kingjammy24
05-06-2008, 06:13 PM
Grey Flannel Babe Ruth Called Shot Jersey?
Despite suspicions, Ruth jersey the focus of sky-high bidding
By BILL MADDEN and MICHAEL O'KEEFFE
New York Daily News
NEW YORK - It's a heck of a story, but it probably isn't true: In Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, with the count 2-and-2 and the Cubs and their fans jeering and heckling, Babe Ruth stepped out of the batter's box and pointed to the bleachers.
Then he slammed the next pitch over Wrigley Field's center-field wall.
"The general opinion of scholars who have seen the grainy film from that game is that he was just waving at the Cubs' dugout," says Richard Goldstein, a researcher with the Society for American Baseball Research. "Only the romantics still believe he pointed to the center-field wall."
A Long Island memorabilia company, Grey Flannel Auctions, is selling a jersey it claims the Babe wore on that October day in Chicago 73 years ago. But some memorabilia insiders say the story behind the jersey sounds an awful lot like the Called Shot legend: It's a heck of a story, but it may not be true.
Internet bidding for the jersey ends June 22, but with the current high bid at $700,000, the auction already has hit Ruthian proportions, and promises to go even higher. John Wallis, president of the Internet gaming site FortuneFun.com, says he will spend whatever it takes to win the jersey, which he plans to raffle off.
"We feel it's certainly worth more than $1 million," says Grey Flannel CEO Howard Rosenkrantz.
Still, memorabilia dealers are notorious for using deceptive advertising and inflated claims to pump up the value of high-priced items, and many collectors are skeptical about how this piece - known for years as a 1930 Ruth road jersey - suddenly has been transformed into the jersey the Babe wore when he allegedly called his shot in 1932.
"I'm not saying they are wrong," Baseball Hall of Fame curator Ted Spencer says of the sellers, "but they play it a little looser than we do."
But Rosenkrantz says extensive research - primarily a review of photographs from the Yankees' 1932 season - indicates the jersey his company is selling is the same jersey Ruth wore during the "Called Shot" game. Grey Flannel asked a half-dozen memorabilia authenticators, including some of its competitors, to weigh in on the jersey. Rosenkrantz and other Grey Flannel executives presented the company's research Thursday at the Hall of Fame's Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture.
"We're pretty comfortable, but we can't be 100 percent sure," says Rosenkrantz. "We're trying to put this in the hands of as many experts as we can. We're trying to put it under as much scrutiny as possible."
The company has a history with the jersey. Grey Flannel co-founder Andy Imperato bought the jersey - and a pair of pants - 15 years ago from a Florida woman who said the Babe gave the uniform to her father to pay off a golf bet. Imperato later sold the uniform for $150,000 to a private collector.
The jersey and the pants were advertised as a 1930 Ruth road uniform in the catalogue for Grey Flannel's November 1999 auction and sold for $284,000. The buyer loaned the jersey to Baltimore's Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, where it was displayed for several years as a Ruth road jersey - not as the "Called Shot" jersey.
When the unidentified collector decided it was time to sell the Babe Ruth jersey, Grey Flannel decided additional research might bring in a bigger price - not to mention a bigger commission.
By comparing the position of the hand-sewn "NEW YORK" on the jersey with scores of 1932 season photos, Grey Flannel concluded that it's the same jersey Ruth wore during Game 3 of the World Series.
Some of the authenticators consulted by Grey Flannel aren't entirely swayed.
Lelands president Mike Heffner says Yankee road jerseys from that era are difficult to photo match because they don't have pinstripes. "Pinstripes line up differently on every uniform - they're like fingerprints," Heffner says. "There's nothing to prove it's the `Called Shot' jersey. There's nothing to disprove it, either."
Grey Flannel is also relying on the advice of uniform historian Marc Okkonen, who claims that teams in the "Called Shot" era only issued one set of road uniforms, meaning Ruth probably did wear it during the game.
Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller, however, says that's hogwash. He joined the Cleveland Indians in 1936, a year after Ruth retired, but he says the two became friends on the "rubber chicken circuit."
"We got two home uniforms and two road uniforms, and when the weather got warm, we'd get lightweight uniforms, too," Feller says. "This memorabilia business is a racket. If people want to throw their money away, they should go to Las Vegas. At least in Las Vegas, you get a good meal."
