading where New York Giants player Lew McCarty lived and died. This fact becomes particularly intriguing when we consider that his name is penned on the opposing sweet spot from the bolder vintage application of the words "World's Series Giants & White Sox." Unfortunately the name is all we are able to make out on this area of the ball, but it's clearly a period notation, which leads us to consider McCarty's role in that early Fall Classic. Intriguingly, we find that, with two out in the bottom of ninth inning of the sixth and final game, McCarty was tapped to pinch hit for Giants pitcher Pol Perritt, grounding out to second to end the Series and establish "Shoeless Joe" Jackson's White Sox as World Champions.

While we cannot definitively establish this as the last ball of that Series, the tradition of saving Championship-clinching balls was already well established at this juncture of baseball history, and this manner of notation is consistent with known examples from other years. Certainly it is at the very least a game used ball from that famous World Series, and the final out would seem to be the only incident from that October that would merit a mention of McCarty. Given the fact that the ball was discovered in McCarty's backyard, the suggestion that he might have picked it up after the out was recorded is also a reasonable speculation. The ball exhibits heavy wear, clearly dating to both before and after the ancient notations, and while the ball's stamping has been lost to the ages, the black and red stitching is correct for period ONL horsehide. A thrilling relic from the White Sox last Championship of the twentieth century.

Sold at Heritage for $2031.50

https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1...ription-071515

[Shoeless Moe]

22 year old Ty Cobb vs 35 year old Honus Wagner - 1st major meeting of the 2 on a field.

(from Paddy O'Connor collection, catcher Pitt.)

Per our resident expert Brandon Grunbaum, the Harry Pullium stamped balls are very rare only a handful have surfaced. Pulliam shot himself in NYC in the summer of 1909, they say due to the stress of his position and his decison on the famous Fred Merkle play the season before, giving the Cubs their last World Series (until 2016).

Sold on Ebay approx $2500

[Shoeless Moe]

Sold to THEE Biggest Gehrig Collector on NET54


........and I want it back some day.


One of the few I regret selling, but I do like it's in a much appreciated home.

[Shoeless Moe]

A very cool find. A baseball batted by Honus Wagner at the Polo Grounds.

There is a vintage typewriter typed label wrapped around the baseball it reads:

"To Junior Maclean, Here is a baseball that was batted into the grandstand of the Polo Grounds about 20 years ago by the famous Hans Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I will let you guess how it came into my possession. Your dad has told me that youare a regular baseball fan, so I am psssing this ball along to you with my best wishes" signed Fred W. Miller Sept. 16,1929

The original owner of this baseball which came from Cambridge, Mass. found 4antique baseballs while cleaning out the attic of the house partially built in the 1890's that belonged to their grandfather. Their Grandfather's brother was Hugh "Junior" Maclean. Junior Maclean was a die hard baseball fan. This info was given to me via the husband of his great niece.

Of the 4 baseballs found in that attic, 1 was blank, 2 were signed to Hugh "Junior" Maclean, and this one was typewritten to him. The other 3 baseballs were all vintage with autographs of major leaguers from the 1910's and 1920's. Which leaves me no doubt as to this balls authenticity. I have pictures of those other balls and being a buyer and seller of vintage balls I have zero doubt on this balls authenticity.


Sold for $1500 on Ebay in 2013

[Shoeless Moe]

I'm willing to say less then 1% of this board has heard of the Panama "Canal Zone League."

Yet 100% know 2 famous players that came out of Panama:

Rod Carew
Mariano Rivera

Well they really have nothing to do with this baseball, but they both played in Panama and this ball is from the grass roots of Panamanian Baseball.

The League was only around for 2 seasons, 1949-50 & 1950-51. It was a Winter League for some major league ballplayers and some Negro League players.

1947 Brooklyn Dodger and first Black pitcher in the Majors Dan Bankhead played in this Winter League. Tommy Lasorda also played there.

