He was the man who set the major league record for inside-the-park home runs with a head-scratching 55. Jesse Burkett played for the New York Giants, as well as other big-league clubs over a 15-year career. The number of authentic, single-signed Burkett baseballs in the hobby can be literally counted on one hand. Of those few that exist, this has to be close to the finest, and it has good pedigree. It was originally part of the Jim Armstrong collection of baseball autographs. Armstrong was perhaps the single most prolific baseball autograph collector of all time. He passed away long before rare baseballs like this were worth more than a few dollars, and before the proliferation of well-executed fakes. The official National League (Frick) baseball was signed at the tail end of Burkett's life. The ball has been shellacked, but is free of any other defects. The signature in black ink on a side panel grades a strong 7.5/10. Hen's teeth may sound common when compared to this baseball. PSA LOA. Nicknamed "The Crab," Jesse Burkett died in 1953 at the age of 84, seven years after his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was the first native of West Virginia to be enshrined in Cooperstown.