This
is a 1950s Salesman Sample Rawlings Baseball, with
Facsimile Autographs. The markings AB 5 oz Horsehide
cover are on the ball. I've seen two of these baseballs
, that only have a few Facsimile Autographs on them and
both were described as "Salesman baseballs".
Because There are only a few Signatures on the Baseballs
they probably were not for sale. I would think they were
used as samples given to Sporting goods stores as a
gift, as to showcase their product. Sort of like Topps
when they gave dealers a free Mickey Mantle Bronze
rookie card when they ordered a certain amount of Topps
products. I would thinks these Baseball are very rare.
The two salesman sample baseballs bellow; Photos
bottom left, are from 1961. You can see the one side
of the ball is exactly the same (Warren Spahn) But the
Mantle Signature is different. The ball from 1961 is
Mantle modern signature.
