1939 World Champion New York Yankees Team-Signed Baseball With Gehrig, DiMaggio and Full JSA

• Sold For: $1,673
• Year: 1939
• Auction: 2014 December
• Lot #: 3
• Auction Category: Post-1900 Baseball Memorabilia

Towering over their opponents as three-time defending World Series champions, the 1939 New York Yankees were devastated with the felling of their soft-spoken leader, Lou Gehrig, who benched himself on May 2 with an uncharacteristic .143 average. Inspired by Gehrig’s selfless heroics, the Bronx Bombers went on a 40-8 tear to distance themselves on their way to a (then) record fourth straight title. This OAL Harridge baseball is autographed by (28) members of that pinstriper roster. The lightly toned orb is minimally affected by scattered surface abrasions and showcases black-ink fountain pen scriptings that range from (“7”) to (“4”) in terms of potency. Includes: Sweet Spot: DiMaggio (“5” strength), and McCarthy (clubhouse); North Panel: Combs (coach, “5”), Gomez (“5-6”), Powell (d.1948, “5-6”), Donald, Jorgens, Henrich and Rolfe; South Panel: unidentified, Pearson, Schreiber, Hildebrand, Knickerbocker, Russo, Hadley and Gehrig (“5”); West Panel: Schulte (coach), Sundra, Crosetti and Keller; East Panel: Dickey (“5”), Selkirk, Rosar, Murphy, Dahlgren, Gordon (“5”) and Ruffing (“5-6”). Full photo LOA from JSA.Note: the appearance of Schrieiber (coupled with the appearance of Gehrig) suggests that this ball was signed during the club's spring training session.