Description:

Babe Ruth
n.p., June 5, 1927
1927 Ruth Signed Ball PSA/DNA to Vaudeville Beauty, He Hit a HR That Day, Greatest Baseball Team of All Time!
Signed baseball
An absolutely incredible Ruth item, a highly unusual and coveted Star ball by Spaulding, boldly inscribed and signed on the "sweet spot" to the vaudeville actress Maud Ryan on the day the Yanks beat the Tigers 5-3, June 5, 1927. With a classic 1920s flapper bob, cherubic face and dark red lips, Ryan wowed audiences across the United States with her quick jokes and singing abilities, and likely attracted the attention of the unapologetic ladies' man. In fine condition, and accompanied by a PSA/DNA Certificate authenticating both the signature and the date Ruth added.

In full: "To Maude [sic] Ryan From Babe Ruth June 5th 1927." Maud Ryan toured nationally on the vaudeville circuit, an arena which Ruth knew well. We believe that Babe incorrectly spelled her name while pressed with other adoring fans seeking autographs and otherwise wanting contact with "the Sultan of Swat." Ryan, herself from Detroit, likely went to see her home team play while on tour in New York in June, 1927. Due to the date penned by Ruth, we believe that she was at this very game and obtained the ball in-person there!

During this Tigers/Yanks game, Ruth had two hits and a home run in the 6th inning.

As the biggest gun in the Yankees "Murderers Row" of batters in the 1927 team, it was Babe Ruth who broke his own home run record with 60 homers that year, finishing with a .356 batting average and 164 RBIs. The team itself finished with an incredible record of 110-44-1, winning their fifth pennant and the 1927 World Series against the Pirates -- thus cementing its reputation as the greatest baseball team of all time.

What is less known is that following a disappointing 1926 season, Ruth turned to barnstorming as part of a 12-week vaudeville tour that netted him a history-making sum of $10,000 as the headliner. The tour started in Minneapolis on November 8, 1926. On January 22, 1927 and while on the West Coast leg of the tour, it was announced that Ruth would appear in a silent film titled "Babe Comes Home." The filming - which Ruth called "tiresome at times" - concluded on February 26, 1927. Less than a week later, Ruth hustled back to New York where he and Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert signed a three-year deal for $70,000 a year, making Ruth the highest paid player in the game.

At the same time, Ruth continued to perform in vaudeville. His wildly-popular act became known for limning the boundaries of the inappropriate, but "the Bambino" consistently got good scores from the audience and he became the first athlete in history to earn more money off the field through endorsements, movies, vaudeville, and public appearances, than he did as a player.

No doubt it was during his vaudeville days that Ruth encountered Maud Ryan, herself a well-known performer who staged comedic and musical skits with her sidekick Charlie Innes. The couple's vaudeville act was celebrated in numerous newspapers from 1915 to the late 1920s -- including "Variety," the Los Angeles Herald, and local and state newspapers.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Provenance: PSA/DNA AQ06608.
  • Dimensions: 2.9" dia
  • Medium: Signed baseball

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