Clemente jersey, MacAlister Collection lead the wa

Hunt Auctions came within a whisper of breaking its own record when it sold a 1966 Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirates home jersey for $68,750 at its Aug. 19-20 auction. The firm sold a 1958 Clemente road jersey for $71,5000 at Major League Baseball’s All-Star Auction in July, the highest price ever paid at auction for a Clemente jersey.

More than 400 lots from the famed collection of Philadelphia native James MacAlister, who amassed hundreds of thousands of signatures from 1944 until his death in 2004 also headlined the sale. The MacAlister Collection represented more than 25 percent of the total auction of 1,200 lots.

Most of the autographs were sold in bulk lots, including 35,000 signed baseball cards from the 1950s-80s, 4,200 autographed photo postcards, 3,000 autographed 3-by-5 index cards, 3,000 autographed Yellow HOF Plaque postcards, 850 autographed photographs, 650 autographed letters, 200 questionnaires and 150 signed baseballs.

Highlights from the collection include:

l Mickey Mantle autographed photograph (Joplin uniform) – $4,510 l 1939 Who’s Who in Baseball with more than 200 autographs – $5,060 l Lot of (41) Hank Greenberg autographed 3-by-5 index cards – $4,400 l Lot of (50) Lefty Grove autographed Yellow HOF Plaque postcards – $3,080 l Lot of (5) Roger Maris autographed cards circa 1960-68 – $2,420 l 1965 Yankees team-signed ball – $6,050 l Freddie Lindstrom ($3,080), Red Ruffing ($2,970), Joe Cronin ($2,090), Lloyd Waner ($1,210), and Walt Alston ($1,100) single-signed baseballs Hunt Auctions will be offering other portions of the collection in future auctions. Some of the other highlights from the sale included: l Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig autographed ball circa 1927-31 – $24,200 l 1926 Babe Ruth signed bat – $29,700 l Rare 1904 American League Imperial photographic display by Carl Horner – $23,100 l 1911 T3 Turkey Red baseball (shown above left) cabinet card near-set – $31,900 l Mickey Mantle “Charles Antell Formula 9” advertising sign circa 1950 – $3,960 l Curt Schilling’s subpoena to testify before Congress regarding the use of performance enhancing drugs – $2,200 l (4) pieces of 1953 Topps original artwork featuring Bill Norman ($2,640), Maurice McDermot ($3,410), Sam Jones ($2,860), and George Kell (shown at left, $3,300) The sale also featured material consigned directly by the family of Leo Durocher, including uniforms, autographed baseballs from the 1930s and ’40s, photographs, awards, jewelry, and other personal effects. Standouts from the collection include: l Willie Mays game-used professional model baseball glove circa 1950s – $28,600 l Durocher’s 1954 New York Giants World Series ring – $25,300 l Leo Durocher’s 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers NL Championship ring – $13,750 l Durocher’s 1963 Dodgers home uniform – $10,450 l Honus Wagner single-signed baseball circa 1946-51 – $9,900.

Hunt Auctions is currently accepting consignments for several upcoming auctions, including this year’s Louisville Slugger Museum auction, to be held live in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 12. Contact Hunt Auctions at (610) 524-0822 for a personal consultation, or go to www.huntauctions.com for more information.