A 1929 New York Yankees autographed baseball originally obtained by a Benedictine monk, is about to pay dividends for the school at which he taught decades ago.
The ball is signed by seven Hall of Famers include Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jacob Ruppert, former owner of the Yankees who was just inducted. There are a total of 20 signatures signed with black steel-tip fountain pen on the red and black stitched horse hide baseball. The baseball was authenticated by James Spence Authentication in September.
Manage My Auction, LLC, is coordinating the launch of an online auction for the ball after it was donated by family members. The auction closes December 13. Proceeds will benefit St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, NJ. The ball was apparently left in the monk’s room at St. Benedict’s following his death. It was passed down to school officials and family before finally being donated back to the school recently to be sold at auction.
Hank J. Reed, President, of Manage My Auction, says he was contacted by an auction company earlier this year since it didn’t specialize in sports memorabilia. “I was reserved at first because of all the fakes out there and the baseball had not 
been authenticated,” he said. “But once I looked at the ball and signatures closely, I knew the owners of the baseball had an awesome piece of baseball history.”
The school is rich with tradition in academics, athletics and leadership. The proceeds from the auction will benefit 550 young men who are underserved. 98% of all graduates of St. Benedict’s Preparatory attend college.
“We were excited about the potential this baseball had to help raise funds for our institution and programs,” said Kevin Moriarity of St. Benedict’s. “We were thrilled when the baseball was deemed authentic.”
The ball is currently on eBay with a minimum bid of $12, 500. Click here to see the auction.
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