Babe Ruth always signed balls by using "Babe Ruth" rather than George Herman Ruth. Furthermore, the Smithsonin's expert appraiser informed me that, in the days of the Yankee's greatest teams, the Babe always signed with his name appearing alone between the narrowing of the stitches. Team balls such s this ball are authenticated by examining the signatures, the location of the signatures on the ball. comparing the names on the bqll, to the team rosters and by examining the markings, stitches and labeling on the balls. Also official Yankee policy - prior to the late 1930s - was to preserve all autographed team balls with varnish. If the balls do not have varnish they are very unlikely to be real. Unscrupulous collectors sometimes try to buy balls for a low price by saying that the varnish makes them worthless. The appraiser of this ball and experts at Cooperstown told me that the varnish was an important factor in certifying the authenticity of this very special baseball.

We have a baseball signed George Herman in 1926. Was there another George Herman at that time? We were told by someone that this baseball was not by Babe Ruth.