Early 1930's Jimmie Foxx Single Signed Baseball....

Click the image to load the highest resolution version.

Sold on Jul 31, 2014 for:

Sign-in or Join (free & quick)

Get one of these:

Share this lot

Track Item Printable Auction Results

Sell One of These

Description

Auction Info

Guides & Info

Description

Forgotten for eight decades in an old family trunk!

Early 1930's Jimmie Foxx Single Signed Baseball. "He has muscles in his hair," Yankees Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez once said of the prolific slugger who made the 500 Home Run Club a duo during the final week of the 1940 season, joining the Babe in long ball immortality. One of the most feared right-handed hitters in baseball history, Foxx was a key force in breaking the 1920's Yankees' stranglehold on the American League, supplying Philadelphia with three pennants and two World Championships during Connie Mack's second great Athletics dynasty.

Only Mel Ott presents a greater challenge to collectors aiming for a complete run of 500 Home Run Club single signed baseballs, and few other Foxx specimens can compete with this representation. Consult our imagery to confirm this bold claim of superiority. This Foxx single is nearly untouched by the hands of time, only handled by those of the 1951 Hall of Fame inductee whose black fountain pen autograph commands the sweet spot with 9+/10 perfection. The medium is a "Special League" baseball manufactured by "Pennant."

The ball was recently discovered in an ancient trunk owned by our consignor's grandfather, who was the town doctor of Ocean City, New Jersey in the 1920's and 1930's, a coastal tourist destination sixty-five miles from Shibe Park, where Double-X powered the Mack Men to dominance in the earliest days of the Great Depression. The ball's remarkable condition speaks to a long sequestration from the harmful effects of light and handling.

If the past decade of auction results has taught us anything, it's the strength of the market at its upper edge. While values of mid-grade material has thankfully enjoyed a slow and steady upward trend, the cream of the crop has seen a far steeper ascent, with no end in sight. At the current trajectory, Foxx singles such as this will be flipping that sixth digit on the pricing odometer by the close of the decade, so smart investors take note. Full LOA from James Spence Authentication. Letter of provenance from consignor.