Fans of classic rock music are well aware of the name Geddy Lee, singer, bassist and keyboardist for the band Rush. In addition to being a masterful musician, Lee is a notoriously rabid baseball fan; it has been common to see his face in the crowd behind home plate during Toronto Blue Jays home games for years. Lee has also been a longtime collector of baseball memorabilia; much of his collection was sold through Christie's recently. This baseball was one of the items.
Dating to May 7, 1950, this Spalding Official (Frick) baseball was used in a game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. In the 6th inning of that game with the score tied at 2, Jackie Robinson led off against Pirates pitcher Murry Dickson and launched this baseball into the Pirates bullpen for a home run, his second of the season. The ball was retrieved by Pirates coach Lenny Levy, who kept the ball for his collection, eventually giving it to his nephew, Lenny, who sold the ball in 2013 when it became part of Lee's collection. It remained there until late 2023, when it was sold. The Christie's auction listing makes reference to a letter of provenance from Tom Levy, along with a copy of a news article noting that the home run went into the bullpen. Sadly, the letter did not make it to us with the baseball, and is, apparently, missing. We were able to find the newspaper clip online (posted here to this lot listing). The ball is also featured in the book 72 Stories From the Collection of Geddy Lee, though that book was promised to be shipped to the original auction winners but does not appear to have been published yet. It is our hope that the Levy letter is shown in that book, if/when it is eventually published. The existence of the letter is memorialized in the Christie's auction listing, despite it not being included.
The ball itself exhibits plenty of use, with discoloration and staining. It has been inscribed in blue marker, "Jackie Robinson Sunday 5/7/50 May." An excellent piece of memorabilia memorializing one of the most important figures in sports history, one of just 14 home run balls he hit in 1950.