I do not think it is faked. What probably happened is the ball had an oral history that was then memorialized with ink at some point. As long as the ink is underneath the shallack (I have seen older shellacked balls with signatures added on top) I am sure this ball had a really cool story at some point that has been sadly lost to history. Someone then probably wrote the inscription in a way people write on the back of ancestors photographs to identify or remember. I am sure the ball is somehow linked to Sockalexis, just not signed. Too bad, there is only a few known pinbacks and perhaps ten vintage photographs and some real photo postcards of Sockalexis who is one of the greatest stories in baseball history. I think the ball is still significant if even as a loose connection to the ballplayer.
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