ShareThisDear Babe: I have a baseball signed by Honus Wagner and 20 others including Ed Bahr and Bob Elliott. This ball also has Vet's Hospital on it with a date that is from September in 1946 or 1947. The ball has been obviously used in a game, because there are "hit ''marks on it. -- Sharon Shown, Thomasville, NC.
Nothing is ever as easy as it seems. Of the few names you were able to decipher, Ed Bahr was with the Pirates in 1946 and '47. Since the ball was either from 1941 or '47, it looked like Bahr was all we needed to date the ball. But wait, another readable name was that of Bob Elliott. He was with the Pirates through the early 1940s, leaving right after the 1946 season. Since Elliott was traded away right after the 1946 season, there's no way his name can be on a 1947 ball. More than likely it's a 1946 baseball that got presented to the guys in the veterans' hospital the next year.
In this case, the year doesn't matter much. The baseball is in pretty poor shape, but is still worth $300-$400, said Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) in Dallas. An average ball would be worth double that and possibly a little more.
"Wagner is one of those names that goes for thousands on single balls, but is quite common on team balls. Sellers try to place single signed value onto team balls. No one buys this, even in better condition,'' Gutierrez said.
Dear Babe: I have a 1979 Boston red Sox team photo. It's in color and was issued by the Boston Globe. -- David Merrill, Hudson, N.H.
After blowing the big lead and losing the one-game playoff for the A.L. pennant in 1978, the BoSox fell to third in '79 with a respectable 91-69 record. The squad included future Hall-of-Famers Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk and Dennis Eckersley. Mike Heffner, president of Lelands.com auction house in New York, said the photo is worth $5 at best.
Dear Babe: I have an old Oakland A's plastic baseball radio with a strap attached. It works. It has a small PG&E advertisement circle along with a green Oakland Athletics logo. It was a game promotion item. -- Pamela Lanning, Redding, Calif.
The radio is more of a novelty than a collectible. I can't find anything like it listed anywhere or offered for sale online. The A's didn't have any historic info on their giveaways, but one person I chatted with said she had been with the team for 20 years and didn't recall the promotion. Generally unless we're talking about a championship year, team items as opposed to player items aren't that valuable.
BABE NOTES: 2009 Topps Tribute Baseball comes with a $50 per six-card pack suggested retail price and promises that each pack will contain a memorabilia card or autographed memorabilia card numbered to 99 or less. Six-pack boxes should have on average three autographed cards. There are autographed cards along with "cut'' signatures from hall of Famers. Apparently some cards contain pieces of stadium seats. Topps is offering to replace those. For all the details on the stadium seat relic card issue, visit my blog at www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak.
-- 2009 Topps Bowman Sterling is also on hobby store shelves. It promises collectors two rookie/prospect autograph cards, a World Baseball relic card, a rookie card and a prospect card in each five-card pack (mini-box). Packs, which are available at hobby shops, come with a $50 suggested retail price.
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
