Lou Gehrig ball on Ebay

[CMIZ5290]

David- Do you mean to tell me that you're not sure of this autograph? Come on, I don't buy that at all. You know the hobby. Why are people hiding from this guy and James Spence's bullshit? Even if you didn't know Foxx's sig, look at the boldness of the ink of the signatures. It looks like it was signed yesterday with a black sharpie. Also, Jimmy, not Jimmie? The members on this board need to know when they can get constructive help pertaining the hobby...

[David Atkatz]

What do you want me to say? I don't like it. At all. But I don't know Foxx. (I like to think that when I offer my opinion, it's an educated opinion. I'm not educated about Foxx.)

You think I'm "protecting" JSA and PSA? Then you don't know me at all. I've been against TPAs from the get go. And I find their "expertise" laughable.

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

What do you want me to say? I don't like it. At all. But I don't know Foxx. (I like to think that when I offer my opinion, it's an educated opinion. I'm not educated about Foxx.)

You think I'm "protecting" JSA and PSA? Then you don't know me at all. I've been against TPAs from the get go. And I find their "expertise" laughable.

David... No, I didn't mean you at all. But whoever this seller is has some super strong connections, or so it would seem. I was only hoping that more people would come forward and speak up about some of these bullshit autographs..

[btcarfagno]

I'm not sure how the Foxx ball dates to the 1920's. Bob Johnson's career didn't start until 1933. Assuming this was signed while they were teammates, it would date to 1933-1935.

Tom C

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by btcarfagno

I'm not sure how the Foxx ball dates to the 1920's. Bob Johnson's career didn't start until 1933. Assuming this was signed while they were teammates, it would date to 1933-1935.

Tom C

Thanks Tom, you are exactly right..

[btcarfagno]

Originally Posted by CMIZ5290

Thanks Tom, you are exactly right..

I have seen a few Foxx signatures where he curved the end of the "e" in a downward fashion where there is some slight similarity with a "y", but this to me is clearly a "y".

No way I would touch this ball with a ten foot pole.

Tom C

[CMIZ5290]

I guess this thread will just die but I hope it at least raises people's awareness to this. These autographs are just ridiculous but I guess he'll just keep laughing all the way to the bank... I still want to know, HOW AND WHY did these get COA's???

[Runscott]

I'm only chiming in because a board member asked me about this, and because this is exactly the kind of thread that I think we need to see more of in this sub-forum - we're talking about vintage autographs and we've got people participating who have expertise.

...but I'm not one of them But I can say that a very similar situation came up for me when I was looking for a Gehrig autograph. I asked David A about it, thinking it was an absurdly ugly Gehrig, and David educated me on the fact that Gehrig's autographs changed over time and that there were idiosyncrasies with Gehrig's autograph within a time period as well, depending on various factors. I had complete faith in David's assessment at that time, and no reason to change my thinking now.

So, with Gehrig there are some ugly ones that are real. On the other hand, there are plenty of Gehrig autographs out there that are obviously real - beautiful signatures in ink - so there's no reason to consider one that you aren't very confident in.

I never did buy a Gehrig, because I never felt personally confident enough in my own ability to authenticate them. I still feel that when it comes to high-end autographs, if you aren't willing to do the research and learn enough to feel more confident in your own opinion than in JSA's or PSA's, then you should keep your money in your pocket.

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by Runscott

I'm only chiming in because a board member asked me about this, and because this is exactly the kind of thread that I think we need to see more of in this sub-forum - we're talking about vintage autographs and we've got people participating who have expertise.

...but I'm not one of them But I can say that a very similar situation came up for me when I was looking for a Gehrig autograph. I asked David A about it, thinking it was an absurdly ugly Gehrig, and David educated me on the fact that Gehrig's autographs changed over time and that there were idiosyncrasies with Gehrig's autograph within a time period as well, depending on various factors. I had complete faith in David's assessment at that time, and no reason to change my thinking now.

So, with Gehrig there are some ugly ones that are real. On the other hand, there are plenty of Gehrig autographs out there that are obviously real - beautiful signatures in ink - so there's no reason to consider one that you aren't very confident in.

I never did buy a Gehrig, because I never felt personally confident enough in my own ability to authenticate them. I still feel that when it comes to high-end autographs, if you aren't willing to do the research and learn enough to feel more confident in your own opinion than in JSA's or PSA's, then you should keep your money in your pocket.

Scott- Great input, thanks for your opinion and experience...

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by CMIZ5290

Scott- Great input, thanks for your opinion and experience...

Thanks Kevin - there is also some contextual research you can do on the Gehrig ball. You've got autographs of Combs, McCarthy, etc., that you can compare to exemplars. If the others are real, you would expect the sweet spot autograph to be real;i.e-why would a ball be filled up with real autographs, and have the sweet spot left empty (a forger taking advantage of the situation years later to add a Gehrig)?