After winning the pennant in 1936 and 1937, the New York Giants began to lose steam. The teams big stars Mel Ott, Bill Terry, Carl Hubbell and Harry Danning were on the downside of great careers and the organizations farm system had yet to supply much needed new blood to the lineup. Though they finished in fifth place, pitchers Harry Gumbert won 18 games and a 36 year old Carl Hubbell won 11 and overall the team hit a collective .272 for the season. Sometime during the ’39 season one of the Giants passed this ball around to his teammates to sign.
The Spalding Official National League Ball has been signed by 20 of the ’39 Giants including Hall of Famers Carl Hubbell, Mel Ott, and Travis Jackson plus Zeke Bonura, Harry Dancing, Bill Lohrman, George Myatt, Joe Moore, Manny Salvo, Jack McCarthy, Jimmie Ripple, Frank Demaree, Slick Castleman, Frank Mancuso, Ken O’Dea, Red Lynn, Bob Seeds, Walter Brown, Dick Coffman, Lou Chiozza, Alex Kampouris, Cliff Melton, Bill Juries, Burgess Whitehead and Harry Gumbert. A Hal Schumacher signature has been deemed clubhouse. The signatures are in black fountain pen and both the signatures and ball have been wonderfully preserved in its original Spading National League Base Ball box, complete with beautiful vintage Art Deco graphics.
Pre-certified by PSA/DNA. Sourced from the estate of a former MLB player whose identity will remain anonymous.