Vintage Military Baseball Fakery: Straight Deception or a Picker’s Ignorance?

Taken at face value, this would appear to be a vintage, game-used baseball from the Marine Corps however, this ball is anything but a military-used item (source: eBay image).

Once again, fraud being perpetrated upon the unsuspecting collectors is pushing me to expose the deed and provide a measure of awareness for those who are unfamiliar with collecting baseball militaria. Online sellers, predominantly within the liar-laden sphere of auctions in what is known as eBay. Fraud and deception are so rampant and blatant that the company that facilitates criminals and deceivers also has in place a substantial program to thwart them after the transactions have been completed. With an item, such as the subject of this article is addressing, is listed for sale, it is incumbent upon the buyer to perform due diligence before pulling the trigger to bid or click the “buy it now” (BIN) button as the folks at eBay lack the expertise to discern fakes from real artifacts.

This screen grab of the auction shows the price gouging for the fake “USMC” baseball.

I have written several pieces regarding fraudulent military baseballs being sold online (see: Fake Military Baseballs) where I have covered many features that are consistent among faked balls. The sellers, hoping to capitalize upon the emotions of the prospective buyers by listing one of the most difficult-to-find artifacts from this time in baseball history, love to capitalize on the understanding that there are so few authentic items with which to perform comparative analysis. In the absence of genuine artifacts for verification, common sense should prevail as one analyzes the artifact using the details presented in the listing.

Light and dark scuffs seem to indicate that the ball has a combination of game play and then needed to have a second round of wear after the USMC stamp was applied (source: eBay image).

The presence of fresh markings (the lighter gouges amid the soiled scuffs and scrapes) indicate nefarious actions and deception (source: eBay image).

Fresh scuffs both above and beneath the USMC stamp are a great indicator that this ball is a complete fraud. (source: eBay image).

The latest example of a fraudulent military baseball is listed by a seller with nearly 5,000 transactions and 100% rating which certainly lends a certain measure of credence to the listing. However, one cannot rely solely upon the seller’s positive sales history to lend credibility any item that is listed. Not to disparage the seller and accuse them of intentional fraud as it is quite possible that the item was obtained from a reputable source.

WWII
Rare-World-War-2–
STAMPED U S M C
Used-Baseball
FROM ESTATE OF VETERANS MARINE
IN WELL PLAYED CONDITION BALL

The description indicates that the seller obtained the ball from a veteran’s estate. One can only assume that the ball was either given to the veteran or he purchased it from a source that was in the business of faking baseballs for profit. What the eBay seller is guilty of doing, at the very least, is perpetuating deception by pushing the bad ball back onto the market and validating it by associating the listing alongside his lengthy, credible sales history.

Remnants of the ball’s manufacturer’s stamp are faint through the staninging and wear leaving one to wonder how the “U.S.M.C” stamp fared so much better during the years (source: eBay image)?

As with all of the other faked examples that have been on the market over the last decade, this baseball does nothing to set itself apart from the fraud-field, aside from the use of “U. S. M. C.” stamped on one of the panels. On the surface, this might seem to be a legitimate mark as the unsuspecting buyer would assume that the Marine Corps applied this stamp to every piece of issued gear. In giving the benefit of doubt and accepting this marking at face-value, one would have to ignore that the baseball has two diverging planes of use and aging. In addition, the USMC stamp itself would not have made an appearance on the baseball as these were not “issued” by the Corps or sourced by the War Department for the military supply system.

Visible above (and to the left) of the USMC stamping are faint markings that are residual from the manufacturer’s marks (also stamped onto the baseball with an ink stamp) – though the mark is indistinguishable for identification purposes. Due to wear (either from game-use or synthetic as part of the faking process), the manufacturer’s mark is nearly eliminated which then calls into question the Marine Corps stamp. With such heavy usage and staining, how is the Marines stamp so vivid and showing very minimal wear?

Not the crisp lines on the partial “C” in the stamping. Also note the recent wear marks that pass beneath the tail of the C indicating that the stamp was added after the aging (source: eBay image).

It is quite obvious that the USMC lettering was applied after most of the original wear. Aside from the aging (it has been roughed up after the stamp was applied), the stamp shows that it was applied twice, possibly in an attempt to obtain better coverage for the letter “C” while leaving a sloppy, unprofessional marking.

