1934 Tour of Japan Vintage Baseball Signed by (6) with Babe Ruth (JSA LOA)

Vintage Spalding baseball has been hand-signed in black ink pen by Babe Ruth (D 1948, Yankees, HOF), as well as (5) others including Bing Miller, Rabbit McNair, Earl Whitehall, Frankie Hayes, and John Quinn.

Thanks to American businessmen and missionaries, Japan has been playing baseball almost as long as it’s been played in the United States. Since the early 1900's, American players have visited Japan, but by far the most successful and influential tour arrived in the fall of 1934. Newspaper owner Matsutara Shoriki wanted only the best American stars and the roster of the group led by Connie Mack certainly met his expectations. Much to the delight of the Japanese fans the tour was headlined by none other than Babe Ruth and his easily recognizable mug was featured on poster plastered up all over the island.

Ruth and a dozen other American League stars thrilled Japanese fans for 18 games held from one end of the island to the other. By the time they left, the island was baseball-mad and a professional league was organized which thrives to this very day.

The ball has a coat of shellack which has darkened with age and there are some areas of toning, but the signatures remain readily visible.

See photos for details.

The ball includes an official James Spence Authentication (JSA) hologram and matching LOA for authenticity purposes.

Authentication: JSA LOA

Due to the uniqueness of each item, please refer to the photos provided in this auction. We offer high resolution images of each item rather than a written description of condition.

This item is being shipped from an approved vendor's location.