Ruth-Capone signed baseball could see $200,000 at auction

A baseball signed by two of the most talked about men in 1920s America, Babe Ruth and Al Capone, will sell in an online auction that closes on January 31.

Al Capone Babe Ruth signed baseball
Al Capone's autograph is incredibly rare - he avoided signing anything for obvious reasons - but he made an exception for the Yankees' pitcher



The ball has a minimum bid of $25,000, but could see up to $200,000 according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Its consignor, Pete Collins, is the grandson of both White Sox second baseman Eddie Collins and Yankees pitcher Herb Pennock, who acquired the signatures.

For Pennock, the Babe Ruth signature was easy to obtain as the Sultan of Swat's team-mate. However, he is reported to have run into trouble with Yankees manager Joe McCarthy for interacting with Al Capone, after asking for his autograph when the Yankees played the White Sox in 1931.

"I was a huge 'Untouchables' fan with Eliot Ness, I always liked the bad guys. I saw this ball and I fawned over it so much my grandmother made sure it was mine," Collins told the newspaper.

The ball looks to be in fairly poor condition and has not been graded, however it will be supplied with a letter of authenticity from James Spence Authentication.

The current world record for a Babe Ruth ball is held by his home-run ball from the first 1933 All-Star Game, which sold for $805,000 in July 2006.

Another rare sports memorabilia crossover - a Beatles signed baseball - will be sold by Heritage Auctions on February 24.

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