Hi, long story short, my Japanese grandfather had this ball from a DiMaggio visit to Tokyo. It's been faded by the sun unfortunately, and I picked it out of his stuff when he passed away about 20 years ago. I have no reason to doubt the authenticity, since my grandfather was the owner of what is still one of the most famous restaurants in Tokyo-the restaurant autograph book is to die for, athletes, movie stars, heads of state including US presidents etc etc from the 1930s on (unfortunately not in my possession LOL!).
So I have no idea as to the exact date of this ball. From the internet I gathered that DiMaggio visited Japan in 1950, 51, and 54 (honeymoon). I may have missed some dates, but this is all I could find.
I believe Frank Shaughnessy was the President of the International League from 1936-1960, so that doesn't help narrow things down, but maybe there is something else on the ball that helps?
My aunt has a photo of her sitting on Lefty O'Doul's lap when he came to the restaurant, but no DiMaggio in sight.
Does anyone have any information to help narrow it down? In addition, although it is severely faded, does the fact that he signed it when he was a player add any value to it?
Thanks for any insight
