Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

My husband's grandfather was a friend of a baseball great, Bill Dickey. And Bill Dickey must have been a very generous man because he gave a lot of baseball memorabilia from his career to my husband's grandfather, and my father-in-law gave this baseball to my husband and me.

APPRAISER

So, what we have here is the American League team from the very first all-star game, 1933. It was played July 6, 1933, in Comiskey Park in Chicago in conjunction with the World's Fair. A gentleman named Arch Ward actually came up with the idea, and this baseball represents that team. This team was a juggernaut. It was amazing, as you can see by some of the names on this ball. The most important, of course, Babe Ruth, signed the sweet spot, as you can see. We have two other greats. Jimmie Foxx, right here, and Lou Gehrig, right there. A beautiful ball. And amazing that it kept its condition through the years. Part of that was due to the fact that somebody, maybe Bill himself, shellacked this ball. Now, sometimes, shellacking does damage to the ball, and it all depended on the type of shellac used back then. Sometimes it browns it, and sometimes the signatures are obliterated completely. But in this case, they preserved it. "Provenance" is a word we use a lot here on this show, and, of course, that's the history of the piece. And this baseball in particular has a great history because Bill Dickey, one of the actual members of the team, gave this to your husband's grandfather.

GUEST

That's right.

APPRAISER

So, that's amazing provenance. Do you have any idea what this might be worth?

GUEST

It would just be a stab. I mean I would think at least a few thousand dollars, but really... Yeah, a few thousand.

APPRAISER

But I don't have the kind of knowledge to say. Well, I would add about 20 to that number.

GUEST

Oh, my goodness!

APPRAISER

Because a baseball like this, in this condition, with that sort of provenance, is $20,000 to $25,000.

GUEST

Oh, my goodness! That is just wonderful!

APPRAISER

Without question, it's one of the finest 1933 All-Star game balls I've ever seen.

GUEST

Oh, I am so pleased!

APPRAISER

And it was a real pleasure to meet you and to see this great ball.

GUEST

Oh, thank you so much! Thank you. Very good.