The Baseball Guru - Fans Speak to A.C. Haeffner, What is baseball from the 1952 oldtimers game worth?

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What is baseball from the 1952 oldtimers game worth?

Carol wrote:

hi I have a baseball we think is from 1952 oldtimers game--some signatures are bright some faded some--signed by ralph terry,tom henrick,allie reynolds,hank bauer,mrs babe ruth,charlie keller,billy martin,vic raschie,bill bevens,eddie lopat,yogi berra,mel allen,hector lopez,bill dickie,joe collins,casey stengel,phil rizzuto,johnny mize,whitey ford,joe dimaggio,mickey mantle etc--my uncle who is friends with ralph terry gave it to my son a long time ago--do you think its from when we said and what is its worth-thanks

Charlie's Response

Carol:

From the personnel named, I have a problem with a 1952 date on your ball. True, it sounds like maybe it's from an Old Timers Game since Joe D (who retired in 1951), Bill Dickey and Charlie Keller are on there, to name three old timers.

But the Hector Lopez signature poses a time problem, as does Ralph Terry's. Lopez wasn't in the big leagues until 1955, and wasn't with the Yankees until 1959. Terry didn't start his major league career with the Yanks until 1956.

It's possible, I suppose, that most of the players signed the ball in 1952, and that Terry and Lopez signed it years later -- but I wouldn't know why. Maybe you could get hold of Terry and see if he recalls anything about the circumstances surrounding the signatures.

As for value, it's impossible to say without seeing the ball. Value is determined on condition of the ball, legibility of the signatures, placement of key signatures, and of course on validity of the signatures. So the range is quite wide -- from virtually worthless (if the signatures were penned, say, by clubhouse attendants, as was sometimes the case) to somewhere in the hundreds of dollars.

I hope this helps.

Charlie Haeffner

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