"You wind Charlie Gehringer up in the spring and turn him off in the fall and in-between he hits .340," said pitcher Lefty Gomez of the Detroit Tiger Hall of Famer known as "The Mechanical Man." Gehringer said of Gomez's statement, "It's not quite that easy. Like anything, it's a lot of hard work and practice." Second baseman Gehringer played 19 years in the Major Leagues, all with Detroit. In all 16 of his full seasons, there were only three years when he didn't hit at least .300. He was a starter in the first All-Star Game, and he was a 6-time All-Star. He was an important part of the 1935 World Champion Detroit Tigers, and in 1937, he led the AL in batting with a .371 average and was the league's MVP. As for the single signed ball, one can see the correct labeling on the south panel on an Official 1934-39 (Harridge) American League Baseball. Gehringer himself inscribed "1935". Handwriting throughout the panels states "Tigers vs. Cubs". The ball was possibly used in a regular season game or World Series since the World Series in 1935 was Cubs vs. Tigers, and Gehringer was on the Tigers. The ball comes with a PSA LOA. Gehringer was a very private man. He signed autographs to benefit the March of Dimes, but he did not particularly enjoy his celebrity. If approached in a restaurant for an autograph, he would sometimes deny that he was Gehringer, saying his name was "Schultz". Gehringer signed his real name, not Schultz, on this ball, shortening his first name to "C.", as was often his habit. The signature is clearly written in black ink from a steel-tip fountain pen, and the autograph is 6/10. The ball exhibits toning and darkening, and there are tiny spots where the skin of the ball has come off. Despite the imperfections common in a baseball over three quarters of a century old, the ball is in satisfactory condition, and it is a prized memento from a Hall of Famer who was signed after a 1923 try-out for the Detroit Tigers' manager, Ty Cobb.