Young Jimmy McConnell and his friend Joel Cooley made an odd pair of friends in the mid-1920s. McConnell was a freckle-faced Irish boy while Cooley was an elderly African-American man who watched Cap Anson play ball in the late 19th Century. Both were residents of the same neighborhood on New York's Staten Island. As with most people in the New York area both were fans of the great Babe Ruth and to show their appreciation for The Babe Cooley picked three dozen of his best dahlias from his garden and the pair brought them along to the Yankee game to leave as a gift. The boy brought a baseball. Ruth ever appreciative invited the pair to remain after the game where young McConnell obtained some autographs. Meeting Babe Ruth made one somewhat of a celebrity in those days so much so that the unlikely pair got their names in the paper back in their Tottenville neighborhood and so they made plans to return again the following year to do the same. McConnell continued to return to Yankee Stadium with his baseball obtaining new autographs when he could. As an adult he passed away at a young age leaving behind an infant son. The baseball well-worn and weathered with age remained with the son as he grew through adulthood and one day visited our office - with a great baseball and a better story. Presented here is that baseball a Reach Official League ball with eleven legible and semi-legible signatures all obtained in the 1920s at Yankee Stadium by Jimmy McConnell of Tottenville. The ball contains of course the signature of Babe Ruth on the sweet spot. The west panel contains Ruth's fellow Yankee hero Lou Gehrig alongside the greatest pitcher of all time Walter Johnson. The north panel contains Tris Speaker along with the most legible signature of the bunch - that of Bill Robinson better known as the entertainer Mr. Bojangles (the story goes that during one of McConnell's visits he was unable to secure the signatures of any ballplayers but happened to be sitting right nearby Robinson who gladly signed the ball). On the ball's south panel are the signatures of Joe Dugan Jimmie Dykes Hans Lobert and Pat Collins. Two additional signatures are illegible due to the weathering on the ball. Provenance is everything in this hobby. Clearly the signatures on the ball are faded the baseball soiled and toned with visible scuffs. Many of the signatures are obscured to the point where they are extremely difficult to read even by an authentication company with infrared equipment. However the baseball has been locked away in a drawer for more than 90 years after making the trip from Staten Island to Yankee Stadium each summer for several years accompanied by the most unlikely pair of friends. And that makes this one very special baseball. Full LOA from James Spence Authentication.