A baseball signed by Babe Ruth for Harvard Hodgkins, a Scout whose actions helped lead to the capture of two Nazi spies in 1944, is now up for auction through Heritage Auctions. The sale coincides with what would have been Ruth’s 131st birthday.
The story behind the ball, reported in 2020, is remarkable.
In November 1944, 17-year-old Harvard Hodgkins was driving home from a dance during a snowstorm in Maine when he noticed two suspicious strangers. They were later identified as German spies William Colepaugh and Erich Gimpel. Hodgkins followed their tracks to the shoreline, discovered an abandoned rubber raft, and reported his findings to his father, who contacted the FBI.
His tip proved critical. The two spies were later captured in New York City.
Hodgkins’ alertness and sense of duty brought him brief national attention. The New York Journal American flew him and his family to New York, where he received a key to the city, met heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, and had breakfast with Babe Ruth. During that meeting, Ruth signed a baseball for the teenager and reportedly said, “We’re all proud of you, boy. You did a swell job.”
The baseball has remained in the Hodgkins family for 80 years.