Many people agree with Babe Ruth that "baseball was, is, and always will be to me the best game in the world." Collectors of baseball memorabilia value objects with connections to famous athletes and have strong nostalgic and emotional ties to items in their collection. An anonymous baseball bat or glove is not inherently valuable, but a bat or glove used by a famous athlete can bring high prices when sold or auctioned.
The market for genuine vintage baseball memorabilia has changed dramatically over the last decade. In the late 1980s, the limited supply of genuine articles was traded almost exclusively among a select group of collectors through a well-defined network. Today the market is flooded with tens of thousands of vintage items that are counterfeit. Some experts believe that more than half of the autographed memorabilia on the market today, a staggering one-billion-dollar industry, is fake.
Is This Really Babe Ruth's Glove?
George Herman (Babe) Ruth (1895-1948) is regarded by many as the greatest baseball player of all time and one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. In 2012 this genuine 19th century glove was purchased by Irving Scheib on eBay for $750. Shortly thereafter, Scheib resold the glove for $200,000 by fraudulently claiming that it had been used by baseball legend Babe Ruth. Unfortunately for Scheib, the buyer asked him to notarize one of the letters attesting to the provenance. Scheib refused to do so, and the buyer returned the glove. Subsequently, Scheib repeated the con over the telephone to someone he believed to be another potential buyer but who, in fact, was an undercover investigator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The peddling of counterfeit goods is a crime. Scheib was charged with one count of wire fraud (financial fraud involving the use of the phone or internet) and received two years of probation and a $25,000 fine.
Irving Scheib increased the monetary value of this baseball glove by creating a false provenance, claiming that Ruth had slept with it under his pillow at Saint Mary’s orphanage, where he was placed as a child. Scheib also claimed that the Hollywood actor Robert Young (to whom he was related by marriage) had obtained the glove from Babe Ruth himself. If the fraud had not been discovered, Scheib would have made a profit of $199,250.
Genuine antique full web workman baseball glove
Purported to have been used by Babe Ruth; 1890s
Courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Office
This photograph of Babe Ruth, with an authentic signature, is part of the collection at the Library of Congress. Compare this signature to the forgery below. Could you be certain which is genuine and which is fake?
Babe Ruth
Irwin, La Broad & Pudlin; ca. 1920
Library of Congress
The counterfeit market has been able to flourish because of the role played by authenticators who fraudulently or, less often, mistakenly certify forgeries as objects with genuine signatures. This photograph and autographed postcard were confiscated during a fraud investigation conducted by the FBI after determining the signature was false. No charges were filed.
Photograph and autographed postcard
Purportedly signed by Babe Ruth; 20th century
Courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Office
Joe DiMaggio Bat
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (1914-1999), nicknamed "Joltin’ Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball centerfielder who played his entire thirteen-year career for the New York Yankees. He was a three-time MVP and is best known for his fifty-six-game hitting streak, a record that still stands. This bat and its accompanying fake "Certificate of Authenticity" were confiscated by the FBI during a fraud investigation. No charges were filed.
Louisville Slugger wooden baseball bat
Purportedly signed by Joe DiMaggio; early 20th century
Courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Office
Mickey Mantle Bat
Mickey Charles Mantle (1931-1995) was an American Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career at the New York Yankees and is regarded by many as the greatest switch hitter in baseball history. Because of its historic and nostalgic value, a bat used and signed by him would be the cornerstone of any collection. This bat was confiscated by the FBI during a fraud investigation after determining that the signature is fake. No charges were filed.
Louisville Slugger wooden baseball bat
Purportedly used and signed by Mickey Mantle; early 20th century
Courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Office
Bibliography
“Babe Ruth Contract Expected to Shine at Heritage Platinum Night Sports Auction.” Art Daily, February 13, 2017.http://artdaily.com/news/93715/Babe-Ruth-contract-expected-to-shine-at-Heritage-Platinum-Night-Sports-Auction#.WKG9XE3mq70
Gearty, Robert, and Larry McShane. “Fraudster Yankee Memorabilia Peddler Busted for Selling Fake Babe Ruth Glove on eBay Gets Easy Sentence.” New York Daily News, December 20, 2012. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/memorabilia-imposter-busted-selling-fake-babe-ruth-glove-article-1.1224841
Lidz, Franz. “The Sultan of Swap: From Babe Ruth’s Spittoon to George Brett’s Pine Tar, Barry Halper Has Begged, Bought, and Bartered for a Fabulous Trove of Baseball Treasures.” Sports Illustrated, May 22, 1995. http://www.si.com/vault/1995/05/22/203369/
Nash, Peter. “Damned Yankee: Was Steinbrenner’s Partner the ‘Madoff of Memorabilia?’” Hauls of Shame. http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=4323
U.S. Attorney’s Office. “California Man Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Scheme to Sell Fake Babe Ruth Baseball Glove for $200,000.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, June 28, 2012. https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2012/california-man-pleads-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-scheme-tosell-fake-babe-ruth-baseball-glove-for-200-000