This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/6/2021
Considered by many to be the best pitcher in baseball history, by the time Hall of Famer Walter Johnson hung up his cleats he had led the American League in strikeouts 12 times, shutouts seven times, wins and complete games six times, ERA five times, and finished with 417 wins and a 2.17 ERA. And there's no telling how many more games he could have won and how many more records he would have broken had he played for better squads than the perennial also-rans, the Washington Senators, for whom he headlined for the entirety of his 21-year career. Single-signed baseballs of "The Big Train" are extremely rare and the featured Official American League sphere contains the finest autograph of "The Big Train" that we've ever seen on a baseball. Though pressed into service before a Commissioner's facsimile signature became part of the stamp, perhaps even predating Judge Landis' appointment as the first Commissioner in 1921, the markings of the Reach stamp set its origins between 1918 and 1924, the latter being when Johnson won his third and final pitcher's Triple Crown at the age of 36. Positioned just to the left so that the name "Johnson" ends up in the absolute center of the sweet spot, the steel tip fountain pen marking is very crisp and consistent with an amazingly vivid signing of the name "Walter" losing a bit of its boldness on the J in Johnson, then recovering to finish off the autograph almost as brazenly as it started. As with the signature, the actual orb is in tremendous condition considering it borders on its 100-year anniversary and outshines just about any other known example; certainly, any example that we've ever encountered. This breathtaking piece has the blessing of both JSA and PSA/DNA, neither hesitating to approve the authenticity of the piece with full LOA's. A world-class specimen!