Historic Auctions' debut auction closed in December and was highlighted by a bevy of game-worn jerseys. The company's next event, slated to run May 22-June 22 at www.historicauctions.com, is topped by possibly one of the most famous game-worns ever - the pair of pants Babe Ruth likely wore during his famous "Called Shot" home run game.
The pants feature the Bambino's stitched name, a sizeable team repair and great game-use, according to Historic Auctions. These are the same pants that sold in a Grey Flannel auction last June, when they fetched nearly $95,000. In addition to the Grey Flannel authentication that the consigner still has with the pants, Historic Auctions will provide additional authentication.
"We are very excited to have this amazing piece of history grace our second auction as the centerpiece, indirectly helping us with our own history in the making," said company president James Brown.
In addition to the pants, the June Historic Auction will also feature a Ruth single-signed baseball, a Joe DiMaggio game-used bat from the late 1930s, a Mickey Mantle signed and game-used bat from the late 1950s and a Roberto Clemente game-used batting helmet. All of those items will have extensive authentication; for details, see each item's listing when the auction goes live. Historic Auctions had about 600 items in its first auction; this auction will be larger, possibly twice as big.
Brown said the company learned some things in its first auction, as might be expected. One thing he was surprised about was that 40-45 percent of bids came over the telephone. "We're going to come out with a bigger catalog, bigger descriptions, and we're going to put in additional phone lines," he said. "We're also going to be adding some neat features to the website that we think will help with customer service. We're going to be adding an 'Ask a Question' feature for every item in the auction that I don't think anybody's doing. You'll be able to click a button and ask a question about the item right from its description."
For more information on Historic Auctions' June event, visit its website at www.historicauctions.com or call (888) 955-2211.
