04-01-2006, 04:54 PM
ATLANTA - Babe Ruthâs last home run ball at Yankee Stadium is on the auction block.
For 64 years, its been a family heirloom for Bob Balthazar and his grandson, Joey Buck. But heâs given his blessing to sell the ball to provide financial security for his daughter and grandson.
Lorraine Buck, a single mother and nurse, hopes the proceeds from the Memory Lane auction will pay for her sonâs college loans. The opening bid was $25,000, and the bidding ends Thursday.
Joey Buck received the ball as an 11th birthday present from Balthazar, who was 15 when Ruth hit the home run off Walter Johnson in an exhibition game at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 23, 1942.
Balthazar, now 78 and retired in Sautee, Ga., watched from the right-field seats. Balthazar said on the fifth pitch âRuth finally caught hold of one and it came heading our way. It bounced in the stands in front of us as I recall and over our heads. There was a big scramble and it rolled back and my dad was able to get it.â
Irving Balthazar gave the ball to Bob OâBrien, who had a press pass. He took the ball to the locker room after the game and came back with the autographs of Ruth, Johnson and umpire Billy Evans.
Balthazar, who moved to Atlanta in 1963, kept the ball for 53 years in a flannel-lined glove in a sock drawer before giving it to Buck in 1995 after being impressed by his grandsonâs Little League skills. Buck is now a senior at Louisiana-Lafayette.
âI donât think the Babe would look bad on us for selling the ball,â he said.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For 64 years, its been a family heirloom for Bob Balthazar and his grandson, Joey Buck. But heâs given his blessing to sell the ball to provide financial security for his daughter and grandson.
Lorraine Buck, a single mother and nurse, hopes the proceeds from the Memory Lane auction will pay for her sonâs college loans. The opening bid was $25,000, and the bidding ends Thursday.
Joey Buck received the ball as an 11th birthday present from Balthazar, who was 15 when Ruth hit the home run off Walter Johnson in an exhibition game at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 23, 1942.
Balthazar, now 78 and retired in Sautee, Ga., watched from the right-field seats. Balthazar said on the fifth pitch âRuth finally caught hold of one and it came heading our way. It bounced in the stands in front of us as I recall and over our heads. There was a big scramble and it rolled back and my dad was able to get it.â
Irving Balthazar gave the ball to Bob OâBrien, who had a press pass. He took the ball to the locker room after the game and came back with the autographs of Ruth, Johnson and umpire Billy Evans.
Balthazar, who moved to Atlanta in 1963, kept the ball for 53 years in a flannel-lined glove in a sock drawer before giving it to Buck in 1995 after being impressed by his grandsonâs Little League skills. Buck is now a senior at Louisiana-Lafayette.
âI donât think the Babe would look bad on us for selling the ball,â he said.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.