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Babe Ruth

LiveAuctioneers bidder grabs Babe Ruth baseball for $20,570

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Legendary New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth signed this baseball in 1947, the year before he died. Authenticated by leading authentication services, the ball sold for $20,570 to a LiveAuctioneers bidder. Austin Auction Gallery image.
Legendary New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth signed this baseball in 1947, the year before he died. Authenticated by leading authentication services, the ball sold for $20,570 to a LiveAuctioneers bidder. Austin Auction Gallery image.

 

AUSTIN, Texas – A baseball signed by Babe Ruth sold for $20,570 to a bidder utilizing the LiveAuctioneers.com Internet bidding platform. Austin Auction Gallery featured the baseball in an estates auction Sept. 25.

The “Official League” baseball carried a winning provenance. Ruth surprised a young fan with the signed baseball during a chance meeting in Dallas, Texas, on July 9, 1947. Although stricken with cancer, the Yankees Hall of Famer signed the ball boldly with his distinctive signature.

A year later the boy took the baseball to a local sports center where he obtained the autograph of another Hall of Fame player, Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians. The owner treasured the baseball signed by his boyhood heroes for 69 years before consigning it to Austin Auction Gallery.

Bidding started at $15,000. The ball was estimated at $18,000-$25,000. The price realized includes the buyer’s premium.

 

Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.