Despite suspicions, Ruth jersey the focus of sky-high bidding
By BILL MADDEN and MICHAEL O'KEEFFE
New York Daily News
NEW YORK - It's a heck of a story, but it probably isn't true: In Game 3 of the 1932 World Series, with the count 2-and-2 and the Cubs and their fans jeering and heckling, Babe Ruth stepped out of the batter's box and pointed to the bleachers.
Then he slammed the next pitch over Wrigley Field's center-field wall.
"The general opinion of scholars who have seen the grainy film from that game is that he was just waving at the Cubs' dugout," says Richard Goldstein, a researcher with the Society for American Baseball Research. "Only the romantics still believe he pointed to the center-field wall."
A Long Island memorabilia company, Grey Flannel Auctions, is selling a jersey it claims the Babe wore on that October day in Chicago 73 years ago. But some memorabilia insiders say the story behind the jersey sounds an awful lot like the Called Shot legend: It's a heck of a story, but it may not be true.
Internet bidding for the jersey ends June 22, but with the current high bid at $700,000, the auction already has hit Ruthian proportions, and promises to go even higher. John Wallis, president of the Internet gaming site FortuneFun.com, says he will spend whatever it takes to win the jersey, which he plans to raffle off.
"We feel it's certainly worth more than $1 million," says Grey Flannel CEO Howard Rosenkrantz.
Still, memorabilia dealers are notorious for using deceptive advertising and inflated claims to pump up the value of high-priced items, and many collectors are skeptical about how this piece - known for years as a 1930 Ruth road jersey - suddenly has been transformed into the jersey the Babe wore when he allegedly called his shot in 1932.
"I'm not saying they are wrong," Baseball Hall of Fame curator Ted Spencer says of the sellers, "but they play it a little looser than we do."
But Rosenkrantz says extensive research - primarily a review of photographs from the Yankees' 1932 season - indicates the jersey his company is selling is the same jersey Ruth wore during the "Called Shot" game. Grey Flannel asked a half-dozen memorabilia authenticators, including some of its competitors, to weigh in on the jersey. Rosenkrantz and other Grey Flannel executives presented the company's research Thursday at the Hall of Fame's Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture.
"We're pretty comfortable, but we can't be 100 percent sure," says Rosenkrantz. "We're trying to put this in the hands of as many experts as we can. We're trying to put it under as much scrutiny as possible."
The company has a history with the jersey. Grey Flannel co-founder Andy Imperato bought the jersey - and a pair of pants - 15 years ago from a Florida woman who said the Babe gave the uniform to her father to pay off a golf bet. Imperato later sold the uniform for $150,000 to a private collector.
The jersey and the pants were advertised as a 1930 Ruth road uniform in the catalogue for Grey Flannel's November 1999 auction and sold for $284,000. The buyer loaned the jersey to Baltimore's Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, where it was displayed for several years as a Ruth road jersey - not as the "Called Shot" jersey.
When the unidentified collector decided it was time to sell the Babe Ruth jersey, Grey Flannel decided additional research might bring in a bigger price - not to mention a bigger commission.
By comparing the position of the hand-sewn "NEW YORK" on the jersey with scores of 1932 season photos, Grey Flannel concluded that it's the same jersey Ruth wore during Game 3 of the World Series.
Some of the authenticators consulted by Grey Flannel aren't entirely swayed.
Lelands president Mike Heffner says Yankee road jerseys from that era are difficult to photo match because they don't have pinstripes. "Pinstripes line up differently on every uniform - they're like fingerprints," Heffner says. "There's nothing to prove it's the `Called Shot' jersey. There's nothing to disprove it, either."
Grey Flannel is also relying on the advice of uniform historian Marc Okkonen, who claims that teams in the "Called Shot" era only issued one set of road uniforms, meaning Ruth probably did wear it during the game.
Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller, however, says that's hogwash. He joined the Cleveland Indians in 1936, a year after Ruth retired, but he says the two became friends on the "rubber chicken circuit."
"We got two home uniforms and two road uniforms, and when the weather got warm, we'd get lightweight uniforms, too," Feller says. "This memorabilia business is a racket. If people want to throw their money away, they should go to Las Vegas. At least in Las Vegas, you get a good meal."