Babe Ruth Single Signed w/ Complete History

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Posted By: Jamie B

Recently I was able to snag a single signed Babe Ruth BB from a guy out in California. The Ball is dated "5-7-48" and has the enscription "enterprise studios". The ball belonged to this guys his father who attained it in the 1950's from the original owner who worked at Enteprise Studios also in California. I was told that Babe was out there for the making of the "babe ruth story" in 1948 and found this article to back it up..

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/babe-ruth43.htm
It quotes:
"Babe went to Florida for spring training in 1948 and met with Joe McCarthy, Ted Williams, and others, but he looked worse than ever. He said he felt 90 years old on his 53rd birthday; he was soon back in New York. His next major trip was to Hollywood, where he was billed as the technical advisor for the film version of The Babe Ruth Story, which was then being rushed through production to beat the inevitable."

Pretty cool that this ball was signed 3 months before he died and that I have all the accurate history that puts Babe out in California during spring of 1948 for the making of his movie...
Whats a ball like this worth.. any ideas?

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

I'll give this one a shot...

I think most major auction houses would grade this autograph about a "4 - 5". It is a bit hard to tell whether the light areas are scuffs or glare from the camera. I am assuming they are scuffs.

I think this ball would currently realize $4,000 - $4,800 at auction. The Enterprise Studios inscription/date is neat, and may add value for selected collectors. But conversely, a majority of people would simply prefer a clean ball, featuring only the Babe's signature.

I believe this is accurate, and hope it helps!

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Posted By: Jamie B

Thanks for the feedback!!

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

The market value of low-grade Ruth pieces has ebbed as of late. If you are having thoughts of selling it, I would advise holding on to it for a little while until prices climb back up to the level they experienced a few years ago.