Baseballs signed by former presidents Eisenhower, Nixon up for auction

July 19 (UPI) -- A baseball autographed in 1956 by then-President Dwight Eisenhower is up for auction, Steiner Auctions announced.

The ball is described by the New Rochelle, N.Y., auction house as "one of the finest, if not the finest and most well-documented single signed baseball signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower. The baseball is extremely clean with only very light toning and the Eisenhower signature is nearly perfect."

Bidding will end on July 29, with an opening bid of $5,000 -- and two bids at that figure already recorded Wednesday.

The celebrated baseball is part of the 1,000-lot collection of the estate of Harry "Cookie" Lavagetto, who played in the major leagues from 1934 to 1947 -- with a break in his career to join World War II -- and was a coach and manager from 1951 to 1961.

Lavagetto died in 1990, and was a coach with the Washington Senators in 1956, when Eisenhower signed the baseball.

Another item in the collection, a ball signed by then-vice president Richard Nixon with a "best wishes" message, is also up for auction.