This is a Game Used Ball from the Championship Game of 1949-1950 season.

On the ball itself reads:

"Cristobal Mottas Canal Zone League Champions 1949-50"

Another panel reads:

"This ball caught by Bascelici (sp.) for last out in the final game for championship against Balboa"

Then looks to be signed by someone I can't make out and on another panel lists "Mgr Al Kuboski", another panel writing I can't make out.


Sold in the BST for fiddy bucks!

[Shoeless Moe]

Featuring BUCK WEAVER!

On July 26, 1915 the Chicago White Sox led by future Black Sox Buck Weaver, Happy Felsch, and Eddie Cicotte, along with 4 HOFers, Eddie Collins, Ray Schalk, Red Faber, and Big Ed Walsh on an off day traveling to play the Boston Red Sox stopped and played an Exhibition Game against minor league team from upstate New York, the Utica Utes.

Needless to say the Sox destroyed them 7-0 (see attached articles and box scores - thanks to fellow Net54-er Gary for getting those for me)

Just amazing to think this ball was most likely pitched by Eddie Cicotte and Ed Walsh, and perhaps tossed by Buck Weaver, Hap Felsch or hit by them, who knows, but fun to imagine the possibilities. And since foul balls were not allowed to be kept by fans back then and had to be tossed back into play, very good chance this was the ENTIRE game ball.

And its a ONL John Tener ball, those are rare in and of themself.

Comes with a Full MEARS LOA

Quote from Troy Kinunen of MEARS: "What a GREAT baseball!"


Sold at Goldin Auctions for $570 Buyer of this ball got a steal and I know they happen to be a NET54-er, Hi Murph!

https://goldinauctions.com/LotDetail...entoryid=28779

[Shoeless Moe]

AWESOME piece of history! How many people can say they have a baseball that was thrown by legendary Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander? 3rd All Time in Wins behind only Cy Young and Walter Johnson, tied with Christy Mathewson.

Black & red stitched Spalding Official National League John Heydler baseball which was used during the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 victory over St. Louis from April 28, 1929 at Sportsman's Park - Pittsburgh Pirates vs St Louis Cardinals - The game also featured HOFers Paul and Lloyd Waner, Pie Traynor for the Bucs, and Frankie Frisch, Jim Bottomley, Chick Hafey & Old Pete for the Cards. So quite possible numerous hall of famers threw, caught and or hit this ball, AMAZING!!!!

[packs]

Mike Trout career hit #410



Final pitch from Rube Walberg's victory against the Indians on June 15, 1926. Rube threw a 5 hit shut out that day:

[Shoeless Moe]

How's that for a match-up of managers?!!!

2 HOFers going head to head. After looking into I never knew Walter Johnson was such a good manager, and mind you he had some pretty tough Yankee & Athletics teams to compete against, and he still put up a nice 529 Wins vs 432 Losses over 7 years as a manager. And while it pales to Connie Mack's 53 YEARS AS A MANAGER!!!!!! - that is just insane! 3731 Wins 3948 Losses, Johnson actually had a better win percentage : )

And he beat him on this August day in 1933:

Cleveland Indians 15
Philadelphia Athletic 4

Game used ball in which Cleveland HOFer Earl Averill (CF) hit for the CYCLE!!! Was this ball one of his hits? Could very well be, pretty neat.

Other HOFers in the game who may have hit, caught or tossed this ball were Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Cochrane.

The ball is a beauty with the somewhat rarer red and blue seams with the Presidential Stamping of William Harridge because they went to all Red stitching in 1934.

It comes is from the personal collection of pitcher Monte Pearson. Pearson was the winning pitcher in that game and inscribed the ball as seen.

The ball was given to a baseball coach in Madera, CA by Pearson's son. It is all explained in the LOA included.

