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1919 World Champion Cincinnati Reds Team-Signed Baseball (JSA)
Presented is one of the most coveted of all team baseballs known to exist: A team-signed Spalding Official National League Ball containing 25 signatures of the 1919 World Champion Cincinnati Reds. This highly sought after team-signed baseball is extremely rare, as fewer than five are known to exist. The Cincinnati Reds won the best-of-nine games 1919 World Series by 5-3 in games. Eight members of the opposing Chicago White Sox were later banned from baseball for life by Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for being part of a conspiracy to throw the World Series. Cincinnati had a powerhouse team in '19. They cruised to the National League pennant with a 96-44 record, finishing nine games ahead of the second place New York Giants. Reds' outfielder Edd Roush was the NL batting champion at .321. Third baseman Heinie Groh led Cincinnati in home runs, with five, and batted .310. Outfielder Greasy Neale, later a famous college and professional football coach, batted .242 and led the team in steals with 28. The Reds' starting pitchers were outstanding. Hod Eller went 19-9 with a 2.39 ERA; Dutch Reuther had a 19-6 record and a team best ERA of 1.82; Slim Sallee led the Reds in victories and had a 21-7 record with a 2.06 ERA; Ray Fisher had a 14-5 slate with a 2.17 ERA. Of course, as some of the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series, 1919 World Series statistics can have a rather hollow ring, but the Reds' Hod Eller went 2-0 in the World Series, with a 2.00 ERA., and Greasy Neale hit a team high .357 for the Reds regulars, with pitcher Dutch Reuther going 4-for-6 to hit .667. After seven games, with the Reds leading by only 4 to 3 in games, gamblers reportedly put tremendous pressure on the White Sox to lose Game 8 and not let the World Series go to a possible ninth game. In that game, Chicago starter Lefty Williams only lasted a third of an inning, giving up four runs (all earned) on four hits, and the Reds went on to an easy 10-5 clinching of the World Series. Despite the White Sox being acquitted by a jury, in 1920 Baseball Commissioner Landis exiled Joe Jackson, Lefty Williams, Eddie Cicotte, Buck Weaver and four other White Sox, and the team later became known as the infamous "Black Sox." The ball contains a total of 25 signatures. The signatures were made with a steel-tip fountain pen, using black ink. Hall of Famers signing: Edd Roush and Greasy Neale. Key signatures: Dutch Ruether, Jake Daubert, (August) Herrmann (Reds President), F.C. Bankroft (owner), Morris Rath, Dolf Luque, Pat Duncan, Jimmy Ring, and Slim Sallee. Every signature is readable, with some better than others. There is some fading and light chipping. The ball appears to be an Official National League Ball with red and black stitching, but the labeling is faded. The ball is a consistent light brown from age. There is beautiful calligraphy, on the sweet spot, of images of two pennants, with one celebrating the Reds' National League pennant and the other celebrating the Reds' 1919 World Championship. The ball comes with a full JSA Letter of Authenticity.
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