Steiner 'Ground-Breaking' Auction Filled With Game Used Beauties Linked to Sports Legends

The Steiner Sports Memorabilia “Ground Breaking Auction” led by the only-known Jackie Robinson game-worn glove from the 1955-56 seasons (current bid at $310,835) enjoyed another watershed moment with the just-announced addition of five major artifacts to the online auction: a 1955 Stan Musial Game-Worn signed St. Louis Cardinals Jersey; a 1947-48 Gil Hodges Game Worn Brooklyn Dodgers Rookie Jersey; a Pristine Babe Ruth-signed Baseball Graded PSA 8; the Babe’s 136th Career Home Run Baseball (1921); and for gridiron fans a 1984-85 Walter Payton Game Worn Chicago Bears Jersey, according to the New Rochelle-based company.

The auction, featuring 1,866 artifacts, will continue through June 2 online at http://auction.steinersports.com. For more information contact Steiner Sports at 914-307-1000.

“There has been a groundswell from collectors with additional once-in-a-lifetime memorabilia due in large part of the awareness created by the Jackie glove,” said Steiner Executive Vice President Brett Schissler.

A Mickey Mantle Game Used Under Shirt From Late 1950s to 1960 Seasons and a 1956 World Series Game 7 Full Ticket Graded 3 from Jackie Robinson's Final Game have also been added. (Detailed profiles of each new item follow this release).

Back to the glove, which was authenticated by the renowned Dennis Esken, who said: “This rare gem is the only Jackie Robinson glove known to exist. It was discovered in NYC tucked away in a garage, wrapped in plastic. The glove shows extensive wear and aging on the leather attributed to three years of use. The photo match and the ability to see the Rawlings labels aided me in getting the exact date of the glove. One of the highlights in this BD model glove is Jackie’s iconic jersey number ‘42’ written in black felt tip on the intact wrist strap also, signifying that this glove belonged to him as proven by the ‘42’ pictured in the photo match.”

Accompanying the game-used glove is another vintage item: a Louisville Slugger Jackie Robinson Professional Model Bat, believed to be from the 1956 season. The bat is authenticated by John Taube and Vince Malta from PSA/DNA and is graded a GU 9. A letter of authenticity states the bat matches records of Robinson’s Louisville Slugger orders and even carries streaks of paint from the bat rack in the Dodger dugout at Ebbets Field.

Yankee Hall of Fame legend Mickey Mantle’s original signed contract for the 1960 season (with proceeds donated to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund by Danny and David Mantle) is in the auction.

The auction also includes the 1939 Yankees World Championship Ring of Weiss, the prolific baseball executive whose Bronx Bombers teams won 10 pennants and seven World Series Championships, including five straight. One of the most successful baseball executives in history, Weiss was the Yankees GM from 1947-60. He was known for developing the Yankees fertile farm system, producing such players as Mantle, Phil Rizzuto and Joe DiMaggio. He was also the first president of the Mets. He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1971. Here is George Weiss's 1938 World Series Champions Ring. This ring is gold with a single diamond on the center. Around the diamond it reads New York Yankees World Champions. On both sides of the ring an Eagle is depicted and it reads New York 1938.

A 1929 New York Yankees Team Signed Baseball is in the auction, with clear signatures of such greats as Babe Ruth, Earle Combs, Tony Lazzeri, Lou Gehrig, Leo Durocher, Miller Huggins, and Jacob Ruppert.

Here are the descriptions of the newly-added artifacts:
1955 Stan Musial Game-Worn signed St. Louis Cardinals Jersey Jersey Signed and Inscribed
This marvelously preserved road grey gamer exhibits solid wear from meetings with the World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets to visits with a rookie Clemente at Forbes Field, the classic chenille birds and bat logo transversing a fully functional zipper front. Red piping rings the cuffs and zipper path, giving way to Musial's retired number "6" in red and navy felt on verso. An artfully chain stitched "Stan Musial" is sewn directly into the jersey body at lower left front tail, beneath a "Rawlings Hall of Fame Flannel [size] 44" label. Not a single distraction--not a stain or a moth hole--is to be found. Musial notates the garment as "1955 Game Jersey" beneath his 9+/10 black sharpie signature on lower left chest. A picture-perfect representation in every regard, for the uncompromising collector. Full LOA from PSA/DNA (autograph). Full LOA from James Spence Authentication (autograph). COA from Stan Musial (autograph).

