Well, an article in Deadspin written by memorabilia sleuth Peter Nash, of "Hauls of Shame" fame informs us of the dubious nature of the item. I have a great amount of respect for Mr. Nash's work as he hunts down and exposes some of the more underhanded aspects of the Baseball memorabilia market. It's a interesting read and provides a cautionary tale- be weary when buying vintage memorabilia. Is the ring real? Was it stolen from the Ruth family? Was a Ruth heir hoodwinked into selling or trading it? None of these conclusions would surprise me if true.Here is an excerpt:
Halper (the famed collector who sold it to Sheen) was known to have visited and made purchases from Claire Ruth while she was still living in an apartment on Riverside Drive in Manhattan. Ruth's granddaughter has heard stories about Halper visiting Claire with bottles of liquor. Says Linda Ruth Tosetti: "I was told he'd get her liquored up and then walk out with some of Babe's stuff." It's not an unreasonable suggestion. In 1999, Halper told The New York Times that he swapped six bottles of J&B Scotch with Lou Gehrig's widow in exchange Lou's "Luckiest Man on Earth" uniform from 1939. Halper said Mrs. Gehrig was happy to get some "hooch."
Doesn't the 1927 Ruth ring appear on an FBI wanted list along with many other items that disappeared when Dennis Walker did?
ReplyDeleteWalker supposedly owned the genuine Ruth ring. He also owned Rose's Hickok belt, Frisch's '22 Giants WS ring, some DiMaggio items, and a nice group of other prime collectibles that were all making the rounds of the underground sales market on the east coast a short time after Walker and his memorabilia disappeared.
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