Long time lurker, first post.... Can someone identify these old Baseballs??

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Posted By: Rich

Hi all,

I purchased these balls at an auction of abandoned safe deposit items. They are Worth 922-C "Official League" Base Balls. The style and fabric of the box, and the old fashioned english just scream 1910's - 1920's. (For instance the word Base Ball seperated into two words, as the game used to be known).

I can find nothing about these balls. I've tried contacting Worth, but they haven't responded. From their website, Worth started making baseballs in 1920.

Both are in their original boxes. One of the boxes is open, which allowed me to take the photos. The other is sealed. Uploading photos using the insert object box doesn't work for me (file size?). Lets see if these work, from photobucket.

Here are a few pictures:

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Sure are sweet. Wonder what they are and what they're worth?

Any help appreciated!


Rich

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Posted By: Mike H

I would date them to the late 30s or early 40s. Nice items. Should go for $80 to $120 each.

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Posted By: Richard Simon

I hope you are going to be keeping those balls and not putting them up for sale.
Those two balls would be a forgers delight. The forgers who were busted in Operation Bullpen used to scour flea markets to find old baseballs and forge them. I know of other forgers, still operating, who do the same. They also scour ebay looking for stuff like this, blank balls, blank checks, blank hotel stationery, etc.
--

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Rich

Hey, thanks for the input guys. No, I have no desire to sell these balls. In fact, I think they are so neat I may have to start collecting them. There can't be a whole lot of these old baseballs in this condition left on the planet. I think I made a good purchase. I was the winning bidder for the lot at $40.

Just another question though, and a few more pictures. I know very little about dating old baseballs, so I was just going by my own experience as a history buff and collector of old junk. I based by 1920's date strictly on the box style and fabric. I found three pictures of other similar old Balls online that helped me make that determination.

If they are 30's - 40's, what was the tip-off? Charactoristics of the ball itself? For educational purposes, maybe somone can look at these photos and the balls, and tell me what they think:


* First is a ball touted to be a "Worth" baseball from the late 1930's - early 1940's. The ball itself is somewhat similar, but the box art style and verbage seems much more 1930-ish than mine. Also, worth balls I've seen from this period seem to have a 2 didget model # (like "90").

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* Second is a "Worth" baseball purported to be from the 1910's - 1920's. It has a similar tape seal but different style box art. The ball itself has red/blue stitching. One thing that stood out for me was the model number ... 912-C. (This is pretty close to 922-C). This ball has printed on it "Guaranteed 27 Innings".)

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* The THIRD one really struck me. It's a ball purportedly from the 1910's produced by "Howard Brand Sporting Goods". While the ball, aside from the trademark, is similar to the older Worth baseball pictured above (red/blue stiching...and down to the "Guaranteed for 27 Innings")...the BOX itself; while a different color; is the same style, and the SAME verbage...word for word, line for line...as my Worth balls!


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I do note that while mine don't have the "Guaranteed 27 Innings" language, that language does appear on my boxes which show the exploded view of the construction of the ball.

Looks to me like Worth may have merged with Howard sometime around 1920. Maybe that's how Worth got into the business of making baseballs? Who kows. Maybe the answers can only be provided by someone at Worth who has access to old records and can say when the model 922-C was produced.

I find this facinating! It seems like the ball looks more 30's-ish, while the box is definately more 10's-20's era. Strange. Feel free to comment.


Rich

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Posted By: davidcycleback

For anyone interested in collecting baseballs,

You might wish to buy a copy of 'Vintage Base Balls' at the below site. It's a short, 25 pages magazine-style publication that gives a good history and concise guide to baseballs, listing all the companies, styles, etc 1800s-modern. It even has a chart showing rarity and pricing.

http://glovecollector.com/publications.html

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Posted By: Mike H

First of all, congrats on an outstanding pick up. You stole them at that price. David gave you good advice regarding the ball guide from Bushing and Joe Phillips. It doesn't get into "non-pro" balls really, but it is interesting. The value of store model balls is driven solely by the graphics on the boxes and age. One tip off on the age of your balls is that most official league balls (not all) prior to 1934 had multi color stitching. Worth began producing baseballs in 1920. The price of balls in general and balls in the box have gone crazy in the past two years for some reason. I love em, but it is tough to find good deals on ebay. I would like to know why someone would have put them in the bank. Sure they are uncommon...but. Here is one of my favorites from my collection. Anyone think that looks like Little Poison Waner? Good luck!

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Posted By: Richard Simon

I am a little confused about the posts regarding the guide to baseballs from Bushing.
David said the book covers all baseballs and Mike said it does not cover non pro baseballs.
Can you guys clarify this?
Thanks.

--

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Mike H

It does give info on the evolution of balls, shows photos of some non-pro balls, and there is a section on the history of manufacturers. However, there is no pricing for non-pro balls or boxes and very little dating information for specific models of store models. It lists values for lemon peels, belt balls, and very detailed info on major league balls. This is/was the first effort, and like the glove guides, will hopefully evolve over time and become more comprehensive.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

It's a nice guide for beginners, not a twenty pound encyclopedia. Bleep out every time I used the word "all," replace with different word of your choosing.