The issues with the ball are substantial and call into question the validity of the seller’s claims. Besides the concerns regarding the apparent synthetic aging and that there are no existing valid examples of any baseballs bearing the USMC marking, the seller’s actions displayed within the listing are enough to steer anyone away from submitting a bid.  Authentic military baseballs (such as those provided to the troops by the Professional Base Ball Fund that were marked accordingly) are valued in the $40-70 range, condition-dependent. This seller has this faked ball listed with a starting bid of $150. Along with the price gouging, the exorbitant shipping costs coupled with the seller’s no-returns policy are both red flags.

Had the ball been authentic, the $150 opening bid price is still far above what it should be for a military baseball. The seller is also gouging on the shipping ($10 for a baseball as is shown in this screenshot) however the red flag for this listing is that the seller does not accept returns. This policy alone is an indicator that he does not stand behind his claims.

It is difficult to determine where the deception lies with this auction listing. What is certain is that potential buyers need to perform their due diligence before they decide to pursue such purported artifacts – especially when they are as overly-priced as this one.  As an aside, I did reach out to the seller to provide the reasons supporting my recommendations that the auction listing be discontinued and the ball destroyed. Expecting to receive some sort of pushback in response to the message, I was surprised that the seller considered the information that I provided. In addition to the reasons that I listed in my message as to the why the ball is not genuine, I also recommended that it not be sold to prevent it from being used to defraud another interested party. The seller’s response was to merely reduce the opening bid amount by $100 and to cherry-pick some of the details from my email.

Upon learning and acknowledging that the baseball was a fake, the seller simply reduced the listing price from the original $150 and persisted in overcharging the shipping price.

Buyer Beware! The seller is knowinging selling a fake WWII USMC baseball and updated the listing’s description with snippets from my email that informed him of the issues with the baseball, choosing to sell the ball to an unsuspecting buyer who doesn’t read fine print.

 

Is My WWII Baseball Real?

So many of my articles and much of my artifact-seeking has been focused upon uniforms and photographs yet, the principle object of the sport that I am keenly interested in, the ball itself, has all but eluded my pursuit since I entered into this endeavor nearly a decade ago. The first breakthrough in my searching for authentic baseballs came at the beginning of this year with my successful acquisition of the team-signed 36th Field Artillery baseball from 1956 and still my archive of artifacts would be well-suited if it included a few more leather-clad, stitched orbs.

This is a prime example of a game-used Professional Base Ball Fund ball, made by the Rawlings Sporting Goods Company (image source: Vintage Sports Shoppe).

Roughly nine-inches in circumference and weighing roughly five ounces, baseballs have been been consistent in their size for more than a century. Until 1974, the animal skin covering of most balls (including those used by both major leagues) consisted of horsehide when the change to cowhide was made. With the exception of wartime military issued (italics for emphasis as baseballs were not government-provided) balls used by service members in league play or pick-up games could vary widely in their origins. Though I have not been able to verify alternative sources, balls (along with other equipment such as gloves, bats, catchers’ gear and uniforms) used by service members were sourced through many different means. Aside from the Baseball Fund during both world wars, balls could be obtained directly from sporting goods stores, government procurement or sent to the players from family members on the homefront.

The Professional Baseball Fund ball is marked with Rawlings’ standard logo for the war years (image source: Vintage Sports Shoppe).

The balls that were provided during WWII via the Baseball Equipment Fund ( commencing with fund-raising via the 1942 season’s Major League All-Star Game held at New York’s Polo Grounds) were manufactured by the  Rawlings Sporting Goods Company and marked accordingly with the manufacturer’s standard stampings along with the unique and easily recognizable Baseball Fund stamps. Unsurprisingly with game usage, the stamps would be diminished as they were rubbed off from continued contact with glove-leather, bat-impact along with striking and skidding across various types of field surfaces. Locating a ball with the markings intact is not unheard of however I have only ever seen one listing of a ball that had been sold.

I am certain that many prospective collectors of military baseballs are seeking (but are unfortunately not available) irrefutable methods to authenticate and validate a ball that has been listed for sale as or is purported to be a service team or military-used piece. Due to the many sources that provided baseballs (including official Reach/Spalding-made American and National League balls) to military personnel, authentication can be a considerable challenge with a ball that lacks identifiable markings or that is without substantiated provenance from the service-member whopreviously owned the ball.

