This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/4/2020
At 5'11" and 185 lbs. (as listed on his 1934 Diamond Stars card), Jimmie Foxx was not a particularly large man. Oh, but he played like one. He certainly hit like one! Hall of Fame catcher Bill Dickey once said of Foxx, "If I was catching blindfolded, I'd always know when it was (Jimmie) Foxx who connected. He hit the ball harder than anyone else." Making his major league debut before the end of his junior year in high school, Foxx played sparingly as a backup catcher to Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane. Another Hall of Famer at the position, Rick Ferrell, claimed “If it wasn’t for Cochrane, Foxx would have developed into a great catcher. He was the greatest all-around athlete I ever saw play major league baseball." Foxx eventually moved over to first base, though he played every position in the majors in at least one game except for 2nd base and even registered a 1.59 ERA pitching 22 2/3 innings at age 37 for the Phillies in 1945. When his career was done, Foxx he had amassed 534 home runs, second only to the Babe, and left a career batting average of .325. And "The Beast" claimed one accomplishment that had eluded "The Babe"; winning a Triple Crown. Foxx passed at the relatively young age of 59 in 1967, years before the memorabilia boom of the 1970s and 1980s that would have allowed him to attend signings and paid appearances. As a result, pristine single-signed balls like the one feature here are few and far between. Carrying double authentication from PSA/DNA and JSA (PSA/DNA has given the signature a grade of NM/MT 8), the Official National League Spalding (Giles) orb looks like it's right out of the box with a glowing white cover and deeply printed stampings. The greenish-blue ball-point signature of Foxx is absolutely spot on, perfectly centered on the sweet spot and a beautifully bold, consistent stroke from start to finish. A magnificent example that can easily be the focal point of any advanced collection. LOA from PSA/DNA and JSA.