Ford Vehicle

Whitey Ford was in the clubhouse on a spring-training day in Florida, catching a smoke while the Yankees were out playing this Palm Beach exhibition game. It was the sixth inning, and all of a sudden, two guys walked in on Ford, flashing badges. The lefty felt a flash of fear. They were Secret Service. This was sometime in the early 1960s, John F. Kennedy’s time in the Oval Office. Anyway, the future Hall of Famer was asked to identify himself. They had found their man, or at least one of them.

One of the agents said to Ford: “Mr. Kennedy Sr. lives on the ocean in Palm Beach and he would like you, Yogi Berra, Tony Kubek and Mickey Mantle to visit him at his house today.” So the foursome went to meet the president’s father. Joseph Kennedy couldn’t speak then; he’d had a stroke in December 1961. But Ford and his teammates could see how thrilled he was. When they were ready to leave, Ford popped a question.

He had decided to bring 12 baseballs and ask the family patriarch if he could have JFK sign them. A month later, the balls arrived in the mail, three signed to each player. Flash ahead several years. Ford saw a sports collectibles publication and found the price tag for balls autographed by the late president. Right away, he picked up the phone. Hello Tony, Hello Yogi, Hello Mickey: “You know those balls we got? They’re worth $35,000 each.” So they all went searching for them.

The only one who didn’t strike out was Ford. He found one of his three. And now it’s going up for sale with hundreds of other Ford-related items during a Hunt Auctions baseball memorabilia bidding event on July 14 and 15. The auction is part of the FanFest that’s coming to the Javits Center because the All-Star Game is being played at Yankee Stadium on July 15 to commemorate the ballpark’s final season. Ford is just the latest former player to put a collection of his memorabilia up for auction.