A set of 21 presidential autographed baseballs, featuring every president of the United States since Theodore Roosevelt, has sold via Hunt Auctions' MLB All-Star live auction for $3,055,000.
It took the unnamed consigner three decades to amass the collection. All baseballs include letters/certificates of authenticity from one or both of James Spence Authentication (JSA) or Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA/DNA).
Some balls include letters of provenance, like the 1918-signed Theodore Roosevelt ball, which includes a letter from Edwin Collins, the son of the former president of General Motors' Cadillac division, who received the ball as a gift when he turned 18. The ball is one of only two known Teddy Roosevelt-signed balls.
The John F. Kennedy-signed baseball and accompanying Whitey Ford letter details how, "in the early 1960s, during an exhibition game in Palm Beach, Florida," Secret Service agents escorted Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Tony Kubek via limousine to Joseph Kennedy's home. Ford brought 12 baseballs and John F. Kennedy signed three for each player. According to the auction house, "this is the only ball that remains."
"The labor of love and appreciation for the history of baseball along with its relationship with the presidency that embodied this collector's pursuit of these treasures is as impressive as the objects within," David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions -- the official auctioneer of MLB All-Star Week for more than two decades -- said in a statement.