This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/21/2021
MLB Legends Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, and Lou Gehrig all signed this Official National League Baseball using a steel-tip fountain pen. When it comes to signed baseballs, this is as good as it gets. This is the only known baseball signed by all three of these baseball icons who together saw the sport move away from the deadball era and towards the “power of the game”. The Christy Mathewson and Lou Gehrig autographs are of exceptional quality, and the Ruth autograph is faded but still strong.
Ruth is considered the greatest baseball player of all time, and he was such a prolific hitter that despite being a top pitcher in the league the Yankees moved him to the outfield so he could hit every day. As an outfielder in the 1920s, his jaw-dropping home run totals elevated the popularity of the game and brought baseball out of the dead-ball era and into the live-ball era (in which we are still in today). He and Gehrig played over ten years together and won three world series as a part of the infamous “Murderer’s Row” which is considered the greatest lineup in MLB history. A native new yorker, Gehrig’s stunning offensive output is among the best in history as he averaged a .340 batting average with 2,721 hits in his career. After retiring at the age of 36 due to ALS, the disease claimed his life just two years later. Mathewson — born in 1880 — is the oldest of the three who signed the ball and was one of the most dominant pitchers in MLB history. Mathewson primarily pitched for the New York Giants and played from 1900 to 1916. He was one of the first five people elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame for its inaugural class of 1936, and to this day ranks in the all time top ten for wins, shutouts, and ERA. While serving in the United States Army’s Chemical Warfare Service during World War I he was accidentally exposed to chemical weapons that caused medical complications including tuberculosis. He died from tuberculosis at just 45 years old. Good condition. Comes with a James Spence Authentication (JSA) Letter of Authenticity and a Gotta Have Rock & Roll Certificate of Authenticity.