We all take stock of the outgoing year, and it was a banner one here at the Museum! I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who frequents these pages and who gets some value from seeing my collection. I hear from a few of you occasionally and it’s always appreciated. I hope all of my fellow collectors have a safe holiday season full of love and good cheer!
2024 In Review
When gathering info for this post I was truly amazed at how much the Museum has grown over the past 12 months.
A whopping 73 balls were added, a total that really surprised me (and please, don’t tell Mrs. Baseballs, it would surprise her even more but I don’t think she’d want to celebrate). Mind, that’s not 73 new balls; most were upgrades in condition of balls I already had. But a few notable additions deserve mention.
Six balls from the first half of the 20th Century were added:
- 1938 Pacific Coast League – The oldest PCL ball in the Museum
- 1939 Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League – The oldest PONY ball in the Museum
- 1940 Appalachian League – The oldest Appy League ball in the Museum
- 1948 Piedmont League – The oldest Piedmont League ball in the Museum
- 1949 Three-I League – The oldest Three-I League ball in the Museum
- 1949-1950 Pacific Coast League
Seventeen balls dating to the latter half of the 20th Century (specifically between 1950 and 1980) were new to the Museum in 2024:
- 1951-1957 Florida State League
- 1952-1955 Sooner State League
- 1954 Texas League
- 1955 Texas League
- Late 1950s Pioneer League
- 1956-1958 Western League – The first Western League ball in the Museum
- 1958 South Atlantic League – The first ball from the historical, defunct SAL in the Museum
- 1960s Gulf Coast League
- 1964-1965 Texas League
- Late 1960s International League
- 1969-1970 American Association
- 1970 Appalachian League
- 1970 New York-Penn League
- 1972 Texas League
- 1973 Eastern League
- 1973 Pacific Coast League
- 1977 International League
Finally, three All-Star Game balls found their way here, which is always a reason to celebrate, since “MiLB” isn’t making any new ones (you didn’t think you could get through a post here without a disparaging remark about Rob Manfred, did you?).
- 1998 Triple-A All-Star Game, Norfolk Tides
- 1999 Double-A All-Star Game, Mobile BayBears – the first Special Event baseball from 1999 in the Museum and previously featured in my last post.
- 2014 Texas League All-Star Game Home Run Derby, Arkansas Travelers
Also, a reminder that The Collector’s Guide is available at the link or from my main menu, and on Etsy. The Revised 2nd Edition will be available very soon so keep an eye out for it, I’ll announce it here.
Once again, thank you all for your patronage. This site is a passion project and I’m truly humbled that authenticators and fellow collectors look to it as a resource and reference. May your collection continue to grow as well, and may we all have an even greater 2025!
– Tony Baseballs