Presidential Signed Baseball - Help

Hi, new to the site, but i think this forum is probably the most appropriate place for me... I have an old baseball signed by multiple presidents and other notable people of the 20th century.

As far as I know the signatures are authentic - but I would love to hear any opinion...

also, any idea of value would be great too

and here's the just about the whole list : Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Edward Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Jacqueline Kennedy, Elenor Roosevelt, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Nelson Rockefeller, Duke of Windsor, Prince Rainier of Monaco, Roy Rodgers, Lillian Carter, General Douglas McArthur, Jack Dempsey, Archbishop Fulton Sheen and Cardinal Spellman.

obviously there is a lot going on this ball - would love any help

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on July 27, 2011 at 11:51am

Wow... pretty interesting.

What is the story behind this ball?

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Permalink Reply by mark smith on July 27, 2011 at 1:21pm

The ball was passed down from my great great grandfather - directly to my mother around 1980, not long before he passed away. He was a devout collector of autographs (starting in the late 20's) and actually left behind several baseballs, but the whole collection was split up amongst different family members. He was into multi signed baseballs - some of the other ones include a late 20's or early 30's Yankee team ball, a Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio ball - each one COVERED with autographs.

This ball though was his prized possession. He started it (I think) in the early 50's with Eisenhower and the ball went from there, on an odyssey that spanned about a quarter of century. Some of the names seem a bit out of place on the ball but have greater significance to my great great grandfather. Roy Rogers, Jack Dempsey, George Meany - his connection to these people each have their own meaning.

I also have several letters that came with the ball. Several are from Ann Whitman (Eisenhower's secretary) dated 1953, 1976 and 1977. I think he may have known her personally....

Most of the signatures still have a nice appearance, although some are quite faded, probably due to the lacquer applied to the ball. I guess this was the general practice of the time though.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on July 27, 2011 at 1:39pm

What a great story. Can you take more pics of the other panels?

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Permalink Reply by mark smith on July 27, 2011 at 2:00pm

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Permalink Reply by mark smith on July 27, 2011 at 2:03pm

Sorry, but these are the only other pictures I currently have. I actually took them a while ago. I moved to NYC a few years back and left the ball in Upstate NY ( In good hands) so it would be a bit before I could take new ones.