This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/11/2001.
Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg was raised in the Bronx and could have played for the Yankees, but as a first baseman he would have had to sit Lou Gehrig. Instead, Greenberg signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1930 and over the next decade the big and gangly Greenberg used his sweet stroke to ring up heavy duty numbers, including a league-high 36 homers and 170 RBIs in ‘35. In 1937, he recorded 183 RBIs, third-highest total ever, and in ‘38 he challenged Babe Ruth's mark of 60 homers in a season before finishing with 58, tying Jimmie Foxx's then-record for most homers by a righthanded hitter. If not for the four years he lost during World War II, Hammerin' Hank's career numbers would be awesome, yet with 331 home runs and a .303 average he belongs on any list of baseball's all-time sluggers. Greenberg signed this excellent condition OAL MacPhail ball on the sweet spot in black marker, with the signature rating an 8.