The Rarest Ball in the Collection

There are only two baseballs in existence signed by Theodore Roosevelt. One belongs to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, donated by the legendary Walter Johnson and locked permanently into its collection. The other is here, offered publicly for the first time in history.

This is that story.

A Ball Signed for the War Effort

On May 30, 1918, in the middle of America's involvement in the First World War, Theodore Roosevelt signed a baseball at the request of Frank Navin, the owner of the Detroit Tigers. The request wasn't for a fan or a collector. It was for a cause. Navin intended to donate the signed ball to be sold at auction, with the proceeds going to support Detroit's Navy recruiting fund.

Roosevelt, ever the patriot, signed it. The ball is dated in his own hand: "May 30th 1918." More than a century later, that signature remains bold, the ink steady, the stitching of the ball itself still intact.

It would become one of the last great public acts tying Roosevelt, war hero and former Commander in Chief, to the game he loved.

A General Motors Executive Steps Forward

When the ball went to auction for its original purpose, it was purchased by R.H. Collins, then president of the Cadillac division of General Motors, for a winning bid of $1,500.

To put that number in perspective: had that same $1,500 been invested in the U.S. stock market in 1918 and left to grow with dividends reinvested, it would be worth approximately $84.46 million today. Collins, of course, chose a different kind of investment. He kept the ball.

It remained within the Collins family for nearly a century, passed down with care and eventually gifted to Collins's grandson for his 18th birthday, a gesture confirmed in a notarized letter that travels with the ball today as part of its provenance.

The Cornerstone of Any Complete Collection

Presidential autograph experts consider Roosevelt-signed baseballs the rarest in the hobby, and for good reason. Of the two known to exist, one is permanently held by the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is the only one that has ever been available to a private collector, and the only one that ever will be, for as long as the Hall's example remains where it is.

Alongside the William Howard Taft ball also included in this collection, the Roosevelt ball represents the true cornerstone of what makes a presidential baseball collection "complete." Without it, no collection, however extensive, can claim to span the full sweep of presidential history. With it, this one does.

What Comes With It

The Roosevelt ball is accompanied by full letters of authenticity from both PSA/DNA and JSA, the two most respected authentication bodies in the hobby. It also includes a signed letter of provenance from Edwin Collins, R.H. Collins's grandson, and the original period publication believed to have been produced by General Motors documenting the day the ball was signed.

Together, these materials trace an unbroken chain of ownership from a Navy recruiting fundraiser in 1918 to this auction in 2026. Few items in any collecting category, presidential or otherwise, can offer that kind of documented history.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

For the collector who has always wondered what it would mean to own a piece of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, the answer has, until now, simply not existed. The only known example was already spoken for, sitting permanently in Cooperstown.

This is the only opportunity that will ever exist to change that.

The Theodore Roosevelt ball is part of the Commander in Chief Master Set, a complete collection of 21 presidential autographed baseballs spanning 1901 to 2026, offered as a single lot at auction on July 13, 2026. To view the full collection and register to bid, visit huntauctions.com