1947-48 Gil Hodges Game Worn Brooklyn Dodgers Rookie Jersey
Though this Brooklyn Dodgers cult hero did make a single appearance for the 1943 club before two seasons of military service during the Second World War, his 1948 campaign is officially considered his rookie season, beginning his reign as the club's starting first baseman that would last until his trade to the newly-minted 1962 Mets. From the unique tagging style of this home white flannel, we're able to pinpoint the vintage to either that 1948 rookie season, or his twenty-four games as catcher for the 1947 Bums, the National League Champions best recalled for its pioneering rookie Jackie Robinson. It's possible that the jersey saw action in both. The design is instantly evocative of those cherished days at Ebbets, the classic "Dodgers" script applied in blue felt to the chest, with matching blue numerals on verso. It must be noted that those numerals now read "34," but the stitching path of the original "1" is easily visible, the current "3" the result of secondary wear at the minor league level. The aforementioned "Spalding" label appears at interior collar above an embroidered "Hodges" swatch. A washing instructions label and size "44" tag are sandwiched in between. Wear is strong throughout, with some scattered staining and a team repair which account for two of the four points deducted by MEARS (the other two for the aforementioned number change), but the aesthetics remain strong, and its status as a rookie jersey of one of the most beloved Bums of all, and one who still stands a chance at posthumous Hall of Fame induction, establishes it among the most appealing post-war jerseys to enter the bidding process this auction season. LOA from MEARS, A6.

1984-85 Walter Payton Game Worn Chicago Bears Jersey
Direct from the memorable and highly significant "Super Bowl Shuffle" era comes this midnight navy mesh home gamer worn by Sweetness during his most productive years at Soldier Field. The style is Payton's most recognizable, with white and orange screenprinting announcing his immortal number "34" on chest, back and sleeves, and "Payton" screened in similar fashion across rear nameplate. Sleeve striping includes the memorial to George Halas on the left. Vintage cloth "Wilson [size] 44" label in tail shows fine wear to match a scattering of team repairs present in the chest, shoulder and sleeve areas. The back nameplate is straight stitched on the fabric, while it actually measures to a size 46 or 48, presumably due to extra width for cold weather games. Payton's relevance to the sport of football is undeniable, and shortly before his death in 1999 he was ranked No. 8 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 greatest football players. He was the highest-ranked Chicago Bear (just ahead of Dick Butkus at number nine) and the second-highest rated running back behind Jim Brown. Any game-worn jersey from this iconic star is worthy of Canton and the finest football collections.

Pristine Babe Ruth Signed Baseball Graded PSA 8
You don't have to be a Yankees or Red Sox fan to appreciate the Bambino. The legendary Babe Ruth walloped 714 home runs in his amazing career to go along with 2211 RBI and a lifetime batting average of .342. The Babe batted an astounding .393 in 1923 drove in 171 runs in 1921 and smacked 60 home runs in 1927. He led the AL in home runs 12 times RBI six times and walks 11 times. Ruth was a charter member of the Baseball Hall of Fame elected in 1936. Included in this lot is an Official American League William Harridge Baseball hand signed by baseball immortal Babe Ruth. This baseball is pristine white and is graded a PSA 8.

