By the late 1940s, signed Babe Ruth baseballs were everywhere. The Babe was one of sports’ most generous signers and when he died in 1948, there’s little doubt he had signed thousands, possibly tens of thousands of autographs, many of which wound up on baseballs.
If you are a baseball fanatic – and even if you’re not, it is common knowledge that Babe Ruth is widely considered the best baseball player of all time. Sure you can argue certain points, but when it comes down to it he still remains the most popular name in baseball history.
At first thought on may think that a baseball signed by the Babe would be a hard item to come by. Truth be told, it is easier than you may think to find a signed babe Ruth baseball. There are probably a couple of different reasons for this.
1) Ruth was immensely popular from the moment he started playing up to present day. He was known to stop in the middle of whatever he was doing just to sign baseballs. While there are not thousands left, there is still a good number of them available.
2) Getting an autograph was different back then. Ruth was willing to give autographs anywhere and everywhere. Many of today’s athletes are not nearly as approachable.
Despite the fact that signed Ruth baseballs are not that hard to come by, they remain one of the most popular – if not the most popular, collectors item around. Serious collectors are willing to go to great lengths to find one and pay huge amounts to purchase a high quality signed Babe Ruth baseball.
Make no mistake; if you are in the market for a baseball signed by Babe Ruth, then you are probably going to pay a pretty penny for it. There are also many team-signed baseballs from the Ruth era that will run you quite a bit of money as well.
The 1927 Yankees – or “Murderers’ Row,” as they were named are widely considered the best baseball team ever. If you got your hands on a baseball singed by the entire team, you would be holding something that would be nearly priceless in many collectors eyes. Ruth and Lou Gehrig along with the other Hall of Famers on the team by which all others are measured, make it a fantastic item.
How much should you pay for a signed Babe Ruth baseball? It depends on several factors including condition, the quality of the ball, readability of the signature and, of course, provenance/authenticity. Some authentic Ruth signed balls sell for around $3000. One or two others, stuck in drawers and never touched over the decades, have brought as much as $80,000. A readable, authentic Ruth ball, signed on the sweet spot (narrowest point between the laces) generally runs about $6-10,000. Beyond authenticity, condition is everything.
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A friend of mine has a 1934 autograph baseball by Babe Ruthwith with paper of authenticity. He would like to know what’s the value of it.
Value of Ruth balls can vary greatly by condition, quality of signature, etc. The certificate of authenticity should come from a respected authenticator such as PSA/DNA or James Spence. Without knowing those factors, it’s impossible to place a value on the ball. If you can provide more info and a picture, we can be of better help.
what would the called shot Babe Ruth Ball be worth?
IF you could prove it, probably close to 7 figures, but proving it would be extremely difficult.
I have a babe ruth ball signed and authenticated by jsa. the signature is almost invisible but it was authenticated. what might be the value?
It’s hard to know without seeing it but with the authentication, I would estimate around $1000-1500.
Hello, I have two Babe Ruth signed baseballs.
1. Autographed to my father: To Bob Cooper Babe Ruth
2. The other, more interesting, has many names on it, maybe 11, though faded.
Shall I try to get it authenticated?
Actually, there might be about 20 names on it. It’s in a plexi box and I can’t touch it to see it.
Yes…that would definitely be a good idea.