This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/10/2004.
The KOM (Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri) League was a Minor League (Class D) organization that lasted from 1946 through the 1952 season, marking the end of the Minor Leagues' "golden years." One of the players on the Independence, Kansas Yankees (1947-1950) was a young shortstop named Mickey Mantle, who at the time showed only brief glimpses of the stardom to come. With the New York Yankees, of course, Mantle would go on to achieve great celebrity in a Hall of Fame career that made him one of the most beloved Yankees of all time. With 536 home runs, a .298 career batting average, three MVPs and 16 All-Star appearances, his stature is legendary. We offer an extraordinarily rare Rawlings Official KOM League (Dale) baseball that has been signed by 15 members of the 1949 Independence Yankees. Most of the signatures have started to bleed over the years, grading an overall 4-5, but the Mantle and one other are in a different pen and have not bled, grading an 8. In addition to Mantle, his teammates who have signed the ball are: John Cimino, Charlie Weber, Lou Skizas, Steve Kraley, Keith Speck, Ken Bennett, Ken Bennett, Jim Bello, Harry Craft (manager), Jack Whitaker, Bob Mallon, Robert Newbill and a few others. Rare opportunity to obtain a Mantle minor league autograph, comes with a letter from PSA/DNA.