Sold in the BST

[Bestdj777]

Love your finds. I was a bidder on that 1927 Yankees ball but had to bow out early. My two highlights are game used balls from game 6 and 7 of the 1952 World Series. My completely wild speculation with no supporting evidence whatsoever is that they were both Mantle home runs—most likely just foul balls or toss ups though.

[parker1b2]

Those baseballs are great!! I like collecting game used baseballs as well, unfortunately my collection is in storage due to having another child a few years ago and losing my memorabilia room to a nursery.

Some of the ones I can think of off top of my head are:

Phil Niekro 300th win and 250th win and 3rd Career win
Lee Smith 300 career save
Jim Abbott No Hitter
Opening day 1959 Red Sox vs Yankees from Bob Turley collection
Kevin Brown No Hitter

[eastonfalcon19]

Great baseballs. I wish I would of just bought that Simmons ball. Anyways here is a ball from what I believe could be from Game 3 of the 1926 World Series. As you can see the score is 4-0 and has (although hard to see) New York Yankees vs St. Louis Cardinals. The ball has the Yankees lineup and Yankee pitchers on the one panel. It also has the Cardinals players on there running down the sweet spot. I would love to see where this ball has been and who could held/hit this ball.

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by Bestdj777

Love your finds. I was a bidder on that 1927 Yankees ball but had to bow out early. My two highlights are game used balls from game 6 and 7 of the 1952 World Series. My completely wild speculation with no supporting evidence whatsoever is that they were both Mantle home runs—most likely just foul balls or toss ups though.

Chris I may have sold you one of those '52 WS Balls, they were nice, can you post pix of all panels?

Also I had a Ruth HR ball but it was from a barnstorming game and the signature was traced over, so the value got shot......still went for 2-3K at auction, but a Mantle or Ruth HR ball go for silly money these days.

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by eastonfalcon19

Great baseballs. I wish I would of just bought that Simmons ball. Anyways here is a ball from what I believe could be from Game 3 of the 1926 World Series. As you can see the score is 4-0 and has (although hard to see) New York Yankees vs St. Louis Cardinals. The ball has the Yankees lineup and Yankee pitchers on the one panel. It also has the Cardinals players on there running down the sweet spot. I would love to see where this ball has been and who could held/hit this ball.

Ron that ball is AWESOME. 1926 had to be in the Top 10 for Greatest World Series of All Time. If not #1. Lil Johnny Sylvester in the hospital game Babe hits 3 HRs in a game for him. The Grover Cleveland Alexander story in games 6 & 7. Lazzeri K'ing with the bases loaded. Ruth getting caught stealing to end Game 7. Cardinals - Yankees, two of the most storied franchises in history, it had it all!! Have you put that ball under a UV light to see if you can make everything out, might tell you more. But just to imagine who hit it, who caught it, who pitched it, just awesome to think about!

Also, what is cool about your ball is that was Gehrig's 1st Road WS Game. So just thinking of Lou and boys on the train to St Louis, and him stepping on to his first NL Park (Sportmans) running out to first base. Love game used balls!

[Bpm0014]

“Used by Cleveland and New York 6-12-20”. What is cool is that this was Ruth’s first year as a Yankee. Went 0-3 with a run scored and committed an error in the field. Also, Ray Chapman had 2 hits and Tris Speaker had a hit and an RBI as well. A couple of months later Chapman would die on the field. Pretty neat to think that Ruth and Speaker and Chapman all held this ball.

[Lordstan]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Sold to THEE Biggest Gehrig Collector on NET54





........and I want it back some day.





One of the few I regret selling, but I do like it's in a much appreciated home.

Hey that is really nice Gehrig Ball. Unfortunately, it won't be returning to you anytime soon.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by Lordstan

Hey that is really nice Gehrig Ball. Unfortunately, it won't be returning to you anytime soon.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Haha! Damn you. Sadly I know.

Hoping to one day find an item Gehrig owned, like nose-hair clippers or something then tempt you with a trade?

Guessing you wouldn't take a Terry Bradshaw wax head in trade.

