East Ridge resident Wylie Gross was just 4 years old when he attended what is arguably the biggest baseball game Chattanooga has ever hosted, on April 2, 1931.
The Southern Association's Chattanooga Lookouts, a Double-A squad, hosted the New York Yankees in an exhibition game, and Yankees sluggers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig made all the headlines, but not for belting homers or driving in runs.
Instead, they struck out against the unlikeliest hero, a 17-year-old female pitcher named Jackie Mitchell.
Now 78, Gross is selling an autographed baseball his father obtained at the game. Available on the online auction site eBay, the ball, signed by Ruth, is certified authentic and is listed at $18,999.
"My father said it was a foul ball he got, and he had Babe Ruth sign it at the park," Gross said. "I have another baseball with the entire 1931 Yankees team's autographs on it, but I haven't listed that for sale yet."
Gross said he was going to pass the baseballs to his son, but he was killed eight years ago in an electrical accident.
"I've got two daughters who are not too interested in baseball," he said. "I've got four grandsons, and you can't divide two baseballs into four, so I'm selling them."
Gross said family members agreed with his decision.
"I promised them a little something for them out of the money," he said. "It seems the most equitable way out of it."
The exhibition game between the Lookouts and the Yankees was a predictable 14-4 blowout for the Bronx Bombers, but it was the strikeouts by Mitchell, the first woman to ever play in the minor leagues, that had the community buzzing.
Armed with a wicked curve ball, Mitchell, who died in 1987, was brought in as a reliever in the first inning to face Ruth, with no outs and a runner on first. After taking ball one, Ruth whiffed on the next pitch. He took another ball, then swung and missed the next pitch, before taking a called third strike.
"Jackie was 4 degrees cooler than the proverbial cucumber," the Chattanooga Daily Times reported the next day. "Babe waited, looking for another (pitch) inside and Jackie breezed one straight through the middle. A perfect strike. Babe threw down his bat in disgust and stalked to the dugout."
Next up was Lou Gehrig. Mitchell delivered three pitches, and the "Iron Horse" swung and missed at all three. The 17-year-old received a standing ovation lasting several minutes, and after walking the next batter, she was relieved from the mound to another ovation.
"The crowd arose with deafening applause," the Daily Times reported. "The debut of the feminine flinger was well-received."
Phil Winget, who is selling the autographed baseball for Gross through his eBay outlet Easy Auction, said he has received several inquiries. There are several Babe Ruth-autographed balls for sale, ranging from $2,000 to more than $1 million in price depending on the ball's condition and the boldness of the signature, but Gross' ball is the only Southern League baseball available on eBay right now, Winget said.
"We did try to auction it off several months ago, and all the top collectors around the country were calling us and e-mailing us actively every day," he said. "It did not meet (the) reserve price, and now it's just sitting there waiting for someone to jump on it."
