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Famous Babe Ruth Ball on Sale

Attention all Babe Ruth fans! This is your chance to get your hands on the last home run ball ever to be hit by Babe Ruth. On Match 30th an online auction to help pay a college student`s loans will be held, and this baby of a ball will be on sale. The baseball on sale is an autographed one, and it`s the last home run ball ever hit by Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium. The ball was hit during a World War II fund-raising event back in 1942.
A Georgia grandfather is helping his grandson pay off his college loans with the upcoming sale. Robert J. Balthazar, 78, of Sautee, Georgia was 15 years old when he attended that game, obtained the ball and got it autographed by Ruth and two other Hall of Fame members, pitcher Walter "Big Train" Johnson and umpire Billy Evans. He kept the ball in a sock drawer wrapped in a glove for over a half century, and now it will be offered in a sports memorabilia auction conducted by Memory Lane, Inc. of Tustin, California. The proceeds will used by Balthazar`s grandson, Joey Buck, to pay his student loans at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

A former New Yorker, Balthazar and his father went to see the Yankees play the Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium on August 23, 1942. In between the double header there was an exhibition game to raise money for the Army-Navy Relief Fund, and Walter Johnson pitched against Babe Ruth. Ruth hit his last home run at Yankee Stadium that day, and the ball landed near Balthazar`s father, Irving, who then gave it to him. It was signed after the game by three Hall of Fame members: Ruth, Johnson and umpire Evans. These autographs recently were certified genuine by Professional Sports Authenticator.