Description
Red Grange began his professional career when he debuted for the Chicago Bears ten days after helping the Illinois Fighting Illini defeat Ohio State in 1925. Grange caught the eye of Chicago Bears owner George Halas playing in college, earning All-American honors three times as he rushed for 3,362 yards, threw for 575 yards, caught 14 passes adding 253 yards and scoring 31 touchdowns in 20 collegiate games. Halas engineered a barnstorming tour for the superstar halfback to showcase The Galloping Ghost’s exceptional abilities and lend credibility to the NFL. Red played eight seasons for the Chicago Bears (1925, 1929-1934) and the New York Yankees (1926-1927).
Presented is a rarity indeed of the dual sport pro-athlete. It is a OAL (Brown) baseball autographed by the man, the myth, the legend…Red Grange. He signed it on the sweet spot in blue ballpoint with quotes on his namesake “Red” (“9”). The baseball itself shows mild toning from age.
Authentication: JSA Full Letter
This ball is from one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of autographed baseballs in the world. Altogether they were easily displayable in custom shelf form and alphabetically displayed nonetheless. The choice of medium was visually easy for the encyclopedic collector who put these together. It took several decades to amass these rare autographs of the most prominent entertainers, historical figures, and sports players. It proved quite difficult to acquire autographs of non-ballplayers on such an odd object (a baseball) but diligence proved otherwise and that it’s possible. So, now with the collection complete and his shelves empty there’s only one thing left to do….bid on this item and start the challenge to see how far you can take it.