Babe Waxpax

Dear Babe: I have a baseball signed by Dusty Baker in 1993 or 1994. -- Theresa Sarti, Redding, Calif.

Baker hit .278 in a 19-year career in the majors before becoming a manager. He is managing in Cincinnati these days, but back then he was the Giants skipper. Of course, the high point of his tenure in San Francisco was when he rode the steroid-laden shoulders of Barry Bonds to within a few outs of winning a World Series title in 2002. A nice, bold sig on the "sweet spot" of an official major league ball is worth around $50-$75.

Dear Babe: My dad did business with a Russian firm in the late 1970s. With the 1980 Moscow Olympics approaching he was given a replica gold medal and a Mishka lapel pin. -- C.B., Redding, Calif.

The clever Soviets had picked up on capitalism by the time the 1980 Olympics rolled around. While the U.S. boycotted the summer games, there is no shortage of items produced by the Russians.

Dear Babe: I have photo of Babe Ruth with three other men that I found in my late uncle's belongings and was wondering if you might be able to help me figure out who the other gentlemen are, what year it was taken and what kind of hats are they wearing. Were they from a branch of service or some sort of service club? -- Ann Anzo, Mt. Shasta, Calif.

Actually, it's a photo of William Bendix. It was probably taken during the filming of "The Babe Ruth Story" in 1948. Bendix starred in the role of The Bambino. It's not the best-ever movie -- based in large part on Ruth stories that weren't true. As for the three gentlemen in the photo, "Long Beach" printed on one of the hats says a lot. Again, it's just a guess, but I suspect the three gentlemen belonged to a veterans' organization and were visiting while the crew was on location. Recreation Field in Long Beach, which is now the site of Blair Field, could have been where the photo was taken. Unless one of the vets is a Medal of Honor winner or went on to become a famous politician, the photo has little value. Mike Heffner, president of www.Lelands.com, said it might be worth around $25.

Dear Babe: I have a 1992-1993 Fleer Shaquille O'Neal Rookie basketball card and it has no number. It says "Slam Dunkon the front. -- Diane Lynn, Riverside, Calif.

O'Neal's 1992-'93 Fleer Slam Dunk (SD) card comes in three flavors. Beckett's annual basketball card price guide lists a regular issue rookie card (No. 298) along with two unnumbered versions. Beckett lists the regular card at $3. One unnumbered card was part of a team sheet that was sponsored by Gooding's, a supermarket chain that was given out at the final game of the 92-93 season, according to the Almanac. Fifteen thousand sheets were produced. The sheets were perforated, so an individual card will have little nubs on a least two sides, depending on where O'Neal's card was placed on the sheet. That version books at $8. The third and most valuable variation is the unnumbered card that was part of the Tony's Pizza 108-card set. There are 72 regular cards and 36 SD cards. Three-card packs were packaged inside the frozen pizzas. The SD cards are rarer because they replaced coupon cards in the packs. Shaq's Tony's Pizza card, which will have straight edges, lists for $15. For the record, Shaq's rookie card (401) books at $6. He did not have a regular card in the pizza set.

Dear Babe: I have a program from the New York Athletic Club indoor track meet on Feb. 17, 1940, autographed by Glenn Cunningham, John Woodruff and John Borican among others. -- Jack Murphy, Calimesa, Calif.