Team Baseballs: Artifacts of the Game

For a century now, Major League baseball teams have signed baseballs in their clubhouses. At first they were signed in very small numbers to commemorate a successful season, and gradually they came to be produced by all teams as mementos. Now widely collected, those baseballs called team baseballs or team balls are the subject of a new book by John M. Mitnick and James J. Spence, Jr., titled Team Baseballs: Artifacts of the Game. With over 150 full color illustrations, Team Baseballs takes a comprehensive, informative, and entertaining look at these artifacts of baseball history, intended for collectors at all levels and baseball fans and historians. The authors cover the definition, history, classification, authentication, grading, valuation, acquisition, preservation, and storage of team balls. The controversial topic of clubhouse signatures player signatures forged by clubhouse employees is also given a thorough treatment. A Gallery is included, with photographs of 45 historically significant championship and All-Star team balls from 1920 through 2008, featuring hundreds of authentic signatures including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Jackie Robinson, Walter Johnson, Hank Greenberg, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Roger Maris, Thurman Munson, and many other greats of the game.