1955 Brooklyn Dodgers World Series Ball
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GUEST:
It's a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball, authenticated 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers baseball. As most people know, 1955 was the only year the Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series, which makes the ball special in and of itself.
APPRAISER:
Absolutely.
GUEST:
The ball arrived to me by gift from Mel Ott. Mel Ott is a Hall of Fame baseball player who was from the New Orleans area. He was a very close friend of my father. My father was his CPA. And Mel presented the ball to me and my brother after the World Series in 1955. I have authentication. My brother and I received a postcard from Mel, dated August the first of 1955. Mel says, "If I can get some sort of a souvenir, such as an autographed baseball or something, I'll send you that." And even though I was a kid, I do remember it as being a big deal. It was the only time I ever actually met the gentleman. Unfortunately, Mel died three years later in a tragic auto accident, not far from New Orleans.
APPRAISER:
A lot of times we get asked, how do we authenticate baseballs? What do we look for? And you've given us the highest level of provenance that you could possibly. So when you give me this story, I look and see the ball and try to see if there are any other clues. Now, in 1955, there's a player who played one year; I think you know, Frank Kellert.
GUEST:
He did.
APPRAISER:
Frank Kellert's signature is right here on the ball, it dates it right to 1955, as well as the story that you've given us. Another very, very important thing that a lot of people don't know is that Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, and Carl Erskine had a ball boy who used to sign for them. Many, many people have come to us with 1955 Dodgers balls and they say, "This is real, this is real." And yet the secret is there's one panel that has Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Carl Erskine all together. Looking at your baseball, you have Jackie Robinson here, down below you have Carl Erskine and on another panel you have Roy Campanella. So, this was definitely not a clubhouse, beyond the fact, of course, that Mel had to go in and get them himself.
GUEST:
Actually, I did not know that. Well, the other difference with this ball, for me at least, is that the ball is actually signed by Mel Ott.
APPRAISER:
Well, and that is another way of looking at value. I don't know if Mel Ott ever signed another World Series ball. If he did, there's only a handful. So here you have the whole 1955 Dodgers, with the exception of Duke Snider, I might add.
GUEST:
That’s right.
APPRAISER:
But you have Hall of Famers here: Pee Wee Reese, Campanella, Jackie Robinson, and someone who should be in the Hall of Fame, Gil Hodges.
GUEST:
And Sandy Koufax, also.
APPRAISER:
And Koufax in his rookie year. An auction estimate, with all this together, is minimum $4,000 to $6,000, and it really could be the sky's the limit because of the perfect provenance you have for everything here.
GUEST:
That's great.
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