LOT #81069 |
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1934 All-American Baseball Team Signed Tour of Japan Baseball....
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Sold on Mar 1, 2026 for:
$8,235.00
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Description
1934 All-American Baseball Team Signed Tour of Japan Baseball. In 1934, the United States was in the midst of its Great Depression, which sparked a global financial crises, and the world inched closer to a world war with the rise of Hitler in Germany and the growing presence of Japanese imperialism in the Pacific. When a band of the best American major league baseball players traveled to Japan that year for a series of exhibitions games, more was at stake than just sport. Politicians on both side hoped that the their two nations shared love for the game of baseball could help quell some of the political tension that had built up between them as the United States and the Japanese Empire vied a foothold in China and naval supremacy in the Pacific theatre.Reports say that 500,000 people lined the streets of Ginza to welcome the Babe and the American baseball stars, with rows of Japanese fans as many as twenty deep. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig rode together and led the parade in an open limousine. People were hanging out of windows throwing confetti and the crowds were cheering for the players and screaming "Bonzai Babe Ruth!" The Bambino reciprocated by waving both American and Japanese flags, one in each hand.
The other members of the team included other bona fide baseball giants of the twentieth century: Boston's Beast, Jimmie Foxx; Detroit's Charlie Gehringer, the Mechanical Man; Lefty O'Doul, a two-time batting champion who was instrumental in growing the sport of baseball in Japan. (In fact, it was O'Doul who named Japan's most famous team, the Tokyo Giants, after his beloved New York Giants with whom he won a World Series title); Lefty Gomez, who won two pitching triple crowns and five World Series with the Yankees; and Connie Mack, the game's most celebrated and respected manager, who was there for every baseball season of the first half-century.
On offer here is a spectacular signed baseball from that iconic tour and a bridge between baseball and world history. This Mizuno Official University League sphere is graced by sixteen members of that historic All-American Baseball Team squad, including Babe Ruth and Connie Mack sharing the sweet spot and Lou Gehrig on a side panel, directly adjacent to Ruth. Others include Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Gomez, Earl Averill, Moe Berg, Earl Whitehill, Bing Miller, Joe Cascarella, Rabbit Warstler, Eric McNair, Frank Hayes, Doc Ebbing (trainer) and one other. The ball has aged to a grayish tone and the league stamping remains bold. Meanwhile, the green ink autographs vary in strength and all are decipherable except for one. Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Full LOA from Beckett Authentication Services.
Auction Info
2026 February 28 - March 1 Winter Platinum Night Sports Catalog Auction #50083 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
Feb-Mar, 2026
28th-1st
Saturday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 34
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 833
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
22% of the successful bid per lot.
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