Ruth and Gehrig signed ball headlined in August Co

A red-stitched vintage baseball bearing the signatures of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig sold for $4,300 and was the top item – of 3,568 offered – in the August Coach’s Corner Sports & Celebrity Auction. It was an auction featuring many significant signed baseballs and it resulted in some impressive sales figures.

The ball was a red-stitched vintage VG condition baseball signed “To My Pal Sincerely” in black fountain pen on the sweet spot by Babe Ruth and on the side panel, also in black ink, by Lou Gehrig. Someone had written “1938” and “Ball was given out at a Sportswriter Dinner” on the sweet spot. Other Ruth items included a signed cut ($525) and a display, including a cut signature ($399).

Right behind the Ruth-Gehrig ball was a Cy Young signed Reach “League Baseball” that brought $3,750. A dozen signed Joe DiMaggio ScoreBoard baseballs sold for $3,510 and following that was a Grover Cleveland Alexander “Youth League” signed baseball that brought a winning bid of $2,292.

Other significant signed baseballs include a Wilson “Jewish Hall of Famer” ball signed by Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax that sold for $1,800, a Rawlings ball signed by Negro League superstar and Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo that brought $1,848, a Ty Cobb signed DeBeer & Son ball that went for $1,654, a red-laced Wilson Little League ball signed by Zach Wheat that sold for $840, a Thurman Munson single-signed Yankees baseball going for $1,750, a 1960s official League ball signed by Lefty Grove changing hands for $831, a Gabby Hartnett signed Wilson ball ($726), a Hank Greenberg signed Wilson ball ($895), a Charles “Kid” Nichols ball ($1,312), a Don Drysdale-Sandy Koufax Dodgers ball ($262), a Ted Williams-Mickey Mantle signed NL ball ($486), a Triple Crown Winners ball – Williams, Mantle, Yaz and Frank Robinson ($702), and a Goose Goslin signed Spalding ball ($1,158).
Also a Ray Schalk Wilson ball ($838), a Hank Greenberg signed AAU ball ($472), a Bob Gibson official MLB ball ($390), a Joe McCarthy signed AL ball ($482), a Rube Marquard signed Wilson ball ($586), a Roger Maris signed Spalding ball ($905), a Mark McGwire signed Official Major League ball ($160), a Mickey Mantle signed stats ball ($1,405), a ball signed by both Mantle and Roger Maris ($1,000), a Roberto Clemente signed Sonnett ball ($945), a 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers team-signed ball ($893) and a 1957 Dodgers team-signed ball ($1,282).

A Shaquille O’Neal jersey worn during the 1997-98 season sold for $1,710 and a Satchel Paige game-used and autographed bat sold for $937.

Other signed bats included an autographed Mark McGwire Steiner certified limited-edition stick commemorating his 182nd career home run ($315), a 500 Home Run Club signed ScoreBoard bat ($342), a Mickey Mantle signed Rawlings bat ($805) and a Cooperstown Bat Co. commemorative bat with more than 20 Hall of Famer signatures ($638).

Other signed equipment included a Lance Armstrong signed bicycle uniform ($971), a Barry Bonds All-Star jersey ($400), a Simpson Authentic racing helmet signed by more than 50 racers and others ($474), a Joe DiMaggio signed Mitchell & Ness Yankees jersey ($797), a Tiger Woods signed Master’s flag ($436), a Woods-signed Nike golf ball ($325), a Dream Team I signed USA jersey ($303), a pair of Michael Jordan signed Nike “Air Jordan” sneakers ($701), a Jordan-signed basketball ($223), a Ted Williams signed Mitchell & Ness Red Sox jersey ($542), a St. Louis Cardinals cap signed by five Hall of Famers ($348), and a vintage red jersey, trimmed in white, with 40 baseball Hall of Fame signatures ($887).

Also, a Joe DiMaggio Yankees Gartlan statue ($1,475), a signed cut of Hall of Famer Josh Gibson ($442), a signed 1931 Brooklyn Dodgers scorecard loaded with Hall of Famer signatures ($246), and a Cap Anson signed 1906 document from the time he was Chicago’s city clerk ($1,158).

Signed photos and lithos included a 500 Home Run Club autographed Ron Lewis poster ($791), a Mickey Mantle signed 16-by-20 photo ($139), five Mantle signed “stats” photos ($200), a USA Dream Team 16-by-20 signed photo ($375), a Roberto Clemente signed black-and-white stadium giveaway poster ($232), a Muhammad Ali signed 16-by-20 Liston fight photo ($208), a 1975 era photo of the champ in training ($131) and an Ali-Frazier fight photo signed by both ($158).

Sports card items included a John McGraw T206 slabbed and graded (9.5 mint) Sweet Caporal card ($478), a complete 1963 Topps Football card set ($359), a 1969 Larry Csonka graded (10) rookie card ($141), a complete 1972 Topps Football set ($663), 1982 Topps regular and Traded baseball card sets ($232), a 1993 Derek Jeter rookie card graded a pristine 10 ($194), a 1975 Topps George Brett rookie card graded gem mint 10 ($183), a 1955 Topps Ted Williams card graded at a mint 9 ($400) and a LeBron James 2003 SI for Kids card graded gem mint 10 ($158).

The Beatles were hot again with their signed record album “Something New” signed on the cover bringing $1,448. A John Lennon display item, including an album and signature, went for $1,050. An Elvis Presley signed and framed photo brought $1,149 and a signed 1960s Presley LP went for $176. Also from the world of show business was a signed Frank Sinatra 8-by-10 ($320), a Bruce Springsteen signed guitar and ($797), an Aerosmith signed guitar ($431), a Rolling Stones signed guitar ($675), a 16-by-22 framed and a signed picture of Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack outside the Sands Casino in Las Vegas ($446).

A John F. Kennedy signed and certified 1961 hard-backed book sold for $1,575. Other presidential items included signed baseballs by George W. Bush ($389) and Richard M. Nixon ($491).

Bids are always accepted online at www.myccsa.com, by phone at (215) 721-9162, or by mail prior to the auction date.