Babe Ruth baseball put up for auction ends up selling for $35K

Baseball Hall of Famer Babe Ruth played some exhibition games in Spokane and Seattle in October of 1924. While he was here, he signed a lot of autographs, including a ball for a young Spokane boy who kept it in the family.

Grant Zahajko, the co-owner of Grant Zahajko Auctions in Davenport, put that baseball up for auction. He said he’s never seen a Ruth item quite like this.

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“About six months ago, (the ball’s owner) went to the safety deposit box to retrieve it and pulled this baseball out, and it looks like it was signed yesterday,” Zahajko said.

Zahajko explained that Ruth signed a lot of items over the years, but that he’s never seen a ball that’s almost 100 years old in such pristine condition.

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The live auction took place Thursday morning, but the ball did not attract the minimum bid of $40,000.

Zahajko said they fielded offers after the auction ended and the ball ended up selling for $35,000.

You can still see the ball on Zahajko’s website.

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Other memorabilia up for sale included a 1956 Jackie Robinson baseball card, multiple items signed by Ty Cobb, several cards featuring another New York Yankees legend in Mickey Mantle and a patch sleeve belonging to former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Contributing: Steve Coogan, MyNorthwest