Like so many others clubs of the time, the New York Giants found themselves sorely depleted of up-and-comers and players who were in their prime during WWII. The 1943 Giants squad did boast some aging superstars, but the output from these fading legends wasn’t enough to keep them out of the basement. These aging stars did however, make the offered 1943 Giants team-signed baseball a worthy collectible. This ONL/Frick ball is period signed by (24) members of the 1943 Giants team, including Hall of Famers Mel Ott, Carl Hubbell, and Ernie Lombardi. A thin coating of shellac gives this ancient ball (VG-EX) a light sheen, and the autographs range (“4” to “6”), with deference to (2) signatures on the east panel, that are too faded to determine. In a stroke of good fortune, the Ott autograph is the boldest of the bunch.



Featured signers are:



Sweet spot: Vic Bradford, Gus Mancuso;



North panel: Cliff Melton, Carl Hubbell (“5”), John Rucker, “Buster” Maynard (d.1977), “Babe” Barna (d.1972);



South panel: Dick Bartell, Tom Sunkel, Van Mungo, Harry Feldman (d.1962), Sid Gordon (d.1975), Ernie Lombardi (“6”, d.1977);



East panel: Joe Orengo, Mel Ott (“6”, d.1958), “Bubber” Jonnard (d.1977), undetermined, undetermined, “Ace” Adams, Mickey Witek, Ray Berres;



West panel: John Wittig, Bill Jurges, Ken Trinkle (d.1976).



Full LOA from James Spence/JSA. Opening Bid $200.