The Professional Baseball Fund ball shows the standard Rawlings model markings (image source: Vintage Sports Shoppe).

The ball shows some natural markings and soiling from game use but it is in overall excellent condition (image source: Vintage Sports Shoppe).

The center of the Professional Baseball Fund ball is wound with 100% wool yarn and is marked consistent with other period-correct Rawlings balls (image source: Vintage Sports Shoppe).

Staff members look over equipment for use by marines in the South Pacific. In the crate are dozens of baseballs, which under close inspection, one can see the markings on the balls. There is not a single ball has the “U.S.” stamp as seen within this crate of balls.

Throughout my years studying this subject and these artifacts along with collaboration with long-time experts in vintage baseballs (including major and minor leagues, collegiate, little leagues and balls sold through various sporting goods and department stores).  There are no doubts as to one particular method of ruling out balls that are being sold as genuine military-used item. No evidence exists (documented, photographic or veteran recollection) that substantiates any baseballs being stamped with bold “U.S.” or “Special Services” markings. Sadly, despite the best efforts of several experts, the fraudulent sales are rampant and thriving in spaces such as eBay. Since I published These eBay Pitch-men are Tossing Spitballs at Unsuspecting Collectors and the update, more than two-dozen new victims have purchased from the most-prominent online fraudster, “giscootterjoe” to the tune of more than $1,000.00. There are a handful of other folks who sell the faked U.S.-marked balls, capitalizing on giscotterjoe’s cottage industry but he is consistent in his listings, following the same, weekly pattern.

With a slightly offset stamping over the top of the scuffs and dirt, it appears that some care has been taken to remove the manufacturer’s marks to avoid the painful questions regarding a modern little league ball being doctored to appear to be a WWII military baseball (eBay image).

As you can see, the seller “cadencemilitaria” took a different approach to forging military baseballs as he applied the “US” rubber stamp to the ball after simulating the game-use (eBay image).

The most ridiculous of the faux-WWII baseballs, this one made by the eBay scam-artist, “giscootterjoe.” The U.S. is clear and crisp. Not one scuff or bat mark is visible on the ball and the dark brown dye is evenly applied (eBay image).

Authentication of these baseballs doesn’t require decades of research and comparative analysis to get a sense (even through photographs) of its authenticity. If one played baseball, recalling the damage that is inflicted upon a ball from being batted, bouncing off certain field surfaces (who can forget the scarring balls receive from sandlot gravel or even pavement?), then applying those memories to supposed game-used balls should provide prospective buyers with a strong authentication starting point. Soiling, field stains and bat-marks are random on genuine baseballs. With careful examination, one should be able to see remnants of the manufacturer’s stamps, despite the game use.

As with my recent acquisition, autographed baseballs will require additional scrutinizing. The signatures of soldiers, sailors or airmen are nearly impossible to verify as comparative examples typically do not exist. Researching the names against unit rosters (from the National Archives, unit or base museums or even unit historical publications such as ship cruise-books) which could take time. Common sense tells me that highly unlikely for a fraudster to create a specific unit baseball (such as the  “Rammers”  ball team of the 36th Field Artillery from 1956) with signatures.

Further examination of the signatures to determine if the age of the ink fits the purported date of the ball (60 years of oxidation, ultraviolet deterioration will fade the ink) requires very little expertise and with my ball, the aging appears appropriate. By 1956 the Professional Baseball Fund was eleven years in the past leaving armed forces teams to source their baseballs through normal channels. Though the 36th team-signed ball is a Wilson Official League ball, the model number indicates that it was made for use in little leagues but the stamps verify that it was made in the early-to-mid 1950s. Judging by the stains on all of the panels, the ball doesn’t appear to have been game-used. At most the ball might have made impact contact with gloves but I suspect that the soiling is due to handling.

In last week’s post, I indicated that I landed my second military baseball (a military-team signed 1943 Spalding, Ford C. Fricke National League ball) which is the subject of a forth-coming article. With two balls added to my collection in the last few months, I am only inspired to continue my quest to land at least one of the Baseball Fund-marked balls from the second World War.