Auction Item Details
Lot 142
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Lot Number: 142
Description: Incredibly rare 1915 Miller Huggins single signed baseball. Red and black stitched Spalding ONL baseball has been signed on the side panel in print, "Miller J Huggins" with the date "Sept 26/15" noted in his hand below. Vintage black fountain pen signature rates 8 out of 10. Ball displays moderate even toning with shellac applied over signed panel, and a touch of light scattered wear. Sweetspot has quarter sized remnant of circle shaped adhesive mount resulting from prior display. For the sake of extreme accuracy we mention a small imperfection to the ball surface at the center of signature. In 1915 Huggins was nearing the end of his playing days which had seen an earlier stint with the Cincinnati Reds (1904-1909) and then the St. Louis Cardinals for whom he was both tending second base and serving as manager. His last season of play came in 1917 and in 1918 he shifted allegiances to Jacob Ruppert and the New York Yankees. There he embarked on a fabled run leading Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and the legendary "Murders' Row" teams to an unprecedented string (6) American League Pennants and (3) World Series Championships between 1921 and 1928. Huggins remains one of the most revered managers of all-time and his association with the team, which many consider the greatest ever fielded, has lead to intense desirability of his autograph. To the best of our knowledge we are firm in stating that if this is not the only Huggins single signed baseball which has surfaced it is one of perhaps two or three and mostly certainly the earliest known. That it is "block letter" signed is fitting for the era in which most players were entirely unaccustomed to placing their autograph on a baseball with this practice having been observed many times. An incredible rarity and likely a singular opportunity. Includes auction LOA from JSA: Displays EX/MTEstimated Price Range: ($10,000-$15,000)
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