Auctions
Mickey Mantle game-used bat tops Spring Auction at Lelands
Though Mickey Mantle was battling injuries and nearing the end of his 18-year career, he was still an offensive force from 1965-67.
Mantle, who belted 536 home runs with 1,509 RBI and a. .977 OPS during his Hall of Fame career, battled chronic knee problems as well as hamstring and shoulder injuries as his career wound down in the late ’60s. But he still managed to slug 19, 23 and 22 home runs despite limited playing time during those three seasons for the New Yankees.
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A game-used Mantle bat from 1965-67 topped the Lelands Spring Classic Auction, selling for $84,703.
A fresh to the hobby, museum-quality piece, the bat is one of just 14 Mantle bats graded PSA 9.5 and the most recent Mantle bat to surface publicly.
Another coveted Mantle item also sold for five figures when an August 1951 issue of Baseball Magazine that marked Mantle’s first national magazine cover sold for $31,643.
Other top sales in the auction included: a 1957-58 Topps Basketball unopened 5-cent wax pack that netted $74,199; and an extremely rare 1914 Boston “Miracle” Braves World Series ring that sold for $72,123.
The Topps Basketball wax pack, from the iconic set that features a landmark rookie class led by Hall of Famer Bill Russell, is graded PSA 7 and one of just five examples of that grade, with only two graded higher.
The 1914 Boston Braves World Championship ring belonged to Red Smith, a third baseman for the team that made MLB history by climbing from last place at midseason to win the pennant and then swept the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. Only three 1914 Braves championship rings are known to exist.
Other auction highlights included:
• Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs game-worn, photo-matched jersey (MeiGray, Sotheby's) from the NBA Emirates Cup game on Dec. 3, 2024 ($53,000).
• A Ty Cobb and Larry Lajoie dual-signed baseball ($43,868).
• Rolando Blackman’s 2011 Mavericks NBA Championship ring ($43,156).
• Aaron Judge Yankees game-worn jersey (MLB) from his record-setting 2017 rookie season photo-matched to his 19th career home run game ($41,102).
• 1974 Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” full ticket ($39,621).
• Gregg Maddux’s 1998 All-Star game-worn photo-matched signed jersey ($29,635).
• Johnny Bench rookie era Reds quilted wool, warmup jacket ($26,264).
• June 8, 1932 Babe Ruth Type 1 Original Photo signed from home run No. 628 ($26,164).
• Jerry Rice’s 49ers game-worn jersey from his 183rd career TD game on Oct. 1, 2000 ($23,731). ,
• Eddie Gaedel signed index card ($20,501).
• Game-used baseball from Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 record-breaking at-bat on Sept. 19, 2024 ($15,299).
