Babe Ruth collectibles still hit home runs

By Terry Maurer, What's it Worth?

Tuesday is the 79th renewal of the midsummer classic, Major League Baseball's annual All-Star Game. This year, the event takes place at Yankee Stadium.

Today, a What's It Worth reader in Othello asks about an autograph from the most famous Yankee to ever play the game, the legendary Hall of Famer and longtime home run king, George Herman "Babe" Ruth.

The "Sultan of Swat" not only hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium, he also hit the first home run in an All-Star game.

Q. I have a friend who has an autograph of Babe Ruth given to him a short while before Ruth passed away. This was in Miles City, Mont., when his plane landed there for fuel. My friend was able to get to the airport and get his autograph along with his picture taken with Babe Ruth. Would any of this be of any value? -- Betty in Othello.

A. The answer is yes, yes, yes. Anything authentically Babe Ruth is valuable -- even though there are many Ruth autographs available. He was known as a generous man who signed at nearly every opportunity. His signature today commands the highest values in the collector's market.

While a Ruth-signed baseball or game-used bat would rate near the top of the dollar list, this signature on an ordinary piece of paper holds good value. Collectors call this a "cut" -- a signature on a piece of paper, or "cut" from a larger piece.

Jim Price of Spokane, regional baseball historian and longtime member of the Society for American Baseball Research, says the Babe's autographs "... remain among the most collectible for sports figures, despite their relative abundance. In current terms, only Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali may have approached Ruth's vast popularity as a sports hero and public figure."

Price added some historical confirmation about the Bambino's travels late in life. "Ruth, in summers of 1947 and 1948, did travel from the East Coast to the West on a goodwill trip for American Legion baseball." Price noted one trip "... included a stop in Spokane, where there are at least two signed balls from that visit."

With the help of archivist Jean Nielsen of the Miles City Public Library, we found newspaper coverage of Ruth's late August visit to the area 60-plus years ago.

The Aug. 20, 1947, Miles City Daily Star newspaper said, "About 200 'kids' from 10 to 65 years old this afternoon swarmed over the Miles City Airport to cheer Babe Ruth as he stopped briefly on his way to the American Legion Junior sectional baseball tournament beginning Wednesday afternoon in Billings."

The Star reported Ruth was "Still weak and showing signs of a protracted sickness early this spring. But he nonetheless stood in the broiling sun to sign fifty or more baseballs proffered by youthful admirers."

Ruth died of throat cancer the next year in New York City, on Aug. 16, 1948.

So, it adds up that this signature is authentic. Ruth was there. Betty's friend was there and has a picture to prove it. The autograph looks to be absolutely authentic.

Would all that satisfy a potential buyer sometime in the future -- if and when this autograph is offered for sale?

There's a lot of money involved in these items -- thousands, sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of the greatest challenges in the field of sporting collectibles is authenticity. It's been estimated that as much as 90 percent of the star-signed items offered for sale -- baseballs, cards, uniforms, autographed photos and the like -- are out-and-out fakes.

In 2000, the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI announced they'd conducted a three year investigation into the problem -- "Operation Bullpen." Twenty-five people were charged with dealing in fakes valued in the millions. Even people in the business were stunned by the extent of the problem.

It was so widespread, the FBI released a statement saying, "In fact, the current 'public' market in vintage memorabilia is largely composed of forgeries. Today, there are literally thousands of these counterfeit items in retail businesses across the country."

How to be sure of what you're dealing with is a matter of great concern that's led to the emergence of independent "authentication services." While the process is relatively new to sports collectibles, expert authentication has been around a long time. Coins are graded by independent companies and stamps have been "expertised" since at least the 1850s.

Well-known Seattle sports historian and collectibles authority Dave Eskanazi says for this piece such authentication isn't needed, at least not right now.

"I'd say that it is an unnecessary expense for them at this point. If the family is going to keep it, they already know that it is authentic, so why spend the $150 or so to have a service tell them what they already know?"

Eskanazi added, "If they were planning to sell it at some point through a major sports auction venue, the auction house will pay to have it authenticated as part of the consignment agreement. Again, this renders it unnecessary for the current owners to pay for authentication now."

As to value, you could expect the autograph to sell for between $4,000 and $5,000 at a major auction.

* Terry Maurer, a Tri-Cities personal property appraiser and antique dealer, is a member of the Certified Appraisers Guild of America. You may submit your antiques and collectible questions to What's It Worth by e-mail to whatsitworth@clearwire.net

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Sunday, Jul. 13, 2008

Babe Ruth collectibles still hit home runs

By Terry Maurer, What's it Worth?