Auction Item Details
Lot 825
LOADING IMAGES
Lot Number: 825
Description: Babe Ruth autographed baseball attributed to his 701st Home Run. On July 14, 1934 Cornelia Gaines travelled to work at Detroit's Navin Field at Michigan and Trumbull. Gaines was employed as the head of concessions at the Tigers home stadium. The previous game on July 13th between the Yankees and Tigers had drawn national interest as Babe Ruth belted his historic 700th career home run. Cornelia Gaines had been working during that historic game as well and bore witness to Babe Ruth himself seeking out the individual who caught the record baseball. As reported by the "Detroit News" newspaper in the period, Ruth shouted to Yankees third base coach Art Fletcher , "Get that ball Art. I gotta get that ball !" as he rounded the bases after hitting the home run. Subsequently, Ruth happily paid young Lennie Beals $20 for the treasured baseball which he had retrieved after sailing over the right field fence of Navin Field onto Trumbull Ave. Ruth was later pictured with Beals after the game and remarked, "I didn't want to lose my 700th ball." The following day the Yankees battled the Tigers once again in competition for the AL pennant with the Detroit club outlasting the Yanks by a final score of 12 to 11. In the top of the fourth inning Babe Ruth hit his 701st home run off of Tigers pitcher Elden Auker. As recalled by Auker he tried to come inside on Ruth+s hands and missed allowing the Babe to blast the ball into the stands for #701. According to family history as recounted by Cornelia Gaines she sought out a young man who had retrieved the home run ball and, in similar fashion as Babe Ruth had done just one day earlier, presented the young man with $20 in exchange for the baseball to which he obliged. After the game Ms. Gaines was escorted by the groundskeeper to the locker room to meet Babe Ruth where he autographed the aforementioned baseball. The ball itself is William Harridge American League ball having blue stampings on the sweet spot of a red stitched ball appropriate in relevance to the 1934 dating of the home run. Ball exhibits evident game use inclusive of surface soiling and at least two areas of visible impact. Signed in blue fountain pen by Ruth on a side panel rating 7 out of 10 with signature style consistent to other exemplars of the mid 1930s era. Also included with the Ruth signed baseball are several Detroit Tigers signed pieces from the Gaines family collection to include: 1934 carved wooden Tiger having been signed with player names on the reverse by a clubhouse employee in the period along with (1) vintage Detroit Tigers signed baseball dating to the 1934 team and (1) vintage c.1930s-1940s signed baseball with Tigers players and others. Several period articles with relation to Ruth+s home run #s 700 and 701 are also included as well as a copy of a photograph taken in 1946 of Cornelia (Gaines) Wilson holding her grandson Robert J. Koffron, Jr. whose family the ball has descended within. While impossible to fully corroborate the precise history or attribution of the offered baseball we are confident to report its uninterrupted residence within the family of Cornelia Gaines until its current offering. Upon consideration of the substantive supportive materials included with the baseball in addition to the irrefutable facets of the piece (ball dating, signature authenticity, and presence of Ms. Gaines at Navin Field as an employee of the Tigers) the veracity of the attribution is extremely compelling. Offerings of sourced Babe Ruth home baseballs at the 600 or 700 career total number level are exceedingly scarce with only a handful to have entered the marketplace inclusive of Ruth's 702nd Home Run ball which we offered at auction in 2010. Very fine piece which is being offered publicly for the first time. Includes auction LOA from JSA (signature/ball dating) and notarized letter from Cornelia Gaines: Ball: VG-EX, Signature: EX-EX/MTBabe Ruth autographed baseball attributed to his 701st Home Run. On July 14, 1934 Cornelia Gaines travelled to work at Detroit's Navin Field at Michigan and Trumbull. Gaines was employed as the head of concessions at the Tigers home stadium. The previous game on July 13th between the Yankees and Tigers had drawn national interest as Babe Ruth belted his historic 700th career home run. Cornelia Gaines had been working during that historic game as well and bore witness to Babe Ruth himself seeking out the individual who caught the record baseball. As reported by the "Detroit News" newspaper in the period, Ruth shouted to Yankees third base coach Art Fletcher , "Get that ball Art. I gotta get that ball !" as he rounded the bases after hitting the home run. Subsequently, Ruth happily paid young Lennie Beals $20 for the treasured baseball which he had retrieved after sailing over the right field fence of Navin Field onto Trumbull Ave. Ruth was later pictured with Beals after the game and remarked, "I didn't want to lose my 700th ball." The following day the Yankees battled the Tigers once again in competition for the AL pennant with the Detroit club outlasting the Yanks by a final score of 12 to 11. In the top of the fourth inning Babe Ruth hit his 701st home run off of Tigers pitcher Elden Auker. As recalled by Auker he tried to come inside on Ruth+s hands and missed allowing the Babe to blast the ball into the stands for #701. According to family history as recounted by Cornelia Gaines she sought out a young man who had retrieved the home run ball and, in similar fashion as Babe Ruth had done just one day earlier, presented the young man with $20 in exchange for the baseball to which he obliged. After the game Ms. Gaines was escorted by the groundskeeper to the locker room to meet Babe Ruth where he autographed the aforementioned baseball. The ball itself is William Harridge American League ball having blue stampings on the sweet spot of a red stitched ball appropriate in relevance to the 1934 dating of the home run. Ball exhibits evident game use inclusive of surface soiling and at least two areas of visible impact. Signed in blue fountain pen by Ruth on a side panel rating 7 out of 10 with signature style consistent to other exemplars of the mid 1930s era. Also included with the Ruth signed baseball are several Detroit Tigers signed pieces from the Gaines family collection to include: 1934 carved wooden Tiger having been signed with player names on the reverse by a clubhouse employee in the period along with (1) vintage Detroit Tigers signed baseball dating to the 1934 team and (1) vintage c.1930s-1940s signed baseball with Tigers players and others. Several period articles with relation to Ruth+s home run #s 700 and 701 are also included as well as a copy of a photograph taken in 1946 of Cornelia (Gaines) Wilson holding her grandson Robert J. Koffron, Jr. whose family the ball has descended within. While impossible to fully corroborate the precise history or attribution of the offered baseball we are confident to report its uninterrupted residence within the family of Cornelia Gaines until its current offering. Upon consideration of the substantive supportive materials included with the baseball in addition to the irrefutable facets of the piece (ball dating, signature authenticity, and presence of Ms. Gaines at Navin Field as an employee of the Tigers) the veracity of the attribution is extremely compelling. Offerings of sourced Babe Ruth home baseballs at the 600 or 700 career total number level are exceedingly scarce with only a handful to have entered the marketplace inclusive of Ruth's 702nd Home Run ball which we offered at auction in 2010. Very fine piece which is being offered publicly for the first time. Includes auction LOA from JSA (signature/ball dating) and notarized letter from Cornelia Gaines: Ball: VG-EX, Signature: EX-EX/MTEstimated Price Range: ($50,000-$100,000)
Sold for Price: Login or Register