No? Dammit.

[Lordstan]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Haha! Damn you. Sadly I know.



Hoping to one day find an item Gehrig owned, like nose-hair clippers or something then tempt you with a trade?



Guessing you wouldn't take a Terry Bradshaw wax head in trade.



No? Dammit.

That head is a bit creepy.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Vit-d]

upload


Not vintage necessarily, but these are my babies.

On the left is a Game used ball from Game 5 of the 2010 World Series. As a Giants fan, a ball from the game where they won their first World Series in San Francisco is a holy grail type item.

The ball on the right is a ball from the SF Giants vs Dodgers game on the last day of the 2016 season. It is the ball that was hit for the last run and RBI in Vin Scully’s broadcasting career.

[Billyscards]

Ruth, Gehrig, and O'Doule Signed Barnstorming ball with inscription "Hit into our back yard, Oct. 23, 1927" - 1927 OAL Baseball with faded signatures. The notation falls under Ruth's signature and research showed two games with some HR competitions that day in CA.

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

How's that for a match-up of managers?!!!

2 HOFers going head to head. After looking into I never knew Walter Johnson was such a good manager, and mind you he had some pretty tough Yankee & Athletics teams to compete against, and he still put up a nice 529 Wins vs 432 Losses over 7 years as a manager. And while it pales to Connie Mack's 53 YEARS AS A MANAGER!!!!!! - that is just insane! 3731 Wins 3948 Losses, Johnson actually had a better win percentage : )

And he beat him on this August day in 1933:

Cleveland Indians 15
Philadelphia Athletic 4

Game used ball in which Cleveland HOFer Earl Averill (CF) hit for the CYCLE!!! Was this ball one of his hits? Could very well be, pretty neat.

Other HOFers in the game who may have hit, caught or tossed this ball were Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Cochrane.

The ball is a beauty with the somewhat rarer red and blue seams with the Presidential Stamping of William Harridge because they went to all Red stitching in 1934.

It comes is from the personal collection of pitcher Monte Pearson. Pearson was the winning pitcher in that game and inscribed the ball as seen.

The ball was given to a baseball coach in Madera, CA by Pearson's son. It is all explained in the LOA included.

Sold in the BST

Oh wow! Just came across this thread. I have the lineup cards from this exact game!

[Topnotchsy]

In 1945, with a large percentage of the best players drafted, the Navy held a best-of-7 All-Star series. Players included Stan Musial, Ted Williams and many other stars.

This baseball was the final pitch of the clinching game. Signed by members of the team including Musial and one of the rarest signatures amongst MLBers of the 40's Wimpy Quinn. Came from the personal collection of catcher Bob Scheffing.

Inscribed: "Last ball pitched in Navy League "National (4) American (3) Oct. 6, 1945

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

Oh wow! Just came across this thread. I have the lineup cards from this exact game!

Unbelievable & very cool!

[GrayGhost]

I have never had a ball anything like these. Fantastic historic pieces!!!

[Shoeless Moe]

Joe, hope you don't mind but I have to post your Greenberg ground rule double here. Another killer ball.

Hank hit this ball into the deep CF bleachers, sounds like on a hop, and into the fan's, who's names are listed on the ball, hands.

This also was his first HR game of his first MVP season, in which the Tigers won their first WS Title.

[Shoeless Moe]

So found this one and sent it to Goldin in case any one is interested, bidding currently is waaaaaaay low, in my opinion, thought it would get to 2K easily, we'll see, go get yourself a steal and a historic ball if it stays this crazy low:

https://goldinauctions.com/1920_New_...-LOT66310.aspx

So what appears to be just a ground rule double off the bat of John "Shano" Collins of the White Sox in a Sept 18, 1920 game, so what's so significant about that?.....

Well.....

On September 18, 1920 in a highly anticipated match-up between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, no one there would know this would be last ever meeting of 2 of baseballs greatest titans.

