By Max Silberman

Of all the memorabilia questions posed to the staff of the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society, the most common by far deal with autographed baseballs.

Several factors determine the value of autographed baseballs. Balls that contain signatures from many players who were on different teams or played in different seasons are called “mongrel” balls and generally have very little worth.

Most collectors seek singles signed balls or team balls.To be considered a team ball, the ball must have at least 20 signatures from members of the same team. The manager’s autograph will usually be in what is called “the sweet spot” although older players call it “the manager’s spot.” Team balls
that have facsimile autographs which have been printed on the ball are worth very little.

When determining value, the first question we ask is whether or not the ball is an official National League or American League ball. Today all teams use the same Major League baseball. Non official balls lose value. The second factor is authenticity of the signatures. Team balls , often obtained directly, have autographs of superstars which have been signed by clubhouse boys and coaches. Only a qualified autograph expert can tell whether valuable signatures are real. Some of the game’s greats almost never signed the items themselves. Maybe the demand for their autograph was too
great.

Assuming that the ball is official and the autographs are authentic, we must determine whether or not the ball was coated with shellac, a common practice years ago. A ball with shellac is considered undesirable to collectors.

Now rate the baseball from one to ten. One is a dirty brown ball and ten is snow white. The legibility of the autographs must also be graded one (extremely hard to read) to ten (sharp, clear signatures).

New York Yankee baseballs contain many more Hall of Famers than those of the St. Louis Browns and the prices are reflected accordingly.

While it is impossible to price a ball without seeing it, this should give readers an idea of what their ball might bring on the collectibles market. While the A’s Society does not appraise, we will be happy to provide the year of the ball if several names are included in your e-mail.