1918 BoSox World Champ Ball Up to Bat at Auction

Signatures compromised, but historic game play the real value to collectors

Boston Red Sox fans may want to think about breaking into their piggy banks for this one. A baseball used in the last game of the 1918 World Series between the Sox and the Chicago Cubs is going on the auction block next month. The ball is part of an 1100-lot event hosted by Sportsworld Auction.

The ball, which has never been on the market, belongs to the elderly son of Fred Thomas. Thomas was a third baseman for the Red Sox and kept the ball all these years. His son, Warren, said the ball had signatures including, Babe Ruth's autograph, but over the years of use by kids playing catch with it, the signatures wore off and were eventually traced over. Experts say it's not the autographs that will bring value to the ball, it's the historic game from which it was used.

According to CardCornerClub.net, "It is not the signatures then, that will bring value and attention to this item, but rather, the historic game from which it comes and the clear provenance."

The Red Sox won the 1918 World Series and did not win another championship for 86 years, until the 2004 series against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The auction goes live online on April 10, with half the lots concluding May 18 and the balance on May 19. Also up for bidding will be an enormous, graded collection of hundreds of T-206 tobacco cards, including multiple copies of Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson and many other Hall of Famers; the 1967 American League Championship ring from beloved Bosox broadcaster Ken Coleman; a collection from Dave "Boo" Ferris (Red Sox star pitcher of the mid-'40s): and hockey collections from Wayne Cashman, Gary Doak, Wayne Carleton and Don Awrey, including all three of Awrey's Stanley Cup rings and Cashman's 1972 Summit Series jersey; and much more.

Photo of ball as pictured on Scoop Diamond Galleries.