Also, just 8 Games later Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other Black Sox, comprising the “8 Men Out”, would never play another game, as they were suspended from playing baseball for their alleged role in the 1919 World Series.

Babe Ruth, who in his first year with the Yanks with his new MLB record of 49 Home Runs in a season, strolled into Chicago as the packed house hoped to see Ruth hit the prior unimaginable #50. Little did they know they were witnessing something of even greater significance that day. Ruth & Jackson’s final meeting.

7 of the 8 Black Sox were there that day. Gandil, who they say took the majority of the dirty money, had retired after the 1919 Series so he didn’t play in 1920. With only Lefty Williams on the bench the other 6 all played on this September day with Eddie Cicotte on the mound. Was this ball pitched by Cicotte at some point? Possibly.

The Ball which is marked September 18, although while it may look like 17 to the naked eye, under magnifying glass the tight loop can be seen on the lower half of the 8. The mention of Yankees pitcher Bob McGraw & the John “Shano” Collins Double also confirm it was the 18th as that was the only game in the 3 game series Collins hit a double of McGraw. Of note Shoeless Joe Jackson was intentionally walked prior to Collins double so it’s quite possible this was the very ball pitched to Shoeless. The ball definitely then hit by Collins, most likely a ground rule double, as that would explain the balls notation and make sense that’s how this lucky fan obtained the ball, thus Shoeless Joe was driven in with this very ball.

The White Sox would go on to handily defeat the Yankees 15-9. Ruth would go 1 for 4 with a walk, and the fans did not get to see him hit #50 on that day. But again what they saw was of even greater note, as Ruth and Jackson would never meet again on the same ball field. The 8 men out would only play 8 more games and then they were gone from baseball for good! So this ball is quite possibly the latest existing ball from Shoeless Joe Jackson’s career!!!

[sicollector1954]

I have one I recently acquired. Attached are pics that match up to this ball.

[sicollector1954]

I have one I recently acquired....Ball is dated 8/8/24...with the final score and opposing team listed. Looks like everything matches up.

[Shoeless Moe]

I actually owned that Kelly Foul Ball long ago. It's definitely good.

Hit by a HOFer - gotta love that.

High Pockets!!

Also like that it's from the Polo Grounds.

Just a very neat ball!

[mr2686]

I know every collector is different, and many sell or trade to get something else they want, but man oh man I could never part with any of these balls...they are sooooo cool.

[packs]

One of Mariano's legendary saves:

[Shoeless Moe]

All, in case any of you have any interest. I have this ball currently at Goldin ending this Sunday night:

https://goldinauctions.com/1919_Worl...-LOT73166.aspx

It was a killer find, now hoping it finds a good home.

Would be a centerpiece for any collection and quite the conversation piece.

Game used balls from the 1919 Black Sox World Series rarely come up, 1 at Mile High last year then 1 at Heritage in 2015 (links below) and only another 1 or 2 since 2000.

So if you are on the fence go for it, as who knows when another will come around, and most likely not one signed by a player who played in it and was shoulder to shoulder with Shoeless Joe and the other Black Sox, and Clean Sox.

Mile High one:
https://www.milehighcardco.com/LotDe...entoryid=74286

Heritage one:
https://sports.ha.com/itm/baseball/1...ription-071515


Bidding is still LOW at Goldin, if you want a shot at a historic item!

[Shoeless Moe]

I just listed this one last night on Ebay if anyone is interested.

I still think game used baseballs are about as good as it gets when it comes to Memorabilia. If only the ball could talk.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184959523136

And by talk, I mean Campy only faced Jackson in that game in the top of the 8th

https://www.baseball-reference.com/b...95608220.shtml

The batter prior to his at bat Jackie Robinson grounded into a Fielders Choice, if the damn ball could talk I'd ask it if this also was the ball #42 hit. Quite possibly, fun to imagine.

[Shoeless Moe]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184976485409