Babe Ruth/Lou Gehrig Dual-Signed OAL Johnson Baseball - PSA/DNA 6 With Full JSA

• Sold For: $22,325
• Year: -
• Auction: 2011 May
• Lot #: 1
• Auction Category: Autographed Baseballs/Flats/Photos

A slugging duo like none before or since, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig coupled to terrorize the opposition with aplomb, yet were polar opposites outside the batter’s box. Graded EX-MT 6 by PSA/DNA, the offered baseball is autographed by each of the fence-clearing pinstripers, with signatures both assessed (“7”) by the esteemed third-party service. The off-white OAL sphere grades (“5”), thus leveling the overall grade to its plateau. Manufactured and signed sometime between 1926 and 1933, at the peak of the “Murderers Row” reign, the sphere showcases vibrant stampings and alternating red-and-blue laces. The placement of the autographs, meanwhile, is consistent with the Ruth-Gehrig saga and public perception of the vaunted pair. The sweet spot serves as the customary canvas for Ruth’s bold penning. Executed in blue-ink steel tip fountain pen, the signature is accented by the familiar quotations around “Babe,” with a minor interruption in the nickname preventing even higher technical assessment. Relegated to a side panel (the west panel, specifically), the unassuming Gehrig has signed in much more modest fashion but, as he did at the plate, with equal potency. While their numbers were frighteningly similar throughout the Yankees’ run of supremacy, Ruth and Gehrig were always referred to (and are to this day) in that order, as Ruth’s unbridled passion for fun and resultant behavior overshadowed the reserved Gehrig. So it mattered not that it was Gehrig, not Ruth, who batted cleanup in those feared Bronx Bomber lineups. At opposite ends of the spectrum as far as personalities are concerned, these Gotham legends comprise arguably the most sought-after pairing in terms of autographed memorabilia. Full photo LOA from JSA (cert/sticker #X01710); PSA/DNA cert/sticker #M08812)