Help with a Circa 1928 World Series Autographed Baseball

[piecesofthegame]

Hoping some knowledgeable members here can help shed some light on a recent purchase. I took a bit of a leap purchasing this ball a few days ago from eBay. It was listed as a 1926 Game Used World Series baseball with multiple autographs from the two teams (Yankees and Cardinals). Interestingly, the ball includes Boxing legend and HOFer Jim Corbett. I did a little research on some of the players and based on their time with the Cardinals came to the conclusion it’s actually a 1928 ball (the Yanks and Cards had a rematch in ‘28). The PSA/DNA letter seen below lists all the HOFers as well as Corbett. Apparently PSA concluded that Gehrig was a clubhouse signature.

OK, I’m getting to the good part. The seller also included a list of other names on the ball. Some of them I cannot connect with either team. One name I was stumped on was listed as J.J. McGinnis (who basically holds the sweet spot on the ball) which turned up nothing on baseball reference. Then it hits me, it’s actually J.J. Iron Man McGinnity, a very tough autograph. Now obviously I can’t say the autograph is legit or not, although the provenance of the ball is solid. My question is WHY DID PSA MAKE NO MENTION OF THIS IN THEIR LOA? I could understand if they saw the name and deemed it not authentic, but wouldn’t it at least be mentioned, much like the clubhouse Gehrig? Did PSA actually miss this great name on the ball when it was reviewed back in 2008? While most of the signatures are rather faint, this is by far the most obvious and prominent one. Next question is would this be worth sending to PSA looking for a decision regarding the McGinnity autograph? Are they likely to admit a mistake if there was one? How tough is a McGinnity autograph? Apparently he lived out his days in the NY area and died in 1929, could easily have been in attendance at the ‘28 World Series. Would love to hear thoughts from those knowledgeable on this kind of thing! Thanks!








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[David Atkatz]

It is listed on the second sheet by PSA, as "J.J.McGinnis." Someone nobody ever heard of. So they didn't consider it one of the "primary" names.

Typical PSA stupidity.

[piecesofthegame]

Totally agree. I don’t actually know where that handwritten sheet came from. It accompanied the ball when I received it. My guess is the original owner wrote down these names after examining the ball and included it as reference for PSA. Then PSA probably quickly looked at the J.J. McGinnis in the list and passed over it as not important. It’s actually the most important name on the ball. So where would I go from here? If I resubmit, pay another $325 (for a multi-signed ball with McGinnity as primary subject), will PSA be likely to admit their mistake and issue an LOA…or more likely to dismiss it as an inauthentic autograph to cover their butts? If I resubmit, would I be better to include all this documentation or just start from scratch? I really don’t dabble in autographs so not familiar with how the game works. Looking for suggestions.

[Bpm0014]

Are these signs traced over at all? They appear to be but not sure. Great ball either way!

[piecesofthegame]

I had wondered that myself. The J.J.almost looks that way but the rest of the sig shows no signs of that from what I see. And there are many other sigs in the blue pen on the ball, not just the McGinitty. If it were just his in blue ink I would think it might be traced over but there’s other sigs in same ink. Shown below is Jim Bottomley and believe it or not Babe Ruth is very faint below him. Seems McGinnity grabbed the sweet spot before Babe got to it. And above Bottomley is Gentleman Jim Corbett known to be a big baseball fan. I definitely think this was a 1928 World Series game used ball with all the scuffing and the fact the sigs are on top of the scuffing. Anyway, bottom line, is it worth sending to PSA in regard to clarification of the McGinnity?













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[perezfan]

Another bang-up job by PSA.

I would not throw another penny their way, but that's just me. Even if it is McGinnity (as opposed to McGinnis), that sig definitely looks traced over.

Best of luck whichever avenue you pursue, and great ball despite PSA's ineptitude.