Circa 1920 Multi-Signed Baseball with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, "Shoeless Joe" Jackson and Ray Chapman....

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A staggering compilation of icons and ultra-rarities!

Circa 1920 Multi-Signed Baseball with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, "Shoeless Joe" Jackson and Ray Chapman.

UPDATE: This is the only baseball of which we are aware that contains the signatures of Ruth, Cobb and Jackson.

If we hadn't seen it with our own eyes, we could have never believed it existed. The provided OAL (Johnson) sphere first appeared on the hobby's auction block as part of the world famous Barry Halper auction in 1999 (Lot #38) and last sold (to the best of our knowledge) in a Mastronet Auction in November 2001. We're so pleased that we now have the opportunity to present this astounding rarity to the hobby's largest global bidding audience.

The experts at PSA/DNA have located twenty-three signatures that range from 1/10 to 8/10 in strength, and we'll begin by listing the Hall of Famers in deference to standard protocol, although the most outrageous signers lack a bronze plaque (although that may soon change for one of them):

Babe Ruth (7/10), Ty Cobb (8/10), Tris Speaker (3/10), George Sisler (2/10), Eddie Collins (1/10), Walter Johnson (1/10). These last two are effectively just the imprints of the fountain pen, having shed the ink itself.

We can be certain that the ball dates to no later than 1920 due to the profoundly rare autographs of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson (1/10, some ink but mainly imprint, located directly beneath the Ban Johnson stamp) and Ray Chapman (2/10, a bit more ink but largely imprint, third signature beneath "Warranted The Cork Center" stamp). The former, of course, would be driven out of the Majors by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis after the 1920 season for his participation in the throwing of the 1919 World Series. And the latter would be struck in the head by a Carl Mays fastball on August 16, 1920, becoming within hours the first (and still only) Major Leaguer killed on the field of play.

These two signatures alone would produce a strong argument for the identification of this baseball as the most dazzling intersection of early 20th century rarities, with the assortment of inaugural class Hall of Famers providing several exclamation points to the statement. Other discernible signatures include Ken Williams, Steve O'Neill, Doc Johnston and Larry Gardner. Others cannot be identified. Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Full LOA from Beckett Authentication Services.