Sports Sunday Best: What's my 1955 BoSox team ball worth?

This is one time Ted Williams is getting upstaged.

The key signature on the ball is Harry Agganis. If you are not from New England, the name means little, but in the Boston area Agganis is legendary. He was a high school baseball and football standout who went on to star at Boston University. He signed with the Red Sox and moved to the majors in 1954 after just one year in the minors.

The first baseman, known as "The Golden Greek, was destined for stardom, but was cut down by leukemia. He died on June 25, 1955. His signature is most often found on team baseballs. A typical 1955 BoSox team ball is worth $500, but with Agganis' autograph the value jumps as high as $1,000, said Phil Castinetti of Sportsworld in Everett, Mass.

Dear Babe: I have a signed 3x5 Mickey Mantle card showing all his records and World Series stats. On the front bottom it reads, "RLI stands for Reserve Life Insurance Company. I have two of these autographed "To Robert, best wishes, Mickey Mantle and the other to "Mike. I also have a picture that was in the local newspaper on June 15, 1976, of him signing the cards to my brother and me. I hope you can tell me a little more about the card and find out if this company is still around, since he was the vice president of special markets.

It looks like we're going to be updating Beckett's Almanac of Baseball Cards since it says the card is from 1980, but it's obviously older than that. The card lists for $10, but for you it's the autograph that counts.

Everything depends on the size of the name and how it would display. Since it's a 5x7 card, the value should be somewhere between that of a "cut" and a photo. I'd say each signed card is worth $50-$75.

Dear Babe: I have a signed football from all of the players of the 1977 Notre Dame National Championship team. I received this ball while attending one of the games in 1977. It was a raffle prize.

The Fighting Irish went 11-1 under Dan Devine to win the national title in 1977 with defensive end Ross Browner, the Maxwell and Lombardi award winner, and tight end Ken McAfee, winner of the Walter Camp Trophy, leading the way. They capped off the championship season with a 38-10 romp over Texas in the Cotton Bowl. The ball should be in the $500-$1,000 range, said Mike Heffner, president of Lelands.com auction house in New York.

Babe Waxpak is written by Bill Wagner and is a feature of the Record Searchlight in Redding, CA. If you have a question for Babe Waxpak, include your full name and hometown, the card number, year and manufacturer or send a photocopy. Please do not send cards. The address is: Babe Waxpak, Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak@redding.com.