This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/21/2006.
The Babe spent his formative years (7-19) at St. Mary's Industrial School For Boys, which was an orphanage and reformatory. Showing an early talent for baseball, he was spotted by Red Sox minor league manager Jack Dunn, who immediately signed him to a contract. The rest, as they say, is history. Referred to by his teammates as "Jack's newest babe," he has been known as "The Babe" ever since. He was equally adept at spending hours and hours with needy children as he was for belting a baseball hundreds of feet over the fence. Though many of his records have since been broken, the most famous being the single season home run record, Ruth is still tops in career walks (2,056), single season walks (170) and single season total bases (457). Such a great player was he that he was among the first five players inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936, along with Cobb, Wagner, Mathewson and Walter Johnson. Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1946, he lived only two more years. This Banner-Peerless Sporting Goods Unofficial OAL baseball has been signed in black fountain pen by Babe Ruth, who also dated it on the side panel "6-12-37." The ball is deeply toned with some very minor scuffing, bearing a gorgeous bold signature that grades a strong 8. Accompanied by a LOA from James Spence Authentication.