This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/2/2021
There are hundreds of baseball players enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and a select few have reached immortality for contributions that transcended the sport, like Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, and Roberto Clemente. And then there's George Herman "Babe" Ruth. Babe Ruth wasn't just famous; he was a cult of personality beyond any American that has ever lived! At a time when the industrial age was propelling the nation to the forefront as a global superpower, it was not a politician nor captain of industry that personified American exceptionalism, but a baseball player with an childhood so troubled as to be labeled "incorrigible" by the parents who sent him to an orphanage out of an inability to control him. What better personifies America as the land of opportunity? Even with all of Babe Ruth's personal improprieties, he is remembered as a charitable man who never lost the mutual appreciation he had for his adoring fans. While the presented Babe Ruth Special baseball, brand new to the hobby, is just one of many that "The Bambino" had signed over the years, it is the finest example that we've ever encountered. It's almost as if the ball was handed to the Babe, challenging him to make it the single most flawless example possible. Now we're pretty sure that Ruth didn't whip out a ruler to measure the perfect starting and endpoint, both top to bottom as well as left to right between the stitches on the sweet-spot, but judging by the result, we can't dismiss it either. In addition to the impeccable placement of the signature, there's the delivery of the fine black ink, flowing gracefully from the "B" in Babe to the "h" in Ruth, his trademark looping "R" virtually grabbing you by the shirt so that you can properly offer your admiration for its magnificence. The multi-color stitched Spalding ball shows just a modicum of toning, giving the overall presentation an added distinction commensurate with its age and overwhelming importance. Included with the ball is the original Babe Ruth Special box. Quite simply, if you've always wanted a single-signed Babe Ruth ball, this is the one to have. Full LOA from JSA with a NM/MT 8 grade.