The Baseball

Editor's Note: With the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game set for Tuesday, July 14 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, the Yuellig Family of Hillsboro shares this remarkable story about one particular baseball, currently on display at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Museum.

From The Yuellig Family

Funny thing about a baseball: It can simply be a means to play a game, or the history of a family can be etched on its cover. Such is the case with this baseball. Five generations of ballplayers and stewards have touched it and left their mark.

Its story begins in the 1920s when Frank Yuellig, the son of German immigrants living in Cincinnati, began a short career in amateur boxing. It is thought that it was at the boxing gym or connections through it that Frank was introduced to Chuck Dressen, the Cincinnati Reds’ third baseman.

On June 6, 1930, the Yankees came to town to play an exhibition game, and Chuck, doing his friend a favor, got Babe Ruth to autograph the ball. It is unclear whether the ball was actually used in the game or whether it was hit by Ruth, but the Babe signed it with his best wishes.

When Frank brought the ball home to his two sons, Frank and Gordon, they were anxious to see the autograph of the most famous player in baseball. The ball was kept safely hidden away, out of the light.

Boys, however, cannot know of hidden treasure and not be tempted to touch it. And so it was that one day the ball was stolen away just for the purpose of being tossed about in the backyard. Imagine tossing a ball that Babe Ruth had touched! The oil from Frank and Gordon’s gloves began to stain the ball and it was quickly returned, but the crime was obvious, and appropriate punishments were issued.

Once again hidden away, Gordon took responsibility for the ball’s stewardship. On Dec. 7, 1941, the country went to war and eventually took both the younger Frank and Gordon with it. Gordon married Shirley Lance in February 1942, and before he left for pilot training they had a son, whom they also named Gordon.

The resting place of the ball during the war was unknown, but when the hostilities ceased and the men returned, Gordon once again took possession of the ball. By the 1950s, Gordon’s family had grown to include three sons: Gordon, Scott and Paul. The ball was kept hidden safely away in the elder Gordon’s top dresser drawer. Hidden things do not escape the attention of the boys for long, however. And, as before, the temptation to use the ball finally arose again.

The Yuellig family home, on Pippin Road in the countryside north of Cincinnati, was the center of all neighborhood activities. The boys, with the assistance of their friends and a kind donation of $3.25 from Tom Clark, a gentleman who lived next door, had constructed a baseball field on a lot behind the barn which bordered Mr. Clark’s yard.

Mr. Clark was an avid baseball fan and enjoyed watching the boys play. Nearly every summer afternoon, at about three o’clock, every boy in the neighborhood would begin to drift toward the ball field. Mr. Clark would sit in his lawn chair and just watch. Teams were chosen and were modified for parity as new players arrived. Balls and strikes were called, scores were kept and disputes arbitrated all among the gathered boys, with only occasional referral to Mr. Clark.

As the boys grew stronger, the hits began to carry further, eventually rolling all the way up to Mr. Clark’s house. Mrs. Clark perceived this as a threat to her toddler grandchild, and the season was almost cut short. That’s where Mr. Clark’s donation of $3.25 came in. It was enough to buy some posts and chicken wire for a fence, and the boys were back in action.

Now this field had a really rough left field, on the outskirts of which were some brush, a couple of downed trees and a creek. Many a ball disappeared there, and many probably rest there to this day. It was on just such an occasion of a lost ball that it occurred to the boys that there was a secret ball that could be used to finish the game. Once more the ball, bearing only the signature of Babe Ruth, saw action. Once again it was returned with only a few extra grass stains, and once again, the crime was discovered and the culprits punished.

Going to Crosley Field was a rare pleasure in the 1950s, and the boys got to experience it when their father occasionally got tickets through a vendor to the Kroger Company where he worked. There were many wonderful players in those “blue collar” days of baseball when a player reveled in the joy of being able to play the game for a living and salaries mirrored those in the everyday world. They understood and valued the privilege they had been given, and they made themselves accessible. Johnny Temple, Roy McMillan and Gus Bell were a few of their favorites, but one man stood out above all the rest. That was Ted Kluszewski. He was a massive man. Big “Klu” was the Reds’ answer to Babe Ruth.

Each time the boys went to a game at Crosley Field, they took the ball in the hope that they could get another signature, maybe even Kluszewski’s. Alas, the trips were too infrequent and the opportunities too few, and the ball languished with only the Babe in its cover.

This all changed when Shirley was being scheduled for some medical tests and discovered she was sitting next to the man himself. Not being a shy person, she asked him if, on their next visit, she could bring the ball for him to sign. He agreed good-naturedly.

When Shirley told her boys what was to happen, they naturally told all their friends from the ball field. This initiated a stampede of boys carrying balls, gloves, cards and all sorts of mementos for her to take to the scheduled meeting with Big Klu. She arrived at the doctor’s office with a shopping bag full, and Kluszewski happily signed each one. The Babe’s signature was in good company.

As the years passed, the Yuellig boys grew up and went off to the service or college. The younger Gordon was away in the military in 1961 when the Yankees and Reds met in the World Series. His brother, Scott, managed to get some tickets to one of the games played in Cincinnati and of course took the ball. He as hoping that, somehow, he could get Roger Maris, a Yankee on the verge of breaking Babe Ruth’s single-season record, to sign next to him. But it was not to be.

The ball again rested securely in the top drawer until Gordon got the opportunity to take it to a game in the 1970s, during the dominating years of the Big Red Machine. Just by chance, he cornered Johnny Bench in an elevator, and he signed. Perhaps the greatest catcher ever to play the game seemed happy to add his name.

By this time, the younger Gordon had a growing family of his own. His son, Wade, was born in 1975, and as he grew older, his interest in sports became obvious. Together, he and his grandfather got the opportunity to attend a game at Riverfront Stadium, and once again, the ball went along. The seats were just behind the Reds’ dugout, and with the help of a cooperative guard, they were able to obtain the signature of Pete Rose, the man who got more hits in Major League Baseball than anyone, ever.

The ball went back into its nook until Opening Day in 1974. On that day, the Reds were to play the Braves, and Hank Aaron was still just one run short of Babe Ruth’s lifetime home run record. Gordon was in a party of Procter & Gamble employees attending the game, and the ball went with him. Aaron, on his first swing of the season, hit a pitch from Jack Billingham to tie the record of 714 home runs. A young player named Dusty Baker was on deck at the time.

After the game, Gordon’s companions urged him to go down to the press room to try to get Aaron’s signature. It was a long shot, but he went anyway. Against all odds, he located the room where Aaron, still in uniform, was being interviewed by a battery of sports reporters. Gordon just walked in. To his amazement, no one tried to stop him. He eased his way to the front, and during a pause, he asked Aaron if he would like to add his signature to a ball Ruth had signed. At first he balked, but with some encouragement from the press corps, who sensed a story, he finally relented and added his autograph. Gordon received 15 seconds of fame on national television. The ball went back into security.

In 2004, Wade was serving in Iraq. He was able to return from a brief leave when his daughter, Eva, was born. It was at this time that Gordon passed the stewardship of the ball to Wade in view of his interest and in recognition of his service to his country.

The signatures on the ball represent 58 All-Star Game appearances. It will be present for this year’s All-Star Game at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Museum, where it has been placed on indefinite loan.

A baseball can be more than an object. It can be the history of a family or even a city, through many generation, bearing the grass and dirt stains of backyards and big league fields alike. This one is an unbroken connection of one family’s love of the game and their team and the men who play our national pastime.