| SIGNER: Luke Appling BALL MANUFACTURER: Rawlings BALL TYPE: Official National League PRESIDENT'S STAMP: Charles Feeney BALL PRODUCTION DATES: 1984-86 COMMENTS / CONDITION: As with all of my signed items, the signature is guaranteed to pass inspection by any major authenticator, or your money back. See photos for signature quality and ball condition. This ball will ship in an acrylic display holder. Combined shipping is available for multiple ball purchases. BIO: Lucius Benjamin Appling (Old Aches and Pains or Luscious Luke) was born in 1907 in High Point, NC and died in 1991 in Cumming, GA. He went to college at Oglethorpe University. He played major league baseball from 1930 to 1950 as shortstop for the Chicago White Sox, was selected in 1936, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946 and 1947 as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964. Appling was famous among his teammates for complaining day in and day out about minor ailments such as a sore back, a weak shoulder, or shin splints. While much of this complaining was probably for show, it earned him the moniker "Old Aches and Pains." He did suffer one serious injury: a broken leg that cost him much of the 1938 season. Appling was well known for his ability to foul off pitches, leading to the story that he once fouled off 10 pitches in a row on purpose when ownership refused to give some baseballs to autograph because they were too expensive; he was supposedly never refused a ball again. Appling was a successful minor league manager after his playing days were over, winning pennants with Memphis in the Southern Association and Indianapolis of the American Association and being named minor league manager of the year in 1952; but his only chance to manage at the major league level was as a late-season replacement for Alvin Dark as manager of the Kansas City Athletics in 1967, leaving his major league managerial record at 10-30. He was a major league coach for the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Athletics and White Sox during the 1960s and early 1970s, and worked as a batting instructor for the Atlanta Braves in the 1980s. On July 19, 1982, Appling played in an old-timers' game at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. Appling, then 75 years old, hit a 250-foot (76 m) home run off Warren Spahn. Spahn applauded him as he rounded the bases. Appling was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964. In 1981, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. In 1999, he was named as a finalist to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. SKU: BB1558
Item: BB1558
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