Mickey Mantle items anchor Heritage’s Platinum Night Sports Auction

Memorabilia and baseball cards revolving around Yankees players Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle are sure to draw plenty of attention in Heritage auction.

Author:
Bert Lehman
Publish date:
Aug 7, 2018

Mickey Mantle, whose retirement from Major League Baseball will mark its Golden Anniversary this year, is likely to command the top three results in Heritage’s Platinum Night Sports Auction. A pair of ultra-high-grade 1952 Topps cards from a new-to-the-hobby “find” will feed fans’ unquenchable thirst for the most significant post-war trading card. The 1964 jersey “the Mick” was wearing as he hit the 17th and 18th World Series home runs of his Hall of Fame career will tempt the hobby’s foremost uniform enthusiasts.

“These three lots should account for more than $2 million in sales alone,” said Chris Ivy, director of Sports Auctions for Heritage. “It’s a testament to both the enduring strength of the Mantle legacy, and of the sports collectibles marketplace as a whole.”

Right on the Mick’s heels we’ll find his Yankees predecessors, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, each of whom will supply a relic from that glorious World Championship season of 1927, when they set the home run record and won the American League MVP Award respectively. Ruth’s 48th home run ball from that campaign is the only self-authenticated example known, while Gehrig’s game used bat was almost certainly responsible for far more than a single long ball of its own.

The sale represents one of the most impressive lineups of game-worn football jerseys in Heritage’s history, with battle-scarred beauties from Billy Cannon, Fred Biletnikoff, Ray Nitschke, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Brett Favre, Joe Montana and many more.

A pair of Boston Garters rate among the rarest and most beautiful trading cards Heritage has offered, while a 1916 Indianapolis Brewing Babe Ruth and 1917 Collins-McCarthy “Shoeless Joe” Jackson honor the most celebrated and controversial sluggers of their time.

Additional highlights include:

• Circa 1910 Piedmont Cigarettes oversized tri-fold advertising sign, one of just two known, restored to like-new condition (est. $40,000-up)

• 1914 Cracker Jack Christy Mathewson #88, PSA EX 5, population two, only one superior (est. $100,000-up)

• 1930-31 Babe Ruth signed New York Yankees player›s contract – the richest of his career (est. $400,000-up)

• 1952 Ted Williams game worn Boston Red Sox jersey, MEARS A10 (est. $80,000-up)

• 1955-56 Jackie Robinson game used bat, PSA/DNA GU 9 – originally acquired from the Robinson family archives (est. $300,000-up)

• 1960 Oscar Robertson Rome Summer Olympics game worn USA Basketball team jersey, MEARS A10 (est. $80,000-up)

• Circa 1960 Stan Mikita game worn Chicago Black Hawks jersey (est. $20,000-up)

• 1964 American League Most Valuable Player Award from The Brooks Robinson Collection, accompanied by Robinson letter of provenance (est. $150,000-up).

The auction closes with the extended bidding format on Aug. 18-19.

For a full listing of all the auction lots, visit www.HA.com/50005.