The Finest Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig 1934 Tour of Japan Team Signed Sheet PSA DNA JSA
$39,995.00
This magnificent, large-format team-signed sheet features the signatures of all twenty members of the 1934 Tour of Japan, including legendary Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The sheet is signed in black fountain pen by the following team members: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Connie Mack (Mgr.). Lefty Gomez, Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty O'Doul, Bing Miller, Eric McNair, Rabbit Warstler (green ink), Frank Hayes, John Quinn, Joe Cascarella, Robert Schroeder (Philadelphia A's secretary), Doc Ebling (trainer), Moe Berg, Earl Whitehill, Clint Brown, and Sotaro Suzuki (interpreter). Signatures are bold and in beautiful condition. The 1934 tour of Japan by Connie Mack's "All-American" team is considered by many to be the most famous overseas baseball tour in history. The reason is twofold. This was the only overseas tour of Babe Ruth's career, and his popularity, even in Japan, was so great that he was treated like royalty by the Japanese people. The second, lesser-known reason had to do with the fact that Moe Berg was on the team. Berg was a journeyman catcher of little note, and his inclusion on the roster was not by Mack's choosing but rather by that of the United States government. Unbeknownst to everyone at the time, Berg, a Princeton graduate who spoke seven languages, was living a dual life. On the surface he was a professional ballplayer. His other career was that of an undercover spy for the U. S. government. Intelligence officials saw the 1934 baseball tour as an ideal opportunity to acquire important information regarding Japan's major cities, and for that reason Berg was hastily added to the roster just before the team set sail. Armed with a movie camera, Berg took hundreds of reconnaissance films that were later used by the government during World War II. Berg's secret agenda aside, the tour also further fueled the popularity of baseball in Japan and in December 1934, Japan's first professional baseball league was formed. The sheet measures 6-3/4 x 11-1/4 inches and is in Excellent to Mint condition. Full LOAs from PSA/DNA and James Spence/JSA.
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