This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/23/2019
This OAL (Harridge) baseball has been signed be three prominent New York Yankees front office executives as well as one of baseball's true characters. Starting with the latter, Al Schacht played for the Washington Senators before going into coaching in the 1920's. His mimicking antics as third base coach earned him the title of "Clown Prince of Baseball. "He would later enter the restaurant business and his comedic skills helped popularize his eponymous steakhouse in Manhattan among the New York elites.
Former Yankees owner Dan Topping was part of a group (along with Del Webb) that acquired the team from Jacob Ruppert in 1945. He sold his shares in 1966, the same year his son served as General Manager. 1971 Hall of Fame inductee George Weiss served as player development director (1932-47) and GM (1947-60) for the Yankees, overseeing key scouting decisions that made his 29-year tenure arguably the most successful by any exec in baseball history. Roy Hamey succeeded Weiss as Yanks GM (1961-63) following GM stints with the Pirates and Phillies.
Weiss and Hamey have signed on the south panel, while Topping and Schacht have signed on the west panel (Del Webb deemed "clubhouse"). Signatures are done in fairly uniform 7-8/10 blue ballpoint, while the ball remains in VG-EX shape with moderate toning and scuffing. The "Sept. 11, 1953" date is in an unknown hand, according to the included full LOA from PSA/DNA.