Lot 1 - Dr. Carvel Lincoln Single-signed Babe Ruth Ball - PSA/DNA 8
He spent 35 years as a dentist, but Carvel Lincoln was a fireballing 16 year-old pitcher in August of 1947. His improbably loaded American Legion baseball team from Idaho featured two future Major Leaguers, and as they made their way through the sectional tournament, the boys from Boise would cross paths with the most famous ballplayer of all time. Even though most of them could scarcely remember the aging man in his big league prime, they were well aware of his iconic status.
Sixty-one years later, the souvenir an ailing Babe Ruth handed out to his young baseball disciples that day is now available to collectors who appreciate pristine pieces of true baseball history; a symbolic gift from the Babe to baseball fans everywhere. The story behind this special heirloom is simple enough, but might make us all long for the days when it wouldn't have been unusual to see the greatest player of all time at an amateur baseball tournament in Montana.
By 1947, Ruth had already been diagnosed with cancer and the disease would claim his life a year later, but treatment earlier that summer had left him feeling well enough to travel on goodwill visits for the Legion and for Ford Motor Company. He arrived in Billings, Montana to make a short speech at a banquet for the Legion tournament and brought along some official American League baseballs which were passed out to participating team members. "His voice was deep and raspy," Dr. Lincoln recalled. "He coughed quite a bit." The young athletes were surprised to see the once robust Ruth in such failing health, but were nonetheless impressed he would spend time with them. Lincoln was one of the boys who received a ball from the generous slugger and it immediately became one of his most cherished possessions. "Really, it seems like yesterday. We went to the banquet and after seeing him, I must have been inspired. The next day he was in the stands and I was pitching. I struck out eleven but unfortunately we lost."
Dr. Lincoln's teammates included fellow pitcher Vern Law, who later spent a long career in the Major Leagues as well as Larry Jackson, a shortstop on the Legion team who would later become a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals. The ball was kept in its original cardboard box and stored it in a desk until Dr. Lincoln married and moved away with his new wife to begin a 35-year dental practice near Dallas. It would be moved to a safe deposit box, rarely seeing the light of day. Such careful protection accounts for the ball's snow white appearance, the signature of a true American icon glowing from its surface.
He spent 35 years as a dentist, but Carvel Lincoln was a fireballing 16 year-old pitcher in August of 1947. His improbably loaded American Legion baseball team from Idaho featured two future Major Leaguers, and as they made their way through the sectional tournament, the boys from Boise would cross paths with the most famous ballplayer of all time. Even though most of them could scarcely remember the aging man in his big league prime, they were well aware of his iconic status.
Sixty-one years later, the souvenir an ailing Babe Ruth handed out to his young baseball disciples that day is now available to collectors who appreciate pristine pieces of true baseball history; a symbolic gift from the Babe to baseball fans everywhere. The story behind this special heirloom is simple enough, but might make us all long for the days when it wouldn't have been unusual to see the greatest player of all time at an amateur baseball tournament in Montana.
By 1947, Ruth had already been diagnosed with cancer and the disease would claim his life a year later, but treatment earlier that summer had left him feeling well enough to travel on goodwill visits for the Legion and for Ford Motor Company. He arrived in Billings, Montana to make a short speech at a banquet for the Legion tournament and brought along some official American League baseballs which were passed out to participating team members. "His voice was deep and raspy," Dr. Lincoln recalled. "He coughed quite a bit." The young athletes were surprised to see the once robust Ruth in such failing health, but were nonetheless impressed he would spend time with them. Lincoln was one of the boys who received a ball from the generous slugger and it immediately became one of his most cherished possessions. "Really, it seems like yesterday. We went to the banquet and after seeing him, I must have been inspired. The next day he was in the stands and I was pitching. I struck out eleven but unfortunately we lost."
Dr. Lincoln's teammates included fellow pitcher Vern Law, who later spent a long career in the Major Leagues as well as Larry Jackson, a shortstop on the Legion team who would later become a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals. The ball was kept in its original cardboard box and stored it in a desk until Dr. Lincoln married and moved away with his new wife to begin a 35-year dental practice near Dallas. It would be moved to a safe deposit box, rarely seeing the light of day. Such careful protection accounts for the ball's snow white appearance, the signature of a true American icon glowing from its surface.