ShareThis]Dear Babe: I have a Boston Red Sox baseball that I believe is from 1950 or '51. It is signed by Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Clyde Vollmer, Buddy Rosar, Bill Evans, Mel Parnell. Fred Hatfield and Dom DiMaggio among others. -- Charlie Sullivan, Danvers, Mass.
It looks like the Red Sox ball is from 1950. That was Evans second and last season in the Majors and the only year he was in Boston. It's worth $400-$700, depending on condition according to Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) in Dallas.
Dear Babe: I have a program from the January 1, 1969 Rose Bowl, with Jesse Owens' autograph on the back cover (he was sitting a few rows in front of me at the game). I also have a ticket stub from the game. -- Mark Johnson, Savannah, Ga.
"The unsigned program goes for $25-$50,'' said Mike Breeden, an autograph expert and editor of Tuff Stuff's autograph guide. "The stub goes for $15-$25. Jesse Owens' autograph as a clean cut is worth about $200-$300. I'd say you're in that same ballpark for the entire package as it's unlikely that one person would be looking for both Rose Bowl items and a Jesse Owens autograph."
Dear Babe: I also have an 8-x-10 inch picture of Babe Ruth dated "9/23/1916'' on the back. My grandfather was Charles W. Mears, also known as Doc Statistics, in the Cleveland, Ohio newspaper. He was a huge baseball fan and collector. Most of his collection was donated to the Cleveland Public Library in the 1940's after his death. -- Charlotte Walbert, Atlanta
I checked with Mike Heffner at Leland's. He said an original Ruth photo might sell for as much as $10,000, depending on its size, condition and what Ruth is wearing. Photos showing a youthful Bambino in a Red Sox uniform would top the list.
Dear Babe: I have a picture of myself with Joe DiMaggio and a baseball signed to me by the Yankee Clipper from when I was six. My mom saved an article in the Macon Telegraph with the same picture and article from 1961. -- Dobby Dobbins, Atlanta
"The Joe DiMaggio ball, if it's a common name and dated is worth $300-$500,'' said Mike Gutierrez, consignment director for Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) in Dallas. So, if it is signed to "Dobby'' you can expect the value to drop -- possibly by as much as half or more.
Dear Babe: I recently stumbled across a copy of the book "I Had A Hammer -- The Hank Aaron Story'' at a flea market. It looked in near mint condition but I didn't really inspect it that well. I asked how much it was and the lady said how about $15? So I bought it. When I got home I discovered it's an autographed first edition. The autograph looks more like Hal Aaron than Hank. How can I find out if the autograph is real?-- R.S. Greene, Marietta, Ga.
"Aaron's first name often comes out looking like that,'' said Mike Breeden, an autograph expert and editor of Tuff Stuff's autograph guide. "I think it's the Lonnie Wheeler book you're talking about. $100-$150 is a good estimate.''
Mike Heffner, president of www.lelands.com auction house in South Dennis, Mass., agreed on both counts -- the value and the fact that many Aaron's signature might look like "Hal'' to some folks.
BABE NOTES: Upper Deck isn't about to let National Hockey Card Day pass by quietly. On Feb. 21, UD will be giving away hundreds of thousands of "National Hockey Card Day'' NHL trading card packs. The 15-card set, only available on the big day, will include star rookies, superstars and legends. The cards, which spotlight Canadian-born NHL players, will be given away free of charge at Canadian hobby specialty shops, as well as select retail locations. The base set of 15 cards is broken down into three subsets. They are: "Canada's Rookies'' (Steven Stamkos, Kyle Turris, Josh Bailey, Colton Gilles and Derick Brassard); "Pride of Canada'' (Sidney Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier, Jarome Iginla, Joe Sakic and Martin Brodeur); and "Hockey's Heroes'' (Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr and Don Cherry). Each card sports a National Hockey Card Day logo.
-- Football season over but Topps has recently released two more products -- 2008 Triple Threads Football and 2008 Mayo Football. For details visit www.topps.com.
(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)
