Vinegar Bend Mizell 1957 Cardinals Victory Ball. Baseball history!

Description

Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell pitched for the Cards and later served in Congress (taking over the seat occupied by Zach Galifianakis' uncle).
This Victory Ball commemorated Mizell's first win of the '57 season vs the New York Giants (6/9/57), detailing stats and particulars of the game, along with a few words of encouragement for a pitcher who'd been struggling before that start.
Victory balls for pitchers are usually last-out balls or otherwise used in the game. They are carefully detailed with stats, encouragement, doodles, or other writing
by someone with the team and presented to the pitcher to keep in his personal collection.
One of the great creators of victory and trophy balls was longtime Cardinals trainer Bob "Doc" Bauman, who was with the Cards and other MO teams for decades. He was later inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Doc Bauman prepared this ball.
Bauman's creations are a combination of vintage baseball game-used history and folk art. Some of his balls are now in important collections, such as the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum. If you'd like to see a video from that museum on their Bauman balls, google "Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum trophy balls bob bauman" The video discusses Bauman's baseballs at about 2:48 in. You'll notice he used the same red and india ink pattern on those balls.
These balls are special because, unlike game-used balls today, these each have a colorful aesthetic and personality, they're very personal to the player and his achievement, and they're from a bygone and revered era in baseball history. But unlike much other historical game-used memorabilia, these balls are essentially self-authenticating because they are so detailed and unique and it would be virtually impossible to recreate them and their antique patina.
Please review photos carefully (pedestal not included). This ball is decades old so note the red writing has aged some but it still displays beautifully.