1921 Babe Ruth’s 136th Career Home Run Baseball
Every well-informed baseball fan knows that the Babe's reign as Career Home Run King ended on April 8, 1974, when Hammerin' Hank Aaron blasted his 715th at the Atlanta season home opener, but few could tell you when it began. Ruth's coronation date, in fact, was July 12, 1921, as the Yankees visited the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park. The sophomore-year Yankee was in the midst of perhaps his finest offensive season, one that would conclude with fifty-nine homers, 171 runs batted in, a .378 batting average, .846 slugging average, 177 runs scored, 457 total bases and 119 extra base hits. The final two marks stand as single-season records to this date, and the runs tally the best of the twentieth century. But the most noteworthy milestone of that season is represented by this sphere, which pulled the Babe even with Roger Connor's career record of 136 home runs. As an included clipping from The New York Times (copy) notes that the blast was likewise the game winner: "Ruth's first homer came in the third inning, with one run over the plate and two men on the bases...Babe's burning liner into the right-field seats transformed the issue into a Yank advantage...The Browns never fully recovered after that." A second Ruth home run later in the game evicted Connor from their shared throne, adding further luster to the presented orb as also having been used in the game in which the Babe earned sole possession of his royal title. The red and blue stitched OAL (Johnson) sphere exhibits strong game use and is notated in vintage ink across the sweet spot, "Hit by Babe Ruth at St. Louis, His 33 Home Run Season 1921." Beyond the very obviously aged appearance of the ink, the ball is accompanied by a letter of provenance from the consignor to a March 1999 auction that reads: "The owner was 93 year old D. Berkeley Smith of Waterloo, Iowa. [Address/Phone]. He received the ball as a teenager while living with his grandparents in Hopkington, Iowa. It was given to him by his uncle, Roy Stanley Trafton, who was at the game in St. Louis in 1921 when Babe Ruth hit his 33rd home run of the season. Roy's home was in Cleveland, Ohio by birth and he was employed as an entrepreneur by companies in Chicago, Cleveland, Dubuque, Iowa and Los Angeles, California. He was married to Mr. Smith's aunt and later divorced. He traveled extensively, hence his period of living in St. Louis in the 1920's. He gave the ball to Mr. Smith in his early teens..." A second letter from Mr. Smith himself, dated "1-14-02," confirms the facts detailed in that letter. He writes: "The information you have been given is indeed correct and quite meager indeed but it is about all that I can provide. Roy Trafton married my Aunt. He was as I recall a great baseball fan, originally from Cleveland. Apparently he thought he was giving me a great memento but it just didn't turn out that way. Why on earth I kept it I'll never know but it was "unearthed" so to speak in a clean out of some old drawers and sold to some baseball addict in Des Moines whose name I did not retain. I trust that you find great pleasure in possession of the ball. It occurs to me that I received several hundred dollars for it, and certainly you must have paid more, and since it is authentic you probably paid more and if so let me know if convenient, for as a retired lawyer I shall not cry if a bad judgment goes against me." Let us hope, for Mr. Smith's sake, that he never realized that he had owned one of the most significant Babe Ruth artifacts ever discovered, the very baseball that established him as the Home Run King, beginning more than a half-century residence upon the sport's loftiest throne. Letters of provenance as detailed.

Mickey Mantle Game Used Under Shirt From Late 1950s to 1960 Seasons
Included in this lot is an authentic Mickey Mantle Game Used Under Shirt From Late 1950s to 1960 Season's. During this era of baseball it was very common for equipment to be passed down from player to player. This shirt was first worn by Mantle and then used by John James which is why Mantle's name is crossed out and James is written under it. Mickey Mantle was a 20 Time All-Star, 7 Time World Series champ, 3 Time AL MVP, and 1956 Triple Crown winner. This under shirt comes with a Letter of Provenance from John James.

1956 World Series Game 7 Full Ticket Graded 3 (Jackie Robinson's Final Game)
Game 7 of the 1956 World Series saw the Yankees clinch another World Series title but more importantly was the last game of Jackie Robinson's historic career. This is a full Pavilion ticket to Game 7 of the 1956 World Series. This ticket is cancelled and not valid. It is slabbed and authenticated by PSA/DNA graded a 3.